545 Flight Attendants, 250 Pilots To Be Recalled For Active Duty

American Airlines announced Wednesday that it is sending recall notices to 545 flight attendants and 250 pilots. Several factors contributed to the company's ability to recall, primarily its efforts to capitalize on new international flying and business opportunities with British Airways and Iberia, continuing to strengthen its cornerstone hubs, and preparing for it's pending alliance with Japan Airlines.

Following Wednesday news conference in London announcing the official beginning of American's alliance with British Airways and Iberia, AMR Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey said "The company is pleased to be recalling approximately 800 total pilots and flight attendants to help capitalize on our business goals as well as to meet our staffing needs in the coming months. This is exactly the kind of growth we're hoping to achieve with our network strategy, and my hope is that trends like this will continue."

The first group of 25 pilots will be recalled in mid-November, and the company will continue to recall at a rate of approximately 30 per month. For flight attendants, recall notices will be sent in phases. The first notices will be issued to approximately 225 flight attendants this month; subsequent notifications will follow later in the year.

"I am very pleased to welcome our furloughed flight attendants back to service," said Denise Lynn, Vice President – Flight Service. "Each day, our flight attendants play an integral role in providing our customers with a welcoming and positive experience onboard all our flights."

"We are happy to have these pilots back in our cockpits," said Captain John Hale, Vice President Flight. "My hope is that the enhancements we're making to our network will allow us to extend the same offer to more of our furloughees."

FMI: www.aa.com