Monthly Archives

Monthly Archives for December 2021.

Why Elite Status Actually Matters To Me

luggage
Dec 12 2021

I made it to the airport around 45 minutes to departure. I was already checked in, have CLEAR and PreCheck, and didn’t need to check bags. So that’s plenty of time. I even was able to pick up a coffee, bottle of water, and breakfast taco prior to start of boarding.

It wasn’t until I got on the aircraft that I realized I didn’t have my rollaboard with me. It was when I looked up at the overhead bin and wondered why I didn’t have anything to put in it that I knew I’d done something wrong.

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Hero Pilots Save Horror Flight That May Have Been De-Iced With Counterfeit Fluid

Dec 12 2021

oneworld airline S7 Siberian Airlines flight 5220 from Magadan to Novosibirsk declared a mayday while climbing out on departure ” due to unreliable airspeed and related problems with autopilot and autothrust.”

The Airbus A321 had 192 passengers and 7 crew on board and tried to return to Magadan twice but severe icing prevented them from doing so. They flew four and a half hours to divert to Irkutsk.

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Robert Isom Explains: As CEO Of American, It’ll Be Meet The New Boss, Same As The Old Boss

inside plane
Dec 12 2021

American has underperformed the industry financially, alienating shareholders. They’ve alienated customers and employees. They’ve focused primarily on operational reliability but haven’t delivered that, as they’ve offered a ‘me too’ (but a little bit less) inflight product. They lack a strategy for earning a revenue premium over competitors, necessary because of their lagging financials and crushing debt. So far it doesn’t sound like Isom sees that the current path is unsustainable over the long term.

In comments to employees this past week he made clear that his appointment at CEO isn’t about change that he’s been a part of every major strategic decision at the airline for years, and he believes they’re on the right path.

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A New Agenda For A New American Airlines CEO

american airlines logo
Dec 11 2021

Doug Parker will step down as CEO of American Airlines March 31, 2022 and current airline President Robert Isom will become CEO. He reaction of many was ‘meet the new boss, same as the old boss.’ Isom as served along side Parker for years. Before becoming President of American Airlines he served as Chief Operating Officer at American and at US Airways. He has previous experience at Northwest Airlines, which had a deservedly bad reputation for its product, service, and employee morale.

But as Scott Kirby at United shows – himself formerly President of American and US Airways – a fresh start and ascending to the CEO role affords an opportunity to break from the past. And a CEO transition is the perfect time to revisit >everything. A CEO transition coming out of a pandemic doubly so.

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