supplier letter

August 22, 2006


Mr. Gerard J. Arpey
President and CEO
American Airlines, Inc.
4333 Amon Carter Boulevard
Fort Worth, Texas 76155

Dear Mr. Arpey,

We the undersigned corporations and institutions write to express our concern with American Airlines' recently announced distribution policies and practices and to ask for answers to some troubling questions. As American Airlines pursues what increasingly appears to us to be an unproductive policy of channel discrimination and content fragmentation, you risk alienating your very best customers.

Both we, and the travel management companies (TMCs) upon which we depend, strenuously object to being penalized for where we choose to purchase commercial air transportation services, i.e. our preferred GDSs. We note that American claims to want “flexibility” to move bookings to the channels it prefers. However, we strongly suspect that flexibility for American means financial hardship for us. Is American, for example, intending to use commissions, overrides and other inducements as a way of driving us away from our chosen GDS, e.g., communicating to our TMCs that their overrides could disappear if they do not switch to another system? If so, this is unacceptable.

For our companies, it is imperative that we have all the content, all the time, in our chosen GDS. There should be no exceptions that swallow the rule. We therefore call on American to explain its definition of “full content” as you have written it into your recent GDS contracts, in light of recent, broad exceptions that we have observed. How, for example, does your just-announced network-wide inducement to individual business travelers to buy a “series of tickets” exclusively on AA.com through December 2006 in order to receive up to a 50% discount square with this definition? To us, this looks decidedly like less than full content.

To be clear, fragmentation creates inefficiency, undermines adherence to our corporate policies and destroys the credibility of our travel programs, especially as our employees and our TMCs are forced to access fares and discounts only listed on supplier web sites. As recent events in the UK show, and as was recently reported in The Wall Street Journal, it is imperative for corporations to know where their travelers are and how to contact them in a time of crisis. For these reasons, we oppose airline-created incentives to book outside of our corporate travel programs.

Customer focus is the key to success in any business, and is certainly required in your relationships with corporate customers. We urge American Airlines to regain this focus. As your flight attendants regularly remind us, we do have other choices in air travel.

Sincerely,

Advanced Medical Optics, Inc., Laura Ayala-Huntley, Commodity Manager, Strategic Sourcing
Aflac, David Nelson, Vice President
Alticor/Amway Corporation, William Grimes, Corporate Travel Manager
Applied Systems, Sherry Boudreau, Travel Manager
Aspect Software, Susan Dupart, Director, Workplace Resources
ATT, Inc., Rob Callahan, Corporate Travel Manager
Bayer Corporation, Paul D. Lang, Bayer Corporation 
Belden, Linda Smith, Supervisor, Meetings and Travel Services
Boscov’s Business Travel, Thomas E. Roberts, Manager of Corporate Account Development
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, C. Donald Murphy, Vice President Global Meetings, Travel and Staff Services
Business Travel Coalition, Kevin Mitchell, Chairman
CHG Healthcare Services, Inc., Debbie Welder, Travel Manager
Colgate-Palmolive Company, Kathy Marsh, Global Data Analyst
Computershare Investor Services, LLC, Doreen Smith, Travel Manager, North America
Conde Nast Publications, Susan Goldfarb, Director of Corporate Travel Services
Countrywide Home Loans, Joyce Greenberg, VP, Global Travel Operations
Cox Enterprises, Inc., Jeff Messer, Director of Travel
CSX Transportation, Wanda Foster, Manager, Corporate Travel
DaimlerChrysler, David Weiner, Director, Travel Services, Business Services
Deutsche Bank, Debra Dayton, Global Head of Travel
Dick Corporation, Nancy Kelly-Scanlon, Travel Manager
Eastman Chemical Company, Donna S. Davis, Travel Manager
Eddie Bauer, Inc., Dawn Johnson, Director, Corp/Rtl Services
ETS, Christine Faulstich, Director, Global Travel Corporate Meetings
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Mary Beth Nowak, Director for Meeting Management and Travel
F5 Networks, Sandra Gilbert, Corporate Operations Manager
Finnish Business Travel Association, Jutta Luoma, Managing Director
Freight Handlers Inc., Wanda A. Payne, Travel Manager
Gannett Co., Inc., Emily Hanson, Manager/Travel Services
GMAC Residential, Kerri L. Beatty, Corporate Travel Manager
Grant Thornton LLP, Cheryl Geib, National Travel, Meeting Manager
HIS, Paula D. Upton, Sr. Director, Travel
Hitachi Data Systems, Robin Gizzi, Global Travel and Events Manager
HK Systems, Rhonda Miklos, Corporate Travel Manager
Humana Inc., Shelly Ford, Manager, Travel Meeting Support Services
Johnson Controls, Michael Hall, Global Travel Manager
Keane, Inc., Marianne M. Goodman, Director, Administrative Services
Kendle International, Patti Nicolaci, Asst. Director, Travel Expense Management
Lowe’s Companies, Inc., Sandra Welch, Corporate Travel Manager
Misys Healthcare Systems, Susan Carter, Travel Manager
Moog Inc., Kathy Hall-Zientek, Manager, Travel Services
MulvannyG2 Architecture, Priscilla Arthaud-Boughton, Corporate Services Manager
National City Corporation, Kathy Ryan, Corporate Travel Manager/Vice President
National Fire Protection Association, Anna Thompson Manager, Meeting Services
Netherlands Association for Travel Management, Ilja Dayles, Chairman
Oracle USA Inc., Ralph H Colunga, Sr. Director, Global Procurement Services, Travel, Meetings, Sourcing, Data and Card
Owens Corning, Julie A. DeLong, Business Travel Sourcing Specialist
PACCAR Inc., Jacqueline G. Nielsen, Travel Manager
PerkinElmer, Inc., Thomas F. McCabe, Director, Global Travel, Meeting Services
Perot Systems, Patty Snodgrass, Director, Global Travel
Philips General Purchasing, Peter Sijbers, Global Commodity Manager
PPG Industries, Inc., Joann Ladesic, Manager, Corporate Travel
Quad/Graphics Inc., Steven B. Gahr, Corporate Contract Manager
Rich Products Corporation, Jean Covelli, Travel Administrator
RMIC Corporation, Michael R. Brooks, VP/General Services
Robert W. Baird Co., Carole Barnum, First Vice President, Travel, Corporate Events Manager
SAE International, Darlene Waychoff, Event and Travel Operations Manager
Savers, Inc., Jennie Sorce, Travel Event Coordinator
Schreiber Foods, Tessa Bitters, Director, Corporate Services, CCTE
Siemens Canada, Richard Giesbrecht, VP, Strategic Purchasing Shared Services
Starbucks Coffee Company, Debra Vasseur, Travel Meetings Manager
Stephens Inc., Christine Ringgold, V.P., Corporate Travel Manager
Tennessee State University, Lisa M. Ray, Travel Account Clerk III
Thales Communications Inc., Samina Raghavan, Travel Co-ordinator
The Black & Decker Corporation, Mariclare Rafferty, Sr. Manager, Travel, Meeting Services
The MITRE Corporation, Stefanie Tretola, Travel Services Manager
The Pennsylvania State University, Marguerite S. Gustkey Manager, Travel Services
The Schwan Food Company, Kathy Schaefer, Commercial Travel Manager
The Travel Authority, Inc., Doug Payne, Senior Vice President
Thermo Electron Corporation, Marianne Buschmann, Global Travel Manager
T-Mobile, USA Bryan Colson, Manager, Travel and Expense Programs
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., Sally Ferguson, Travel Services Administrator
Trim Masters Inc., Trish Claunch, Corporate Services Manager
Tropical Shipping USA, LLC., Jolaien Boasi, Corporate Travel Manager
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., Robert T. McGurk, Vice President, Corporate Travel Services
Tween Brands, Inc., Ed Jones, Senior Director, Administrative Services
Tyson Foods, Inc., Rhonda L. Kirk, Manager, Travel Meetings
Union Bank of California, Anne M. Colfer, Vice President, Corporate Travel Manager
United Communications Group, Dana Haskell, Corporate Travel Manager
Valspar Corporation, Frank Perone, Corporate Travel Manager
VHA Inc., Phyllis Cowell, Corporate Travel Manager
W. R. Grace, Lorraine Rostanzo, Director, Global Travel Services
Washington Mutual, Margaret Tangen, VP, Corporate Travel
Willamette University, Kindra Jordan, Director of Travel Services