Flight As 'Time Saver For Business And Leisure Travelers'

American Eagle, the regional affiliate of American Airlines, will increase its service to eastern New Mexico with four nonstop flights per week from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Roswell International Air Center (ROS). The new service begins Aug. 25, 2009, and is in addition to the three daily round-trip flights now offered between Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Roswell. The new service will be operated with 44-seat Embraer ERJ-140 regional jets.

"The communities of eastern New Mexico have been extremely supportive of our DFW service, so we are delighted to be able to offer convenient jet service to the West Coast," said American Eagle President and CEO Peter Bowler. "Customers can arrive in Los Angeles first thing in the morning and connect to popular Western destinations - such as Las Vegas, San Francisco and San Diego - or to cities throughout the American and American Eagle network."

"The citizens of southeast New Mexico are once again extremely appreciative of American Eagle," said Roswell Mayor Sam LaGrone. "This is a dream come true - jet service by American Airlines. Now visitors from around the world, the east and west, can easily make their way to southeast New Mexico and enjoy all the wonders we have to offer."

"Thank you American Eagle," added LaGrone, "and to all the regional and state partners for making this possible."

"Direct westbound service to Los Angeles will be a tremendous time saver for business and leisure travelers in and out of southeast New Mexico and will give us another edge in attracting businesses to the region," said Jon Hitchcock, president of the Roswell-Chaves County Economic Development Corporation. "It will also provide greater convenience to both the International Law Enforcement Academy and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center which have had such an important economic impact to the area. We are extremely proud of the partnership that we have developed with American Eagle and thank the communities of Roswell, Artesia, Carlsbad and Ruidoso, as well as Chaves and Eddy counties for making this new flight possible."