Airline Strengthens Its Commitment to Small Businesses, Including Incentive
Travel Program for Small Business Owners
FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Airlines
today furthered its commitment to small businesses throughout the country by
announcing it will support the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA)
Business Matchmaking program. The national initiative provides face-to-face
meetings between small business owners and key decision-makers from local,
state and federal government agencies, as well as large corporations, for
training and actual contract opportunities.
As part of its commitment, American Airlines will participate in all
regional events throughout 2004, and last week had a strong presence at the
Western Regional Business Matchmaking event held in Anaheim, Calif. (details
at http://www.businessmatchmaking.com ). American Airlines will contribute to the
program in three ways: meet face to face with small business representatives
at Business Matchmaking events, provide speakers and panelists at events, and
offer information and incentivized free enrollment in its Business ExtrAA(R)
program, its customized travel program for small businesses.
"Small businesses are the backbone of our nation's economy and are vitally
important to American Airlines, both as suppliers and customers," said Dan
Garton, executive vice president-Marketing for American Airlines. "Business
Matchmaking, the largest such contracting initiative ever undertaken, provides
a great opportunity for our procurement representatives to meet personally to
determine how we can do more business together."
"We are so very pleased to welcome American Airlines to Business
Matchmaking, and view this relationship as an excellent opportunity to provide
even greater value to participating companies," said SBA Administrator Hector
Barreto in his keynote address last week in welcoming 1,000 small companies to
Anaheim, Calif., for the largest-ever Business Matchmaking event.
American Airlines: A Diverse Company With Diverse Needs
Business Matchmaking participants will have an opportunity to meet with
American Airlines procurement representatives to discuss the variety of
products and services the company needs to run the world's largest airline.
"It may be surprising, but American Airlines purchases everything from
gourmet chocolate to jet fuel to oven racks," said Nancy Walker, manager-
Supplier Diversity and Business Strategies for American Airlines and a senior
presenter at the Business Matchmaking events. "This gives us a chance to meet
face to face with small business owners to discover products and services that
can contribute to our customers' travel experience and our overall
operations."
Business Matchmaking also includes educational workshops and panels
covering a variety of topics such as financing options for small businesses,
marketing and sales techniques, and working effectively with government
agencies and large corporations. As a supporter of Business Matchmaking,
American Airlines will provide senior procurement representatives to serve as
panelists to offer insights on how to successfully work with large
corporations such as American Airlines.
To learn more about American Airlines' supplier program, small business
owners can visit http://www.aa.com/supplierdiversity .
The Business ExtrAA Program
Recognizing the unique challenges that small businesses face, American
Airlines created the Business ExtrAA program to provide flexible solutions for
a company's travel needs. The Business ExtrAA program rewards companies for
choosing American Airlines using a free travel incentive.
Companies receive Business ExtrAA points for money spent on tickets for
travel on American Airlines, American Eagle(R) and AmericanConnection(R).
Business ExtrAA points may be redeemed for more than 40 award options,
including international travel, First- and Business-Class travel, upgrades,
Admirals Club(R) awards and more. Individual employees continue to earn
AAdvantage Miles while their companies earn Business ExtrAA points. Small
business owners can register online at http://www.BusinessExtrAA.com or in person at
Business Matchmaking events.
About American Airlines
American Airlines is the world's largest carrier. American, American
Eagle and the AmericanConnection regional carriers serve more than 250 cities
in over 40 countries with almost 4,200 daily flights. The combined network
fleet numbers more than 1,000 aircraft. American's award-winning Web site,
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(TM) Alliance.
GET A GREAT LOW FARE. AND A LOT MORE AIRLINE. AMERICAN AIRLINES
Current AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) news releases can be accessed via the Internet.
The address is http://www.amrcorp.com .
SOURCE American Airlines
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Related links:
http://www.amrcorp.com
http://www.businessmatchmaking.com
http://www.aa.com/supplierdiversity
http://www.BusinessExtrAA.com
CONTACT:
Tim Kincaid, Corporate Communications of
American Airlines, +1-817-967-1577, or corp.comm@aa.com
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