AMERICAN AIRLINES DONATES BOEING 757 TO AIRLINE AMBASSADORS INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN RELIEF EFFORT TO EL SALVADOR

For the third time in less than a year, American Airlines will donate a Boeing 757 aircraft to fly thousands of pounds of food, medical and lab equipment, school supplies, first aid supplies, wheelchairs, blankets, clothing and toys for needy children.

The donated Boeing 757 will depart Saturday night to El Salvador from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. A volunteer crew of AA pilots and flight attendants will staff the airplane, along with dozens of American employee volunteers who are joining the mission.

The flight has been coordinated by Airline Ambassadors International (AAI), a non-profit organization made up mainly of American Airlines employees. LDS Charities, Wheelchairs for the World Foundation, and Kiwanis International worked with Airline Ambassadors to obtain the necessary donations for the trip.

"This relief effort, along with the many we've successfully completed in the past and the ones we have planned, revolves around a simple thought, that ordinary people can and do make a difference," said Nancy Rivard, a San Francisco-based American Airlines flight attendant and founder of Airline Ambassadors.

"We’re proud to make an airplane available so that our employees can make a difference in communities around the world," said Bob Baker, vice chairman of American.

During 2000, American Airlines provided aircraft to Airline Ambassadors to carry out volunteer missions in Ecuador and Haiti.

On this trip, the First Lady of El Salvador will provide transportation for the volunteer team to the facilities of the Instituto de Protección de Menor. The group will visit seven orphanages, a school for children with Down's syndrome, and a home for children with cerebral palsy. The teams will distribute aid, toys, and hold parties for more than 1,000 children.

Airline Ambassadors International is made up largely of airline employee volunteers and volunteers from the medical profession, the business community, youth groups and retirees. The organization coordinates up to eight flights a month and has delivered aid to needy children in 22 countries.

Significant sponsors include Kiwanis Club International, Wheelchairs for the World Foundation, and LDS Charities.