FORT WORTH, Texas, July 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- American
Airlines tomorrow will break ground on the Robert W. Baker
Integrated Operations Center in Fort
Worth. Earlier this year, American announced plans to
consolidate the current American Airlines operations center in
Fort Worth and the current US
Airways operations center in Pittsburgh. The new facility will be located
near American's headquarters and Flight Academy south of
Dallas/Fort Worth International
Airport. The state-of-the-art Integrated Operations Center will
serve as the nerve center of American's global network and will
house more than 1,400 employees who plan, oversee and dispatch the
airline's more than 1 million annual mainline flights serving more
than 140 million customers.
"Tomorrow will be an exciting day for American Airlines as we
take another step forward in our integration," said Doug Parker, American's chairman and CEO. "It is
most fitting that this new, state-of-the-art facility will bear the
name of one of the most respected leaders in American's history.
Bob Baker was widely regarded for
his commitment to safety, reliability and operational integrity. He
is a great example for all of us at American and we are honored to
have his name on this extremely important facility."
The employees who will ultimately work in the two-story,
149,000-square-foot facility will manage a global, complex and
fast-moving network of people, aircraft, airports, facilities and
airspace. Specific functions of the new Integrated Operations
Center will include Flight Dispatch, Crew Scheduling, Maintenance
Operations Control, Weight and Balance Planning, System Customer
Service, Flight Planning Support, and Emergency Planning and
Response. The building has been designed to withstand winds
associated with an EF3 tornado (165-185 mph). It is anticipated to
be completed by the third quarter of 2015.
The late Robert W. Baker was
American's former vice chairman who retired in 2002 after a 35-year
career with the company. During his career, Baker held a variety of
positions in Marketing, Freight Marketing, Field Services,
Information Services and Operations. In 1985, Baker took
responsibility for the airline's Flight Operations, Airport
Services and Maintenance and Engineering during a period of rapid
growth for American. He became executive vice president of
operations in 1989 and vice chairman in 2000. Baker was widely
regarded throughout the industry for his commitment to safe and
reliable airline operations.
American will hold a special groundbreaking ceremony tomorrow to
celebrate the first day of construction on the new building.
Chairman and CEO Doug Parker and
Chief Operating Officer Robert Isom
will be joined by Fort Worth Mayor
Betsy Price and the family of Mr.
Baker, including his wife Marty. Employees of the airline are also
invited to attend.
About American Airlines Group
American Airlines Group (NASDAQ: AAL) is the holding company for
American Airlines and US Airways. Together with wholly owned and
third-party regional carriers operating as American Eagle and US
Airways Express, the airlines operate an average of nearly 6,700
flights per day to 339 destinations in 54 countries from its hubs
in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort
Worth, Los Angeles,
Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. The American Airlines
AAdvantage and US Airways Dividend Miles programs allow members to
earn miles for travel, vacation packages, car rentals, hotel stays
and everyday purchases. Members of both programs can redeem miles
for tickets as well as upgrades to First Class and Business Class.
In addition, AAdvantage members can redeem miles for vacation
packages, car rentals, hotel stays and retail products. American is
a founding member of the oneworld alliance, whose members and
members-elect serve nearly 1,000 destinations with 14,250 daily
flights to 150 countries. Connect with American on Twitter
@AmericanAir and Facebook.com/AmericanAirlines and follow US
Airways on Twitter @USAirways.
SOURCE American Airlines