May 6, 2014

American Airlines Cargo today further expands its global cold chain capabilities with the opening of a controlled room temperature (CRT) facility at its London Heathrow Airport (LHR) cargo warehouse.

The new 300-square-foot facility is designed to maintain a temperature range of 15 to 25 degrees Celsius and will allow the airline to further enhance the critical temperature control required for passive healthcare shipments such as pharmaceuticals and biologicals.

"We offer an exceptional experience for customers who are shipping time- and temperature-sensitive products, and this is just another way we're investing in our ExpediteTC^SM cold chain program," said Tristan Koch, managing director of cargo sales in Europe. "This new facility will help us to ensure shipments transiting, originating or connecting in London are placed in the best possible environment while they are in our care, giving our customers the peace of mind they deserve."

The London Heathrow CRT facility is the carrier's first in Europe and features the latest technology including high-tech monitoring to log temperature data as well as passive alarming and notification. 

"This new room and its constant temperature will assist shippers and forwarders with two-day packages by helping to extend the life of gel packs used within the packaging," Koch said. "The facility will be of special interest to our Irish pharmaceutical customers, who have goods that transit London Heathrow on the way to other international destinations."

Today, American offers CRT rooms in key cities across its network, including Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Miami (MIA), San Juan (SJU) and New York Kennedy (JFK). The new facility at London Heathrow is the latest in a series of investments to American's infrastructure. The carrier is currently working to build a new 30,000-square-foot dedicated cold chain facility in Philadelphia (PHL), one of the most strategic markets in the United States.

American Airlines Cargo continues to see strong growth in its ExpediteTC cold chain program. In the first quarter of 2014, the carrier reported a 15 percent increase in passive business over the previous year.

American offers up to 14 daily flights between London and the United States with onward connections around the world.

 

About American Airlines Cargo

American Airlines Group is the holding company for American Airlines. American provides one of the largest cargo networks in the world with cargo terminals and interline connections across the globe.

Every day, American transports cargo between major cities in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia. Together with wholly owned and third-party regional carriers operating as American Eagle, the airlines operate an average of approximately 6,700 flights per day to nearly 350 destinations in over 50 countries from its hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington DC.

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.