Summary

  • American Airlines releases the 2023 Sustainability Report, focusing on decarbonizing aviation and addressing climate change effects.
  • Collaboration with Breakthrough Energy and Google Research on contrail avoidance research to reduce climate impact.
  • CEO Robert Isom acknowledges challenges, but American remains highly committed to sustainability goals and ongoing stakeholder engagement.

Dallas-based American Airlines has released its 2023 Sustainability Report, and it is continuing to advance the airline’s strategy and concern regarding the effects of climate change. The strategy continues to accelerate additional solutions to decarbonize the aviation industry and share progress with its internal employees and stakeholders. These include safety, human capital, and the overall customer experience.

American collaborated with Breakthrough Energy and Google Research last year to work on groundbreaking contrail avoidance research, which will provide insight into how the industry could turn negatives into positives on the impact of climate change. This detailed report from American includes a thorough discussion of how the carrier is extending its commitment to becoming more sustainable in operations, sources, and procurement practices. You can read the airline’s full sustainability report here.

An American Airlines plane takes off at DFW

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

Thanking the entire crew at the Oneworld carrier, the airline Chief Executive Officer, Robert Isom, noted:

“Thanks to the hard work of our more than 140,000 team members, American continues to deliver for our customers while making strides toward our sustainability goals. There is far more work to be done and many areas where we will continue to rely on policymakers and partnerships to make progress. But I’m proud of our record — from advancing the development of lower-carbon technologies, to our work to better develop and recruit a diverse and talented group of leaders with unmatched expertise throughout the company.”

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Isom also acknowledged the challenges for airlines to decarbonize, but the airline continues to innovate and find ways to reduce its emissions:

“Aviation is widely recognized as one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonize. Getting there is going to require action and investment across the public and private sectors, and, quite frankly, it’s not happening at the pace or scale we need.”

Working with stakeholders

While American reiterated its long-term sustainability goals, the airline further committed to ongoing engagement with all sectors of the airline and working with stakeholders on four priority issues in their report, which included;

  • Safety
  • Support for team members
  • Customer satisfaction and operational performance
  • Climate change and fuel-efficiency

With these ambitions, America has recognized the airline’s challenges, given its size and interdependencies within the organization.

American Airlines Shutterstock_2182251889

Photo: Ceri Breeze | Shutterstock

American Airlines Chief Sustainability Officer Jill Blickstein emphasized the airline’s sustainability aspirations:

“American’s goal to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is the right one, but it won’t be easy. Our report describes the concrete steps we have taken and sets the stage for the hard work in the years ahead. American is committed to working with our partners inside and beyond the aviation industry to get us and our industry on a path to meet these global challenges.”

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