FORT WORTH , Texas, Aug. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Airlines, American Eagle, and Texas Aero Engine Services Limited (TAESL), an affiliated engine repair facility, received today the coveted Federal Aviation Administration's Diamond Award for excellence in training their Aviation Maintenance Technicians (AMT).
Jim Ballough, Director of Flight Standards from FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C.; Tom Stuckey, Manager of the Flight Standards Division for the Southwest Region; and Greg Lander, Manager of the FAA's Certificate Management Office for American, presented the awards. Accepting on behalf of their respective organizations were Bob Reding, Senior Vice President - Technical Services for American and David Campbell, Senior Vice President - Technical Services for American Eagle. Carmine Romano, Vice President - Base Maintenance for American, accepted for TAESL, located on Fort Worth's Alliance Maintenance Base.
Dennis Burchette, International Vice President and American Airlines system coordinator of the Transport Workers Union, which represents AMTs at all three companies, and Don Videtich, International Representative of the TWU, were also present for the ceremonies.
American had four AMTs qualify for the individual Diamond Award, TAESL had two, and American Eagle had one. For American, Aslam Halim of Chicago, Craig Loomiller of Tulsa, Steven Moss of Los Angeles, and Glenn Olsen of Miami received individual awards. Dan Jueckstock and Leo Dominguez of TAESL and Eagle AMT Chinyere Totty of Springfield, Mo., also were honored.
American Airlines Line Maintenance stations in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., and Raleigh-Durham were cited for having 100 percent of eligible AMTs achieve one of the five levels of awards -- Bronze, Silver, Gold, Ruby and Diamond. An AMT must complete 100 hours of training plus college level courses to qualify for the highest level, Diamond.
The three companies qualified for the FAA Diamond Certificate of Excellence for training their AMTs completed in 2006. American Airlines and TAESL, a joint American Airlines/Rolls-Royce engine repair facility, have received the award for three consecutive years, and American Eagle was recognized for the second consecutive time.
For 2006, 50 percent of the companies' maintenance technicians must have received an award in order for the employers to receive the Diamond Certificate of Excellence. At American and TAESL combined, about 7,300 AMTs -- or 69 percent -- qualified for some level of AMT award. This is up from 49 percent in 2005. American and TAESL AMTs amassed 413,000 hours of training last year.
American Eagle qualified 770 AMTs -- or 80 percent -- for the honor. AMTs at the regional affiliate totaled 44,711 hours of training.
American Airlines and TAESL employ about 10,500 AMTs and American Eagle has 950 AMTs.
About American Airlines
American Airlines is the world's largest airline. American, American Eagle and the American Connection(R) airlines serve 250 cities in over 40 countries with more than 4,000 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 one world(R) 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 nearly 700 destinations in over 140 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. American Airlines, American Eagle, the American Connection(R) airlines, AA.com and AAdvantage are registered trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: AMR)
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