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American Airlines Introduces International Self-Service Check In

Posted on: Monday, 20 November 2006, 12:00 CST

FORT WORTH, Texas, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Airlines, the world's largest airline and a founding member of the global oneworld(R) Alliance, is introducing international check-in capabilities using airport Self-Service machines. More than 365 of these check-in devices, for use by American and American Eagle customers, are now equipped with passport readers that can help ease the travel process by speeding up check in for customers traveling from the United States or traveling to/through the United States from an international location.

American Airlines plans to continuously roll out more check-in machines with this capability to the rest of the American network. International check in has already been tested at several airports and customers have enjoyed the new flexibility and speed.

"We know that our passengers enjoy the convenience, speed and reliability of Self-Service check in for their domestic travel," said Monte Ford, American's Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer. "Giving customers the ability to self check in for international flights improves the customer experience by reducing queues, which saves our passengers valuable time. And, as always, our expert ticket agents are on hand to assist those who prefer to check in with an agent."

This new service is available to most customers with international electronic tickets (e-tickets). All passengers will still have their documents verified, whether by an agent during self-service check in or by an agent at the gate prior to boarding.

How it Works * Passengers begin by swiping their passport or inserting a credit card through the machine's reader and selecting their itinerary. * If a passenger is traveling with a passport that is not machine- readable, they simply follow the prompts on the screen to enter the information manually. * Passengers who are residents of the United States but not U.S. citizens will be asked to swipe their U.S. Alien Resident cards. * After completing the identification process, the boarding pass will be issued. * Should passengers require agent assistance during the process to verify visas, travel documents, name conflicts and expired passports, ticket agents will be available at the machines to assist in completing the transaction.

In addition to the new international self-service check-in capability, American now offers a way for customers to save even more time at the airport by enabling them to provide government-required data ahead of time -- online at AA.com -- regardless of whether the ticket is purchased at AA.com. Customers can enter required information, such as country of residence, emergency contact name/phone number and temporary address for those visiting the U.S. The data can be entered and edited when the reservation is retrieved, and will help simplify and expedite passenger check in at the airport. In addition, travel agents are being encouraged to enter this information when booking a ticket on behalf of an AA passenger to further improve the customer experience.

For more information about American's new Self-Service features and to see a complete list of airports that offer international self-service check-in, log on to http://www.aa.com/selfservice .

About American Airlines

American Airlines is the world's largest airline. American, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection(R) airlines serve 250 cities in over 40 countries with more than 4,000 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 1,000 aircraft. American's award-winning Web site, AA.com, provides users with flexible fare-search options, the ability to check in for flights and a lowest-fare guarantee. 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 more than 600 destinations in over 135 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation . AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection, AA.com and AAdvantage are registered trademarks of American Airlines, Inc.

American Airlines(R) We know why you fly(R) Current AMR Corp. releases can be accessed on the Internet. The address is http://www.aa.com/

American Airlines, Inc.

CONTACT: Billy Sanez, Corporate Communications of American Airlines,Inc., +1-817-967-1577, or corp.comm@aa.com

Web site: http://www.aa.com/http://www.aa.com/selfservice

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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