The fleet and hubs of American Airlines,
by the numbers

 

USA TODAY 8:55 a.m. EST December 6, 2016

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The fleet and hubs of American Airlines, by the numbers

 

Today in the Sky

USA TODAY 8:55 a.m. EST December 6, 2016

 

2.2k Shares

 

American Airlines is the largest carrier in the world, moving into the top spot following its merger with US Airways that closed in 2015.

 

Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, American and its regional affiliates fly more than 1,500 aircraft through nine hub cities.

 

American traces its history back to 1920s, when a mail carrier operation that would become today’s American flew its first flight. This century, American has grown through several mergers. In 2001, American acquired TWA (Trans World Airlines). In 2015, US Airways led an effort to merge with American, creating today’s version of the company that kept the American Airlines name. US Airways itself was the product of numerous mergers over the years, including a 2005 merger with America West.

 

Headquarters: Fort Worth, Texas 

CEO: Doug Parker 

Destinations: About 350 in 50 countries

 

Hubs: Charlotte, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth Los Angeles, Miami, New York LaGuardia/JFK, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Washington Reagan National

 

Daily flights: About 6,700

 

Frequent-flier program: AAdvantage

 

Frequent-flier alliance: oneworld

 

Busiest airports (by passengers, 2015)

 

1. Dallas/Fort Worth

 

 

2. Charlotte

 

3. Miami

 

4. Chicago O’Hare

 

5. Philadelphia

 

6. Phoenix

 

7. Los Angeles

 

8. New York LaGuardia

 

9. New York JFK

 

10. Washington Reagan National

 

 

Busiest airports (by scheduled departures, 2015)

 

1. Dallas/Fort Worth (284,223)

 

2. Charlotte (231,591)

 

3. Chicago O'Hare (165,279)

 

4. Philadelphia (156,456)

 

5. Miami (117,162)

 

6. Phoenix (100,968)

 

7. Washington Reagan National (84,832)

 

8. Los Angeles (66,076)

 

9. New York LaGuardia (54,617)

 

10. New York JFK (34,649) 

  

Fleet breakdown (as of December 2016; includes regional affiliates that fly as American Eagle)

 

Airbus A319 (125)

 

Airbus A320 (51)

 

Airbus A321 (199)

 

Airbus A330-200 (15)

 

Airbus A330-300 (9)

 

Boeing 737-800 (284)

 

Boeing 757 (51)

 

Boeing 767-300 (31)

 

Boeing 777-200 (47)

 

Boeing 777-300 (20)

 

Boeing 787-8 “Dreamliner” (17)

 

Boeing 787-9 “Dreamliner” (4)

 

Bombardier CRJ-200 (120)

 

Bombardier CRJ-700 (79)

 

Bombardier CRJ-900 (118)

 

Bombardier Dash 8-100 (21)

 

Bombardier Dash 8-300 (11)

 

Embraer E175 (124)

 

Embraer E190 (20)

 

Embraer ERJ-140 (13)

 

Embraer ERJ-145 (118)

 

MD-80 (57)

 

Flight Attendant Who Ditched Cocaine at LAX to Plead Guilty

• By The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Dec 12, 2016, 12:08 AM ET

 

 

A former JetBlue flight attendant accused of trying to sneak a suitcase full of cocaine through Los Angeles International Airport and making a dramatic dash to escape is set to plead guilty in the case in federal court on Monday.
 

Marsha Gay Reynolds is expected to plead guilty to conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine in federal court, according to court documents. A conviction on that charge carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison.
 

Reynolds, a U.S. citizen and resident of Queens, New York, is a former Jamaican beauty queen and New York University track athlete.
 

Authorities said they found 70 pounds of cocaine in her luggage at LAX on March 18 after she was flagged for a random security screening, flung off her high heels and bolted barefoot down an upward-moving escalator. They said she ran out of the terminal and made her way to New York.

Reynolds, 31 at the time, surrendered in New York days later.
 

An attorney for Reynolds at the time said she might not have been sure what was in her bag.

A court document filed by prosecutors on Friday said for the first time that Reynolds was getting paid thousands of dollars to help smuggle drugs and money through airport security at LAX and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
 

An unindicted and unnamed co-conspirator illegally in the U.S. would give Reynolds the cocaine and money, and she would use her "known crew member badge" to get them through security, after which she would give them back to the co-conspirator, according to the document.
 

The co-conspirator fled to Jamaica, according to the document.

The world's first non-stop flights between Australia and Europe are coming

by Jethro Mullen and Jon Ostrower   @CNNMoney December 11, 2016: 11:38 PM ET

The airline with the kangaroo on its tail is losing a bounce.

Air travelers will be able to fly from Australia to Europe without stopping after Qantas announced the first direct passenger route between the two continents.

Boeing (BA)'s 787-9 Dreamliner will make the epic 17-hour journey between London and Perth, a city on Australia's remote west coast, Qantas (QABSY) said.

The airline plans to launch the service in March 2018, joining the ranks of the world's longest passenger flights.
 
"This is a game-changing route flown by a game-changing aircraft," Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said in a statement. "Australians have never had a direct link to Europe before, so the opportunities this opens up are huge."
Flying between Australia and the U.K. has long been a holy grail for Qantas, which has had to hop through Singapore and Dubai more recently to get to Europe on its "Kangaroo Route."
Joyce contrasted the new flight with Qantas' original Australia-to-London service that it introduced nearly 70 years ago. That one was a whole lot slower, taking four days and involving nine stops along the way.

Qantas said the Perth-London service -- at 9,009 miles (14,498 kilometers) -- is expected to be one of the longest passenger flights in the world when it goes live.

Until now, the flight was never economically feasible. The brutal winds going eastbound forced more fuel to be carried, while sacrificing valuable cargo or even leaving seats unfilled.

In commercial air travel, sometimes the shorter-duration flight actually covers more ground.
That's true of the current record holder for distance. Air India's service between New Delhi and San Francisco that flies over the Pacific rather than the more typical route over the North Pole. At 9,408 miles (15,140 kilometers), the Pacific path is a lot longer, but it actually saves fuel and time by taking advantage of the tailwinds provided by the high-altitude jet stream.

In February, there will be a new reigning champion for longest flight by duration when Qatar Airways flies from Auckland to Doha, scheduled for 17 hours and 45 minutes.

Qantas' Perth-London route will be the world's longest using the Dreamliner, which entered service in 2011.

A host of new ultra-long distance routes have been opened up with a new generation of fuel-efficient Boeing and Airbus (EADSF) aircraft. Singapore Airlines (SINGF) restarted direct service to the U.S. recently with the Airbus A350, a route also now flown by United Airlines and its 787.

The Australian airline has pulled off longer flights in the past. In 1989, it flew a Boeing 747-400 all the way from London to Sydney, setting a record for the world's longest commercial flight at 11,185 miles (18,001 kilometers).

But that wasn't a scheduled flight. The 20-hour journey was a one-off event, and the jumbo jetliner only carried 23 people, including crew.