American Airlines 2001 Annual Report Download - page 6

are determined to achieve. Underlying that goal is the need to
establish and sustain strong relationships. Indeed, we could
not have emerged from 2001 intact were it not for the sup-
port of the government, the communities we serve, our sup-
pliers, our airline partners, the financial community and, most
of all, the people of American Airlines and American Eagle.
At the same time, it is distressing to note that not all of
our relationships within the Company have lived up to our
standards. While we have made company-wide progress in the
area of diversity, we have seen pockets of resistance similar to
those that other companies have experienced. Even isolated
reports of harassment within our various workgroups are
cause for concern.
To eliminate this behavior and capitalize on the benefits
of a diverse workforce, I have directed managers throughout
the Company to clearly articulate our zero-tolerance policies
as they relate to discrimination and harassment. In fact, we
have rewritten and strengthened those policies to make it clear
that we will terminate people for unacceptable behavior. We
have also asked four members of our Board of Directors –
Earl Graves, Judith Rodin, Armando Codino and Roger
Staubach – to monitor our progress and help us maintain our
position of cultural leadership within the industry.
We are equally resolved to making travel
on American Airlines as safe and secure
as it can possibly be, while at the same
time doing all we can with tools such as
airport automation and premium
queues at security checkpoints to
help our customers get through
the airport more quickly. We
firmly believe that air travel can
be both safe and convenient,
and we are working actively with
the Air Transport Association and
the Transportation Security Administration to achieve that
goal. Nothing we do is more important than ensuring the
safety of air travel for our customers and our employees.
Finally, our discussion of 2001 would not be complete
without acknowledging the leadership and contributions of
Charles Pistor who joined the AMR and American Airlines
Boards of Directors in 1982 and retired in 2001.
As we begin 2002 there are some hopeful signs on the
horizon. In fact, as of this writing we have – in response to a
steady increase in passenger and cargo traffic – begun slowly
adding back some of the capacity we withdrew in the fall of
2001. In the months to come, we will take full advantage of
the addition of TWA to our network. That, along with our
much-improved dependability and the fully implemented
More Room product, ought to give us a leg up in the even-
tougher-than-usual competition for each airline customer.
With a strong balance sheet, a premium brand image, a
powerful network and steadily improving operational per-
formance, I believe AMR is ready to meet whatever challenges
await us in 2002. But more important than any of those fac-
tors are the men and women of our Company. As employees,
as human beings, our people were put through more in 2001
than any of us could possibly have imagined a year ago. And
yet the dignity, the strength and the grace they exhibited as we
started rebuilding the airline are something I’ll never forget.
As a colleague, I am humbled by it. I know I speak for all of
us on the senior management team when I say we will be
doing our best – in 2002 and beyond – to live up to the
example they have set for us.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Carty
Chairman, President and CEO
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