American Airlines Ranks No. 11 on 2011 InformationWeek 500

FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second year in a row, American Airlines was ranked among the most innovative companies in the U.S. by InformationWeek, vaulting to No. 11 in this year's InformationWeek 500 ranking. The ranking of the top technology innovators in the United States was revealed this week at the exclusive InformationWeek 500 Conference.

"For 23 years, the InformationWeek 500 has chronicled and honored the most innovative users of business technology," said InformationWeek Editor-In-Chief Rob Preston. "In this day and age, however, being innovative isn't enough. Companies and their IT organizations need to innovate faster than ever before to stay a step or two ahead of their customers, partners and competitors. This year's ranking placed special emphasis on those high-octane business technology innovators."

"We are proud to be among the top companies recognized for technology innovation – specifically our aggressive approach to mobile products for our customers and employees," said Monte Ford, American's Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President – Information Technology Services. "American is committed to investing wisely in technology because our focus remains squarely on improving our customers' experience. With the right strategies and deployments, technology enables us to streamline, modernize and simplify operational issues, where the primary recipient of these improvements is always the customer."

American has moved to the forefront of innovation, helping develop technologies - both customer-facing and behind-the-scenes - that are changing the landscape of the airline industry. These technological advancements have resulted in an improved customer experience, increased operational efficiencies, and cost savings that are solidifying the foundation for American's future success. Examples include a technology that can reaccommodate a plane full of passengers in just minutes; new tools that allow customers to personalize their travel; a tool that gives ramp employees access to real-time information about baggage and cargo being unloaded or loaded on the plane; and a visual touch-screen application that puts critical information on arrivals, departures, connections and specifics on customers at the fingertips of tower control employees.

InformationWeek identifies and honors the nation's most innovative users of information technology with its annual 500 listing, and also tracks the technology, strategies, investments and administrative practices of America's best-known companies.  The InformationWeek 500 ranking is unique among corporate rankings as it highlights the power of innovation in information technology, rather than simply identifying the biggest IT spenders.

Additional details and the complete InformationWeek 500 ranking can be found online at www.informationweek.com/iw500/.

About American Airlines

American Airlines, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection® carrier serve 250 cities in 50 countries with, on average, more than 3,600 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 900 aircraft. American's award-winning website, AA.com®, 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® 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 approximately 900 destinations with more than 9,000 daily flights to 145 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 trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: AMR).

About InformationWeek Business Technology Network

The InformationWeek Business Technology Network provides IT executives with unique analysis and tools that parallel their work flow – from defining and framing objectives through to the evaluation and recommendation of solutions. Anchored by InformationWeek, the multimedia powerhouse that looks across the enterprise, the network scales across the most critical technology categories with online properties like DarkReading.com (security), NetworkComputing.com (networking and communications) and PlugintotheCloud.com (cloud computing). The network also provides focused content for key IT targets, such as CIOs, developers, and SMBs via InformationWeek Global CIO, Dr. Dobb's and InformationWeek SMB, as well as vital vertical industries with InformationWeek Financial Services, Government, and Healthcare resources. Content is at the nucleus of our information distribution strategy – IT professionals turn to our experts and communities to stay informed, get advice and research technologies to make strategic business decisions.

Current AMR Corp. releases can be accessed on the Internet.

The address is http://www.aa.com

SOURCE American Airlines