In response to the
massive displacement of Gulf Coast residents caused by Hurricane Katrina,
American Airlines and United Way of America have teamed up to create the
Hurricane Katrina “Miles to Move Forward” Program, which will provide
assistance with air transportation for individuals displaced by the disaster.
American is reaching out to its more than 50 million AAdvantage(R) members by
asking them to donate a minimum of 1,000 miles from now until Dec. 31, 2005.
To get things started, American will commit 1 million AAdvantage miles to the
effort.“Prompted by the overwhelming desire of our customers and the growing need
of the evacuees, we know that partnering with United Way in this program is a
major step to deliver relief travel,” said Kurt Stache, President—
AAdvantage Marketing Programs.  “These miles will serve a variety of travel
needs for evacuees such as relocation, reuniting families and of course,
return travel home when possible.  American’s success in similar programs has
had tremendous customer support—and we anticipate similar response from
this effort.”
  The “Miles to Move Forward” program will be administered by United Way of
America, in partnership with local United Ways around the country.  United
Ways will coordinate with local governments, service providers, faith-based
organizations, schools and other entities that are currently involved in
assisting displaced individuals and families to determine specific needs and
manage the process of ultimately getting people to their destinations.
  “This program will help individuals and families put their lives back
together by providing a free and dependable means to either return to the
community they left or travel to a new community where they can start anew,”
said Brian Gallagher, President and CEO of United Way of America.  “United
Way’s mission is to invest in communities and people for the long-term and
through the kind generosity of AAdvantage members, we can help thousands of
people to begin to heal.”
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