Francis flying American to Phila. and Rome
Although Alitalia whisked Pope Francis from Rome to Cuba and then to Washington on Tuesday, American Airlines will fly him from Joint Base Andrews, Md., to New York, and then to Philadelphia.
Although Alitalia whisked Pope Francis from Rome to Cuba and then to Washington on Tuesday, American Airlines will fly him from Joint Base Andrews, Md., to New York, and then to Philadelphia.
American, which has a hub in Philadelphia, will also fly the pope back to Rome at the end of his Philadelphia visit.
The U.S. Conference of Bishops chartered the Boeing 777 to transport Francis while he is traveling in the United States.
The Federal Aviation Administration has approved "Shepherd One" as the plane's call sign, and air traffic controllers will use that name when speaking to American pilots operating the plane.
The papal seal will be on the aircraft, but there were no major modifications to the plane, which seats 16 in first class, 37 in business class, and 194 in the economy cabin, American spokesman Ross Feinstein said.
American, which acquired Trans World Airlines in 2001, has a history of carrying the pope during U.S. visits. TWA flew the pope five times between 1965 and 1999. Also, American flew Pope John Paul II in 1993 from Denver to Rome.
It's traditional for the pope to fly Alitalia to where he's going, and to return on the flag carrier of the country he visited, said John L. Allen Jr., associate editor of Crux, a Boston Globe website specializing in coverage of the Vatican and the Catholic Church.
"When Francis traveled to Sri Lanka and the Philippines in January," Allen said, "he took Alitalia to get there and Philippine Airlines to get back to Rome."
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