Editing American Airlines (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of American Airlines}}
[[File:American DC-3.jpg|thumb|right|[[Douglas DC-3|DC-3]] "Flagship" American's chief aircraft type during the World War II period]]
American Airlines was started in 1930 as a union of more than eighty small airlines.<ref name="ap">{{Cite news |last1=Koenig |first1=David |last2=Bomkamp |first2=Samantha |date=November 29, 2011 |title=American Airlines parent seeks Ch. 11 protection |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |agency= |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/american-airlines-parent-seeks-ch-11-protection/ |url-status=live |access-date=2023-12-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111204004443/https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gqSFH2Ou81RHegJYXJtAeU9CkyhA?docId=c6952820f230470692fc37e00d9d2d36 |archive-date=December 4, 2011}}</ref> The two organizations from which American Airlines originated were [[Robertson Aircraft Corporation]] and [[Colonial Air Transport]].  The former was first created in Missouri in 1921, with both being merged in 1929 into holding company [[The Aviation Corporation]].  This, in turn, was made in 1930 into an operating company and rebranded as '''American Airways'''.  In 1934, when new laws and attrition of mail contracts forced many airlines to reorganize, the corporation redid its routes into a connected system and was renamed American Airlines. The airline fully developed its international business between 1970 and 2000. It purchased [[Trans World Airlines]] in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TWA to be bought by American - Jan. 10, 2001 |url=https://money.cnn.com/2001/01/10/deals/amr_twa/ |access-date=November 14, 2019 |website=money.cnn.com |archive-date=December 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205164658/https://money.cnn.com/2001/01/10/deals/amr_twa/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

American had a direct role in the development of the [[DC-3|Douglas DC-3]], which resulted from a marathon telephone call from American Airlines CEO [[C. R. Smith]] to [[Douglas Aircraft Company]] founder [[Donald Wills Douglas Sr.]], when Smith persuaded a reluctant Douglas to design a sleeper aircraft based on the [[DC-2]] to replace American's [[Curtiss T-32 Condor II|Curtiss Condor II]] biplanes. (The existing DC-2's cabin was {{convert|66|in|m}} wide, too narrow for side-by-side berths.) Douglas agreed to proceed with development only after Smith informed him of American Airline's intention to purchase 20 aircraft. The prototype DST ([[Douglas Sleeper Transport]]) first flew on December 17, 1935, the 32nd anniversary of the [[Wright Brothers]]' flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Its cabin was {{convert|92|in|m|abbr=on}} wide, and a version with 21 seats instead of the 14–16 sleeping berths of the DST was given the designation DC-3. There was no prototype DC-3; the first DC-3 built followed seven DSTs off the production line and was delivered to American Airlines.<ref>Pearcy, Arthur. ''Douglas DC-3 Survivors, Volume 1''. Bourne End, Bucks, UK: Aston Publications, 1987. {{ISBN|0-946627-13-4}}, p. 17</ref> American Airlines inaugurated passenger service on June 26, 1936, with simultaneous flights from [[Newark, New Jersey]], and [[Chicago, Illinois]].<ref>Holden, Henry. [http://www.dc3history.org/douglasdc3.html "DC-3 History"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100927084841/http://dc3history.org/douglasdc3.html |date=September 27, 2010}}. dc3history.org. Retrieved October 7, 2010.</ref>

[[File:Exiting plane-El Paso Airport 1957.jpg|thumb|Passengers exiting plane at the El Paso Airport in  1957]]American also had a direct role in the development of the [[DC-10]], which resulted from a specification from American Airlines to manufacturers in 1966 to offer a widebody aircraft that was smaller than the [[Boeing 747]], but capable of flying similar long-range routes from airports with shorter runways. [[McDonnell Douglas]] responded with the DC-10 [[trijet]] shortly after the two companies' merger.<ref name=Waddington_p06>Waddington 2000, pp. 6–18.</ref> On February 19, 1968, the president of American Airlines, George A. Spater, and James S. McDonnell of McDonnell Douglas announced American's intention to acquire the DC-10. American Airlines ordered 25 DC-10s in its first order.<ref>Endres 1998, p. 16.</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Yd0yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0lwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7174,6365434&dq=airbus&hl=en "American Orders 25 'Airbus' Jets"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104142745/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Yd0yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0lwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7174,6365434&dq=airbus&hl=en |date=November 4, 2021}} ''[[St. Petersburg Times]]'', September 14, 2011.</ref> The DC-10 made its first flight on August 29, 1970,<ref>Endres 1998, pp. 25–26.</ref> and received its type certificate from the FAA on July 29, 1971.<ref>Endres 1998, p. 28.</ref> On August 5, 1971, the DC-10 entered commercial service with American Airlines on a round-trip flight between [[Los Angeles]] and Chicago.<ref>Endres 1998, p. 52.</ref>

In 2011, due to a downturn in the airline industry, American Airlines' parent company, the [[AMR Corporation]], filed for bankruptcy protection. In 2013, American Airlines merged with [[US Airways]] but kept the American Airlines name, as it was the better-recognized brand internationally; the combination of the two airlines resulted in the creation of the largest airline in the United States, and ultimately the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=American Airlines – American company |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-Airlines |website=Britannica.com |access-date=November 2, 2016 |archive-date=November 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104034030/https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-Airlines |url-status=live}}</ref>

In December 2023, the company was added to the [[Dow Jones Sustainability Indices|Dow Jones Sustainability World Index]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=1330-8992919en-0VAVKNQJAAF84L4CREVPMF412T|title=American Airlines Named to Dow Jones Sustainability World Index – Company Announcement - FT.com|website=markets.ft.com}}</ref>