Like all major companies, American Airlines is involved with a broad range of important issues for which it is helpful to have the support of leading thinkers from the academic, consumer and business communities.

When we identify experts in these areas who share our views on specific issues, and determine that they are willing to support us, we make available to them the tools and resources they need to effectively present their cases - just as our opponents do. This happens in Corporate America across a broad range of industries and issues. It is perfectly ethical and contributes positively to the public dialogue - a practice in the nation’s capital that is older than the Washington Monument.

We deeply resent the tabloidish way in which USA Today so unfairly portrays American’s relationships with the distinguished third-party experts who are supporting our efforts to level the playing field in the transatlantic by winning approval for our alliance with British Airways. Each and every one of these experts is supporting us because they share our position - with views they reached entirely on their own - and because they understand the value of the alliance and the need to enhance airline competition on the North Atlantic.

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