American Airlines, Inc. (AA) is a major U.S. airline owned by AMR Corporation, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It operates an extensive international and domestic network, with scheduled flights throughout North America, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, and Asia/Pacific. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is the airline's largest hub, with American Airlines and AMR's regional carrier American Eagle accounting for about 85% of the traffic and 83% of the landing fees at the airport and traveling to more destinations than from its other hubs. The airline operates maintenance bases at Tulsa (TUL) and Fort Worth Alliance (AFW); the latter was announced to close by December 2012.
Its name notwithstanding, American Airlines is not a flag carrier, as that term is generally used in commercial aviation. Its subsidiary shares its name with American Eagle, and operates much of the regional carrier's flights; since November 2012, the subsidiaries of SkyWest, Inc., SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines, have also operated regional flights as American Eagle. In addition, AmericanConnection is the regional brand for codeshare flights currently operated by Chautauqua Airlines
In November 2011, AMR Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey stepped down and was replaced by company president Thomas W. Horton. In February 2013, American Airlines and US Airways announced plans to merge, creating the largest airline in the world. In the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2013, shareholders of AMR will own 72% of the company and US Airways shareholders will own the remaining 28%. The combined airline will carry the American Airlines name and branding; the new publicly traded holding company will be called American Airlines Group Inc.
