The Year of PHL for American Airlines
We started 2018 by sharing memorable moments with our partners at the airport and with our city leaders. As we sent fans to Minneapolis in style to cheer on our World Champion Eagles, we also engaged City Council in the fun with our rally towels that were waived in excitement while councilmembers sang “Fly Eagles Fly.” Additionally, we experienced a humbling moment at the start of the year by reaching a milestone with our PHL cargo team. By January, they had carried more than two million pounds of critical supplies to Puerto Rico for hurricane relief efforts – the most throughout our American network in the northeast corridor.
These early achievements and impactful benchmarks reinforce why 2018 is the year of PHL for American Airlines. We have so many exciting initiatives that will continue to reaffirm our status as both American’s transatlantic gateway and Philly’s Hometown Airline.
Starting this spring and summer, we will have 11 new routes—three international and eight domestic — that will connect people to the Philadelphia region and beyond. Our new international routes include: Budapest, Hungary; Prague, Czech Republic; and Mexico City, Mexico. Our new domestic routes include: San Antonio, TX; New York, NY; Des Moines, IA; Madison, WI; Omaha, NE; Fort Wayne, IN; Oklahoma City, OK; and Pensacola, FL. Additionally, we resumed our service to Zürich, Switzerland on March 25.
As we continue to add more nonstop destinations to strengthen our position as American’s transatlantic gateway, we will broaden our regional economic impact and help make the Greater Philadelphia region an even more vibrant place to visit, live and work.
Whether it is above or below the wing, one of our top priorities is to identify ways to improve work environments for our 8,000-plus hardworking PHL team members. This year, we are making culture a competitive advantage. We are refreshing workspaces and meeting rooms and providing the tools and training our work groups require. More importantly, we are supporting team members on their initiatives that strengthen our diversity inclusion and cultural awareness. In January, our newly formed Latin Diversity Network (LDN), one of American’s many Employee Resource Groups, flew to Puerto Rico to distribute over 200 toys which they collected from PHL team members. The PHL LDN is also providing Spanish lessons to our team members to help them learn the airport lingo and better assist travelers.
We aim to give our team members everything they need to succeed, as they are our most important assets. As such, we look forward to continuing to work with our public and private partners to make PHL and the Greater Philadelphia Region an attractive place for residents and visitors alike.
We welcomed Folasade (Sade) A. Olanipekun-Lewis in February to our PHL team as the new Regional Director for Government and Airport Affairs. Sade joins us from the Philadelphia Division of Aviation, where she served as Chief Administrative Officer. Before that, Sade worked as the Deputy Commerce Director for Finance and Administration for the City of Philadelphia, and as the Chief Financial Officer for City Council.
In her new role, Sade will help advance American Airlines’ regional legislative issues. She will also be responsible for real estate matters at the Hub and station levels that support operational activities.
We’re excited to have Sade with us, and her experience in aviation and the public sector will be paramount as we continue to forge the necessary relationships to position PHL as the premier airport in the northeast corridor.
Sincerely,
Olympia Colasante, Vice President – PHL
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