American Airlines vs Toyota: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: American Airlines and Toyota side by side

1. 1926American Airlines

   Robertson Aircraft Corporation Airmail Launch

   Robertson Aircraft Corporation, a predecessor of American Airlines, flies its first airmail run on April 15, 1926, with Charles Lindbergh among its pilots on the Chicago to St. Louis route, the date American treats as its founding.

2. 1934American Airlines

   American Airlines Name Adopted and C.R. Smith Takes Command

   After the Air Mail Scandal and President Roosevelt's temporary cancellation of mail contracts, the reorganized carrier adopts the name American Airlines and C.R. Smith becomes president, beginning a tenure that ran to 1968.

3. 1936American Airlines

   Douglas DC-3 Launch Customer

   American Airlines puts the Douglas DC-3 into service after Smith pressed Donald Douglas to build a larger sleeper transport, producing the first airliner that could carry passengers profitably without mail subsidies.

4. 1937Toyota

   Toyota Motor Corporation incorporated

   Toyota Motor Corporation was incorporated after Kiichiro Toyoda expanded the Toyoda family business from automatic looms into automobile manufacturing.

5. 1955Toyota

   Toyopet Crown launched

   The Toyopet Crown gave Toyota a postwar passenger-car platform and later became its first passenger car exported to the United States.

6. 1959American Airlines

   First Transcontinental Jet Service

   American Airlines flies the first scheduled transcontinental jet passenger service in the United States with the Boeing 707 on January 25, 1959, cutting coast-to-coast journey times sharply.

7. 1964American Airlines

   Sabre Reservation Network Completed

   American Airlines and IBM complete the nationwide Sabre network, the Semi-Automated Business Research Environment, four years after the first installation on IBM 7090 computers.

8. 1966Toyota

   Corolla launched

   Toyota launched the Corolla, a compact car that became central to its mass-market export strategy.

9. 1981American Airlines

   AAdvantage Frequent-Flyer Program Launched

   American Airlines launches AAdvantage on May 1, 1981, the first major airline frequent-flyer program, under then-president Robert Crandall. The program produced $7.5 billion of revenue in 2025.

10. 1987American Airlines

    AirCal Acquisition Completed

    American Airlines completes the purchase of AirCal's parent, ACI Holdings, for $225 million and merges the California carrier's operations into its own on July 1, 1987, giving American a West Coast route network it had lacked.

11. 1989Toyota

    Lexus launches

    Toyota launched Lexus with the LS 400, moving into premium vehicles with a quality-led strategy.

12. 1990American Airlines

    Eastern Air Lines' Latin American Routes Acquired

    American agrees in December 1989 to buy Eastern Air Lines' Central and South American routes and related assets for $471 million, a deal completed in 1990 that made Miami its gateway to Latin America.

13. 1993American Airlines

    Flight Attendants Strike for Five Days

    The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, representing about 21,000 crew members, strikes from November 18, 1993, grounding much of the airline before both sides agree on November 22 to binding arbitration after President Bill Clinton intervened ahead…

14. 1997Toyota

    Prius launches in Japan

    Toyota launched the Prius, turning hybrid technology into a mass-produced passenger vehicle.

15. 1999American Airlines

    Pilots Sickout Halts Flights and Draws Court Order

    American's pilots stage a sickout in February 1999 in protest at the integration of Reno Air, which American had bought for $124 million. U.S.

16. 2001American Airlines

    September 11 Attacks and the Loss of Two American Aircraft

    American Airlines Flight 11 and Flight 77 are among the four aircraft hijacked and crashed on September 11, 2001, killing everyone aboard and many on the ground, and triggering a collapse in air travel demand that pushed American close to bankruptcy.

17. 2011American Airlines

    AMR Corporation Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

    AMR Corporation, American Airlines' parent, files for Chapter 11 protection on November 29, 2011, the last large U.S. network carrier to do so after the September 11 attacks, citing labor costs, fuel prices and a weakened balance sheet.

18. 2013American Airlines

    Merger with US Airways Creates the World's Largest Airline

    American Airlines Group is formed in December 2013 by the merger of AMR Corporation and US Airways Group, in a transaction valued at about $11 billion, combining hubs at Dallas Fort Worth, Miami, Charlotte, Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix…

19. 2016Toyota

    Acquired Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd.

    Toyota Motor acquired Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd..

20. 2020American Airlines

    COVID-19 Collapses Demand and Government Aid Is Secured

    The COVID-19 pandemic cuts air travel demand sharply, and American accepts Payroll Support Program grants and loans under the CARES Act while raising billions in debt markets and retiring older aircraft types including the Boeing 757 and 767 and the Airbus A33…

21. 2021Toyota

    Acquired Lyft Level 5

    Toyota Motor acquired Lyft Level 5 for $550 million.

22. 2021Toyota

    Acquired CARMERA

    Toyota Motor acquired CARMERA.

23. 2022American Airlines

    Robert Isom Becomes Chief Executive

    Robert Isom succeeds Doug Parker as chief executive of American Airlines Group on March 31, 2022, having been president since 2016, and sets debt reduction, operational reliability and loyalty monetization as priorities.

24. 2025American Airlines

    American Eagle Flight 5342 Midair Collision Near Reagan National

    On January 29, 2025, a PSA Airlines CRJ700 operating American Eagle flight 5342 from Wichita collided with a U.S. Army UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

25. 2025American Airlines

    Flagship Suite and A321XLR Enter Service

    American introduces the Flagship Suite seat in June 2025 on Boeing 787-9s and Airbus A321XLRs, takes delivery of 40 mainline aircraft during the year including five A321XLRs, and announces retrofits for its Boeing 777 and older Airbus narrow-body fleets.

26. 2026American Airlines

    Centennial Year and Exclusive Citi Co-Brand

    American marks its centennial in 2026, the year Citibank becomes the exclusive issuer of the AAdvantage co-branded credit card portfolio in the United States under a 10-year agreement announced in December 2024.

27. 2026Toyota

    Kenta Kon becomes president and CEO

    Kenta Kon became president and CEO on April 1, 2026, while Koji Sato moved to vice chairman and chief industry officer.

28. 2026Toyota

    FY2026 sales revenues reach ~$340B (JPY 50.685T)

    Toyota reported FY2026 sales revenues of ~$340 billion (JPY 50,684.952 billion) and net income attributable to Toyota Motor Corporation of ~$25.8 billion (JPY 3,848.098 billion).

Acquisitions

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