Qantas Welcomes American Airlines Flagship B777 to Sydney Ahead of Inaugural December SYD/LAX Flights

Qantas welcomes American Airlines' state-of-the-art, flagship Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to Sydney on Friday, November 13, 2015, where American will show customers its award-winning on-board products.

As part of the carriers' expanded partnership announced in June 2015 American will operate the B777-300ER on its new daily, nonstop flight from Sydney to Los Angeles starting on December 19, 2015.

"Our 777-300ER demonstrates the best American has to offer as we renew our fleet with a new plane every four days and make a US$2 billion investment in the overall travel experience," said Doug Parker, American's Chairman and CEO. "It's been more than 20 years since we've had service to Australia, and we've made incredible strides to make sure American offers a world-class product to important business and leisure customers."

Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce said he was excited to welcome Mr. Parker and the B777-300ER to Australia.

"We are really looking forward to hosting American Airline's flagship B777-300ER and celebrating the evolution of our relationship ahead of American's inaugural Sydney-Los Angeles service and our return to San Francisco in December," said Mr. Joyce.

"Our expanded relationship with American Airlines is great news for customers of both airlines travelling across the Pacific and North America.

"Together we provide a world class travel experience for anyone travelling to the U.S. This includes state-of-the-art aircraft to Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Dallas/Fort Worth, unrivalled frequencies as well as coordinated schedules which allow seamless travel within the United States."

Showcasing the flagship aircraft in Australia for the first time, American will host an exclusive day of activities for invited guests at Sydney Airport, jointly hosted with its business partner, Qantas Airways.

Invited aviation, corporate and sales agents will have the opportunity to tour the interior and experience the all-aisle access, fully lie-flat First and Business Class seats and view the walk-up bar in the premium cabins. Every seat, including Main Cabin and Main Cabin Extra, features personal, in-seat on-demand entertainment HD screens with up to 250 movies, 160 TV programs and more than 350 audio CDs, 20 games plus international Wi-Fi capability, universal AC power outlets and USB ports.

American and Qantas Airways are significantly expanding their joint business by adding two new services between the Australia and the U.S. New routes between Sydney (SYD) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) operated by American Airlines, begin on December 19, 2015. Qantas' new service between Sydney and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), starting December 18, 2015, will provide customers with more options when traveling between the two countries.

American and Qantas provide increased connectivity with routes beyond their key gateways. Customers traveling from Australia can access more than 150 destinations throughout North America on American's extensive network from Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. This includes transcontinental services from LAX and SFO to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) on the only true three-class domestic aircraft on those routes, American's Airbus A321T. From LAX, customers can connect to more than 50 destinations, including New York, Las Vegas, Chicago, Seattle and Vancouver. Qantas also operates its B747 from LAX to JFK.

Customers traveling from North America to Australia have access to nearly 60 additional destinations throughout Australia and New Zealand when connecting on Qantas' trans-Pacific routes from Qantas' Australian hubs.

In December 2014, American announced an investment of more than US$2 billion in the customer experience. These investments include more fully lie-flat seats; upgraded aircraft interiors; more international Wi-Fi; more in-flight entertainment options and charging power for customers in all cabins; and an improved airport experience with faster, more reliable kiosks and refreshed gate and ticketing areas. This is in addition to American's historic fleet renewal with an average of one new plane per week.

About American Airlines Group

American Airlines Group is the holding company for American Airlines. Together with regional partners operating as American Eagle, American offers an average of nearly 6,700 flights per day to nearly 350 destinations in more than 50 countries. American is a founding member of the oneworld alliance, whose members and members-elect serve nearly 1,000 destinations with 14,250 daily flights to 150 countries. This year American Airlines Group Inc. topped Fortune Magazine's list of best business turnarounds and its stock joined the S&P 500 index. Connect with American on Twitter @AmericanAir and at Facebook.com/AmericanAirlines.

About Qantas Airways

Qantas is the world's second-oldest airline. Founded in the Queensland outback in 1920, it is Australia's largest domestic and international airline and is recognised as one of the world's leading long-distance carriers, having pioneered services from Australia to North America and Europe. The Qantas Group today offers services across a network spanning more than 200 destinations in 53 countries, including Australia and those served by codeshare partner airlines. Renowned for its excellence in safety, customer service, operational efficiency and technical innovation, the flying kangaroo is a symbol of contemporary Australia. Customer benefits include a global network, up to four travel classes, a leading loyalty program in Qantas Frequent Flyer, award winning inflight meals and entertainment, airport lounges and strong relationships with partner airlines. Qantas was awarded Best Airline Australia-Pacific in this year's Skytrax World Airline Awards and was also ranked in the top ten best airlines globally.