American Airlines' four-day environmental training course has earned certification from the National Environmental Training Association (NETA), the first such professional recognition of an airline. The recognition, which included NETA's peer review of American's course curriculum, underscores the airline's commitment to environmental excellence.

The four-day course is required for the almost 1,000 environmental coordinators at American Airlines and American Eagle facilities around the world, and it is reinforced by annual recurrent training and supplemental courses throughout the year.

''We're pleased to have American Airlines join the NETA family of organizations demonstrating outstanding leadership in environmental training, and to certify that American's Environmental Coordinator training course is recognized as 'NETA Approved' curriculum,'' said Charles Richardson, executive director of NETA.

American Airlines initiated the comprehensive training program several years ago as part of its efforts to increase the number of environmental coordinators at its airport locations.

''American Airlines is honored to have an environmental organization such as NETA recognize our training efforts,'' said American's vice president of Safety, Security and Environment, Tim Ahern. ''Over the past decade, American has developed its environmental training program to be one of the best in the airline industry. The NETA certification demonstrates to our employees, our customers, and the communities we serve that American is committed to environmental stewardship.''

Richardson added, ''NETA believes that competent training for today's workers -- coupled with competency assessment -- is a cost-effective tool for helping assure worker safety while also achieving regulatory compliance.''

Founded in 1977 with the support and encouragement of the United States Environment Protection Agency, NETA is an international non-profit educational and professional society dedicated to promoting competency and excellence in environmental and health and safety training.

American Airlines demonstrates its commitment to balanced environmental stewardship through a wide range of environmentally friendly initiatives. The airline also promotes corporate environmental awareness and accountability throughout the international airline industry. At the same time, American has dramatically improved environmental awareness and safety by significantly increasing the number of personnel with environmental responsibilities at the corporate and station level. For more information on American's environmental and safety initiatives, visit www.aaenvironment.com.

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