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American is a legacy U.S. network carrier headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It traces its roots to an airmail carrier in 1926 (the same year Charles Lindbergh flew mail for Robertson Aircraft Corporation, one of its predecessors), is a founding member of the oneworld alliance, operates more than 6,000 daily flights to more than 350 destinations in more than 60 countries, serves more than 200 million customers annually, and has about 130,000 team members including approximately 15,176 active pilots. Robert Isom has been CEO since March 31, 2022.
For interview purposes, the simplest way to frame American is this: it is trying to be a premium global airline with the broadest U.S. connectivity, anchored by large domestic hubs and strengthened by international alliance depth. American itself uses language like "premium global airline connecting more of the U.S. to the world," which is a useful phrase to understand because it reflects how leadership describes the company.
American has nine hub cities — the most of any U.S. carrier — and the largest domestic market share of the Big Three at approximately 20%. It is a founding member of oneworld, which connects it to 1,100+ destinations in 170+ territories through partners like British Airways, JAL, Qantas, Qatar Airways, and Cathay Pacific. It also maintains joint ventures with British Airways/Iberia/Finnair (transatlantic) and JAL (transpacific), which means certain international routes are operated as revenue-sharing partnerships rather than simple codeshares.
Sources listed at the end of each profile. Data compiled from public filings, airline newsrooms, AirlinePilotCentral, Glassdoor, FAA records, and industry publications.