ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE None. ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES Management’s Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures The term “disclosure controls and procedures” is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act). This term refers to the controls and procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified by the SEC’s rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to management, including the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. An evaluation of the effectiveness of AAG’s and American’s disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2018 was performed under the supervision and with the participation of AAG’s and American’s management, including AAG’s and American’s CEO and CFO. Based on that evaluation, AAG’s and American’s management, including AAG’s and American’s CEO and CFO, concluded that AAG’s and American’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2018 at the reasonable assurance level. Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting On December 9, 2013, AAG acquired US Airways Group and its subsidiaries. We are still in the process of integrating certain processes, technology and operations for the post-Merger combined company, and we will continue to evaluate the impact of any related changes to our internal control over financial reporting. In connection with the adoption on January 1, 2018 of the New Revenue Standard and the adoption in the fourth quarter of 2018, of the New Lease Standard as of January 1, 2018, we modified certain processes and implemented internal controls related to our loyalty program and leases, respectively. The operating effectiveness of these changes was evaluated as part of our December 31, 2018 annual assessment of internal control over financial reporting. Except as described above, for the three months ended December 31, 2018, there have been no changes in AAG’s or American’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, AAG’s and American’s internal control over financial reporting. Limitation on the Effectiveness of Controls We believe that a controls system, no matter how well designed and operated, cannot provide absolute assurance that the objectives of the controls system are met, and no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within a company have been detected. Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives, and, as noted above, the CEO and CFO of AAG and American believe that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level as of December 31, 2018. Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting Management of AAG and American is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act. AAG’s and American’s internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. AAG’s and American’s internal control over financial reporting includes policies and procedures that: • pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of AAG or American, respectively; • provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that receipts and expenditures of AAG or American are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of AAG or American, respectively; and • provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of AAG’s or American’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. 174