American Airlines Toasts Arrival of New Wine Consultant Ken Chase

American Also Debuts New First Class Wine Glasses in April

FORT WORTH, Texas, March 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — American Airlines has teamed up with classically trained winemaker and viticulturist Ken Chase as part of its continuing effort to serve customers the finest wines available.

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Chase will serve as the airline’s official consultant in selecting fine wines for customers traveling on American’s various routes throughout the world. He will also pay careful attention to how wines are paired with menu offerings and factor into the selections the ethnic, cultural, seasonal and stylistic differences of each destination.

“American’s wine program aims to satisfy our customers’ desire to enjoy fine wines selected specifically for their flight and that complement our inflight dining options,” said John Tiliacos, Managing Director of Onboard Products. “Ken Chase brings his extensive knowledge of wine to American’s wine program to further enhance the onboard experience for our customers.”

Chase has spent a significant portion of his life studying and understanding the classical wine growing regions of Europe. In his distinguished career, Chase has shared his vast knowledge on various radio programs and with numerous corporations and wine-loving organizations.

As American’s wine consultant, Chase plans to share his knowledge of the world’s major wine-growing regions with those who are unfamiliar with the classic wine varieties, as well as to introduce unique wines from untraditional regions to those who enjoy learning about and tasting new wines.

“With each wine, I seek to provide American Airlines customers with a sense of adventure by offering wine varieties with dynamic flavor profiles that complement the inflight menus,” Chase said.

Additionally, to enhance the wine-tasting experience, American will soon introduce a new larger wine glass in the First Class cabins on international Boeing 777 and transcontinental Boeing 767-200 aircraft. Debuting April 1, the new glasses are stemmed tulip-shaped globes, which will allow customers to more easily swirl the wine and enjoy its aromas.

American, a founding member of the global oneworld(R) Alliance, maintains 15 different wine lists and has more than 60 wines available on its flights at any given time. Wine lists change regularly. For a complete list of American’s wine offerings visit: http://www.aa.com/wine.

About American Airlines

American Airlines, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection(R) airlines serve 250 cities in 40 countries with, on average, more than 3,400 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 900 aircraft. American’s award-winning Web site, AA.com(R), provides users with easy access to check and book fares, plus personalized news, information and travel offers. American Airlines is a founding member of the oneworld(R) Alliance, which brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business, enabling them to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. Together, its members serve nearly 700 destinations in over 140 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection, AA.com, We know why you fly and AAdvantage are registered trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: AMR)

About Ken Chase

Ken Chase is a wine maker and viticulturist with an international reputation. An early interest in wine led Chase to study throughout the classical wine growing regions of Europe. Also a student of aviation, Chase sought to blend his passion for flying with his interest in wine-making.

Chase’s current role as wine consultant for American Airlines successfully combines these interests. He selects fine wines for various routes paying close attention to menu parings, as well as the ethnic, cultural, seasonal and stylistic differences of each destination.

Throughout his career, Chase has had the pleasure of working with companies such as Royal Caribbean, American Express Wine Club and other airlines. He has also selected wines for the Pope during his visit to Canada and has appeared as a radio personality on CBC radio and Chum 1050 AM as the resident wine guru.

His formal undergraduate education was at Loyola of Montreal followed by the University of Freiburg in West Germany. Later Chase pursued a degree in enology and viticulture studies at University of Melbourne followed by continuing studies at UC Davis California. He is currently involved in post-graduate research work at the University of Melbourne, Australia in enology and viticulture where he is pursuing his Ph.D. as a visiting researcher.

Presently, Chase is writing his first book on wine, which he hopes to publish in Fall 2009. He travels worldwide, striving to take the mystery out of wine and sharing his passion with others.

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SOURCE American Airlines