In 1926, Charles Lindbergh was chief pilot of Robertson Aircraft Corporation of Missouri, which was the second aviation company to hold a U.S. airmail contract. It was one of scores of companies that eventually consolidated to form the modern-day American Airlines.

In 1929, The Aviation Corporation was formed to acquire young aviation companies, including Robertson. In 1930, The Aviation Corporation's airline subsidiaries were incorporated into American Airways, Inc. In 1934, American Airways became American Airlines, Inc.

On June 25, 1936, American was the first airline to fly the Douglas DC-3 in commercial service. By the end of the decade, American was the nation's number one domestic air carrier in terms of revenue passenger miles. On Feb. 16, 1937, American carried its one-millionth passenger.

The company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on June 10, 1939. During World War II, half of American's fleet was turned over to the military airline, Air Transport Command, along with the crews who operated all over the world. The remaining fleet and personnel handled a vast increase in demand for air travel within the United States.

In 1991, American flew its billionth passenger, expanded its European routes, and took delivery of its first McDonnell Douglas MD-11 and Fokker 100 aircraft.

In 1997, all American Airlines flights became non-smoking. Also, American introduced "stickerless" upgrades and became the first airline to expand ticketless travel to all transatlantic flights.

Contact American Airlines:

Dial-AA-Flight Information to check on current flight, schedule and gate information, call this 24 hour toll-free automated phone system:

English 1-800-223-5436
Spanish 1-800-228-8356