October 6, 2015

First US-based passenger carrier approved by FAA for use of advanced RAP e2 unit

FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines Cargo makes another significant enhancement to its temperature-control program by adding the Envirotainer e1 and e2 containers to its lineup of healthcare shipping solutions. Effective Nov. 1, American will begin accepting both containers and is officially the first U.S. passenger carrier to receive carriage approval for the larger RAP e2 unit and offer the full suite of Envirotainer products to customers.

“American is extremely excited to have received our approvals for carriage of the Envirotainer e1 and e2 containers,” said Tom Grubb, manager of cold chain strategy at American. “Envirotainer was our original Active solutions partner at the cold chain launch of the ExpediteTC° program, and it’s fantastic to now have the full range of their products available for our customers’ temperature-controlled logistics needs. With these options, American continues enhancement of the ExpediteTC° service offerings and can provide the capabilities desired by our customers.”

The Envirotainer RKN e1 unit utilizes compressor cooling and electric heating for shipments requiring additional temperature control throughout transport. The larger RAP e2 is an actively temperature-controlled container with an insulated shell designed to provide the superior protection necessary for the global shipment of highly-sensitive healthcare products. The e2 container can handle any desired set temperature between zero and 25 degrees Celsius for the seamless transport of potentially life-saving medicines across the globe, regardless of ambient conditions.

Introducing these modernized containers into American’s expanding cold-chain network enables the airline to offer further enhancements to the temperature-control capabilities available to customers. Major benefits include superior insulation properties, extensive internal space and the ability to maintain 35-plus hours of battery life on a single charge in extreme conditions—and up to 100 hours in a typical shipment scenario.

"Following the FAA approval of our RKN e1 and RAP e2 containers, this news from our long-standing partner American Airlines Cargo contributes to a growing Envirotainer network, increasing availability and flexibility for our customers,” said Simon Angeldorff, CEO from Envirotainer. “Envirotainer has had a focused effort for a number of years to grow our network in the Americas, to ensure our best-in-class solutions are available where they are needed."

The American Airlines ExpediteTC° program is a provision of world class temperature-controlled shipping, aligning with the airline’s commitment to ensuring any time- and temperature-sensitive services meet customer expectations for both the manufacturer and logistics customers, but, most importantly, for the patient at the end of the supply chain. Unlike other shipment types, pharmaceutical and healthcare customers rely most heavily on the air cargo industry to provide a consistent, transparent and quality experience for these sensitive products shipped by air.

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.