American Airlines has been voted the “Airline of Choice for Travelers with a Disability” by OAG’s worldwide customer base of business travelers.  The award was presented to American Airlines by Alan Whicker, CBE, at the 2006 OAG Awards which took place last night in London.
This is a new award for 2006 and was introduced in response to OAG’s customers asking for airlines to be recognized for making travel as easy as possible for disabled people. OAG is a global travel and transport information company.
  “It is a real honor for us to receive this OAG Award,” said Craig Kreeger, Senior Vice President International, American Airlines.  “We take great pride in offering all of our customers an enjoyable flying experience.  Winning this award is a credit to American Airlines employees.”
Every year over a million of American Airlines’ and American Eagles’ 100 million customers are travelers with disabilities.  American, a founding member of the global oneworld alliance, consults with disabilities groups for advice on customer service and accessibility issues and maintains a team of specialists whose mission is to make flying as safe, convenient and dignified as possible for its customers with disabilities.
In an OAG news release, Eddie Bell, Chairman of OAG commented, “Too often when traveling, those with a disability can find things more difficult than able-bodied passengers, which should not be the case. From the comments that came in via the survey it is clear how much people value the extra care and consideration that is shown by certain airlines.  American Airlines is highly regarded for making disabled travelers feel comfortable and respected.”
The OAG Airline of the Year Awards are based on votes polled from OAG’s worldwide customer base of business travellers, and their votes are based on personal experience. 
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