FORT WORTH, Texas, Nov. 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Airlines is donating $500,000 to Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 27, in recognition of the generosity of its customers.

“In the spirit of Giving Tuesday, and inspired by the generosity of our AAdvantage members’ donations, American is proud to donate half a million dollars to Stand Up To Cancer,” said Janelle Anderson, Vice President of Global Marketing for American. “There is so much we have to be grateful for this year, but this is a good reminder that thousands of American’s team members and customers have been impacted by cancer. And we hope to do our part in lightening their load. One hundred percent of these funds will support Stand Up To Cancer’s research programs in an effort to make all cancer patients long-term survivors.”

As part of the giving campaign, American asked people on the streets of Los Angeles entertaining trivia questions and filmed their responses under the comic guise that correct answers would trigger donations to SU2C ranging from $5,000 to $50,000.

American has been collaborating with SU2C since 2016, and just this year, the airline unveiled a custom-wrapped Airbus A321T aircraft as part of its 2018 campaign. The graphic was more than 50 feet long and featured SU2C researchers and scientific advisor Dr. Phillip Sharp, as well as four cancer-surviving American Airlines team members. Additionally, nearly 100 American team members — every one of whom has been personally affected by cancer — joined together to dance in American’s Los Angeles International Airport maintenance hangar for the filming of a special music video for the SU2C telecast.

“We are so grateful that American Airlines is standing up yet again for cancer patients by supporting Stand Up To Cancer’s groundbreaking research,” said Sue Schwartz, Co-founder of Stand Up To Cancer and a member of the SU2C Council of Founders and Advisors. “On Giving Tuesday, like every other day of the year, more than 4,750 Americans will be diagnosed with cancer, so it’s gratifying to know that American Airlines shares our sense of urgency to accelerate the pace of cancer research and get new treatments to patients quickly.” 

American is proud to work with SU2C and advance its mission to raise funds to increase the pace of cutting-edge translational research that can get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now. Every dollar raised through Miles to Stand Up helps bring innovative treatments to patients and fund groundbreaking research.

Visit aa.com/standup to learn more about American and Stand Up To Cancer’s unique collaboration.

About American Airlines Group
American Airlines and American Eagle offer an average of nearly 6,700 flights per day to nearly 350 destinations in more than 50 countries. American has hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. American is a founding member of the oneworld^® alliance, whose members serve more than 1,000 destinations with about 14,250 daily flights to over 150 countries. Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AAL. In 2015, its stock joined the S&P 500 index. Connect with American on Twitter @AmericanAir and at Facebook.com/AmericanAirlines.

About the Stand Up To Cancer Initiative
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) raises funds to accelerate the pace of research to get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now. SU2C was established in 2008 by media and entertainment leaders who utilize these communities’ resources to engage the public in supporting a new, collaborative model of cancer research and to increase awareness about cancer prevention as well as progress being made in the fight against the disease. As of October 2018, more than 1500 scientists representing more than 180 institutions have been involved in SU2C-funded research projects. Under the direction of our Scientific Advisory Committee, led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, SU2C operates rigorous, competitive review processes to identify the best research proposals to recommend for funding, oversee grants administration and ensure collaboration across research progress.

Current members of the SU2C Council of Founders and Advisors (CFA) include Katie Couric, Sherry Lansing, Lisa Paulsen, Rusty Robertson, Sue Schwartz, Pamela Oas Williams, Ellen Ziffren, and Kathleen Lobb. The late Laura Ziskin and the late Noreen Fraser are also co-founders. Sung Poblete, PhD, RN, has served as SU2C’s president and CEO.

Stand Up To Cancer and SU2C are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Entertainment Industry Foundation in the United States and several other countries throughout the world. SU2C is a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. For more information on Stand Up To Cancer, visit www.StandUpToCancer.org.

Corporate Communications
817-967-1577
mediarelations@aa.com

A video accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d1a74de5-fd80-4ece-a5b2-8928c856dd1b

Source: American Airlines Group, Inc.