merican Airlines, Inc. (AA) is a major United States airline. It operates an extensive international and U.S. domestic network, with scheduled flights throughout North America, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, and Asia. Its route network centers on five hubs at Dallas/Fort Worth, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. Its primary maintenance base is located at Tulsa International Airport (TUL). The company is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. American Airlines is a member airline of the Oneworld airline alliance, and coordinates fares, services, and scheduling with British Airways, Finnair, and Iberia in the transatlantic market and with Japan Airlines and Qantas in the transpacific market. Envoy Air, SkyWest, Inc., Republic Airways Holdings, SkyWest Airlines, and ExpressJet Airlines operate regional flights for American Airlines under the American Eagle brand. The former parent company of American Airlines, AMR Corporation, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2011, and in February 2013 announced plans to merge with US Airways Group, creating the largest airline in the world. AMR and US Airways Group completed the merger on December 9, 2013, with the new holding company American Airlines Group, Inc. being listed on NASDAQ that day, although the actual integration of the airlines under a single air operator's certificate will not be completed until a much later date. The combined airline will carry the American Airlines name and branding, and will maintain the existing US Airways hubs in Charlotte, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington D.C. for a period of at least five years under the terms of a settlement with the US Department of Justice and several state attorneys-general. The Airbus A330 is a medium wide-body twin-engine jet airliner made by Airbus, a division of Airbus Group. Versions of the A330 have a range of 7,400 to 13,430 kilometres (4,000 to 7,250 nmi) and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout or carry 70 tonnes (150,000 lb) of cargo. The A330's origin dates to the mid-1970s as one of several conceived derivatives of Airbus's first airliner, the A300. The A330 was developed in parallel with the four-engine A340, which shared many common airframe components but differed in number of engines. Both airliners incorporated fly-by-wire flight control technology, first introduced on an Airbus aircraft with the A320, as well as the A320's six-display glass cockpit. In June 1987, after receiving orders from various customers, Airbus launched the A330 and A340. The A330 was Airbus's first airliner that offered a choice of three engines: General Electric CF6, Pratt & Whitney PW4000, and Rolls-Royce Trent 700. The A330-300, the first variant, took its maiden flight in November 1992 and entered passenger service with Air Inter in January 1994. Responding to dwindling sales, Airbus followed up with the slightly shorter A330-200 variant in 1998. Subsequently developed A330 variants include a dedicated freighter, the A330-200F, and a military tanker, the A330 MRTT. The A330 MRTT formed the basis of the proposed KC-45, entered into the US Air Force's KC-X competition in conjunction with Northrop Grumman, where after an initial win, on appeal lost to Boeing's tanker. Since its launch, the A330 has allowed Airbus to expand market share in wide-body airliners. Competing twinjets include the Boeing 767 and 777, along with the 787, which entered service in late 2011. The long-range Airbus A350 XWB was to succeed both the A330 and A340. The current A330 (referred to as the A330ceo (current engine option) since 2014) is to be replaced by the A330neo, which includes new engines and other improvements. As of January 2015, A330 orders stand at 1,352, of which 1,159 have been delivered. The largest operator is Air China with 49 A330s in its fleet.

• published: 22 Nov 2013
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