Here are six observations from my American Airlines trip on Monday – some things I noticed that say a lot about the airline and overall air travel today for frequent flyers.
- American Airlines outsourced curbside check-in in the continental United States (except at Miami, where the service is provided by Envoy Air). They turned a cost center into a profit center – they share in the service charge per bag that the vendor charges. I just noticed that they’ve raised the price from $3 to $3.50 per bag in Austin.
- On my Austin – Philadelphia flight I had the exit row aisle on a legacy US Airways Airbus A319, which is great – plenty of legroom and a real tray table in the seat back in front of me rather than the armrest.
- Since I was in coach, and American has increased its food for sale options on longer flights, I had hoped to try the new ‘tapas box’. Unfortunately I’ve yet to be on a flight where that’s been loaded. So I decided to give the beef sandwich another try. My first experience was truly awful and I wanted to see if that was a one-off. Last time the sandwich sweated in the plastic and was soaking wet and the strawberries in the wilted salad were rotten. This time wasn’t as bad!
The $16 sandwich (complimentary to me as an Executive Platinum) is not good. The beef itself is o.k. The pretzel bun should be alright but it would be so much better warmed. The rest of the contents, including the cheese, are a bit gross. And the salad is just sad.
- Philadelphia is an absolute pit of an airport – but it’s got the new Admirals Club and Flagship Lounge in A West between gates A15 and A16. I was leaving from A14, so a stop at that Admirals Club was perfect. I’d purposely booked myself a long layover (spending time here for the second week in a row) to visit the Centurion lounge where I hadn’t been in some time and to get a deeper sense of some of the other newer lounges (Chase, American). Just after 5 p.m. there was an hour-long wait to get into Centurion. Even when there’s no wait it’s not a nice space.
I actually spent more time in the new American Airlines Admirals Club and it, too, barely had an open seat – but there was no wait to get in. It was so busy that the wifi in the lounge couldn’t handle the volume! If you wanted peace in the lounge you would have had to seek refuge in the kids room.
- I was upgraded on my connecting flight to Washington National. Thank goodness I didn’t take American up on their $75 discounted buy up offer or I’d have been furious. It’s just a 119 mile flight though as much time in the air as Austin – Dallas thanks to air traffic control. No inflight beverage service ‘due to the short duration of the flight’ but also no predeparture beverage even though we were on-time. Meanwhile, I was rained on by condensation from the plane’s air conditioning throughout the flight. I’d hoped it would stop once up in the air, but it did not.
- It’s a good thing I was traveling only with my laptop bag which goes under my seat because this was the overhead bin:
Even with travel demand anecdotally seeming to wane, upgrades are tougher than ever. Airlines merchandise them aggressively. Every time I see my itineraries I’m pitched buying an upgrade, and I get emails encouraging me to buy up as well. The problem, I think, is that the experience isn’t that good. If I can get an exit row aisle I don’t really mind coach, and the first class experience isn’t that much better. The food isn’t good! There’s not good food in economy, too!
Airport lounges are too crowded so they aren’t great, mostly, although Capital One > Chase > American Express but there aren’t enough Capital One lounges. American’s new design lounges are fantastic, and can get crowded too, but maybe their lack of food is a plus because with better food there would be lines?
Service in the U.S. is sad, and often cabin maintenance is, too. And that gets back to the premium experience that carriers are trying to merchandise. In order to generate a revenue premium you need to offer a product that’s valued at that higher price. Is it sad to say I miss Virgin America’s domestic first class?
I find there is way to many people in lounges during the weekday who are just Karen’s. They talk loud on cell they are sloppy with food and luggage and just inconsiderate.
Will not be the last time I need to ask a women to move her luggage off a seat
I find there is way to many people in lounges during the weekday who are just Karen’s. They talk loud on cell they are sloppy with food and luggage and just inconsiderate.
Will not be the last time I need to ask a women to move her luggage off a seat.
Why do people still fly AA?
Lounges are way over crowded and over rated. It used to be an escape from the concourse crowd, no more . MSP has a nice quiet spot above the fray, no free food, no free drinks, NO CROWD!.
Why anyone would choose AA to be loyal too shows the mental health dilemma in our country. Spirit and Frontier will treat you better!
We got rid of our premium credit card several years ago and the best outcome would be more people doing the same. Airlines may pick up on the fact that customers will not return until such time as there is even a minimal return on investment.
Time to for all of us face a new normal:
1. airline lounges are no longer designed with premium business travelers in mind. They are now a profit center and benefit of obtaining a high-fee branded credit card.
2. A plurality, if not majority, of lounge guests are leisure travelers and people traveling with children. They are not there for calm, productivity and to grab a quick bite.
3. Most Americans do no understand what luxury or premium truly area…they know what status is and that’s what they’re pursuing. Airline clubs are status…a way to impress yourself and others that you have attained a certain level of whatever. People who know luxury and premium know that you do not stand in line or have to wait for these things. They are exclusive and of limited ability to access.
The days of what lounges were are done. This is the new normal, unless the lounges and their credit card access policies pivot to thin the herd through increased pricing, more stringent credit requirements or massive expansion…which makes them less luxury, less premium.
Virgin America was great. I took it whenever it was an option. Alaska, while having the best F of any US domestic carrier was a step down. I prefer Virgin Atlantic to the UK as well.
Much of your observations are the result of AA’s inability to invest in their product for years because of their low profit margins which have been about 1/3 of what DL has gotten over the last decade.
AA’s strategy of focusing on low price made sense given that they couldn’t deliver on a premium product -and they knew it.
It will take tens of billions of dollars of investment for AA to change its trajectory and they have yet to generate annual profits that justify multi-billion dollar annual investments in their product.
@Parker — “Most Americans do no understand what luxury or premium truly area…” Bah, yeah, why can’t every flight be Emirates First on the a380 with a shower, and every hotel be an Aman. Sheesh!
I never flew Virgin America 1st class, but I miss their coach. It was our go-to between coasts for years. I remember the first time, we got on and I said “Wow, this is like flying inside an iPod!”
@1990 not sure how to interpret your comment so I’ll just try to clarify.
I’m not suggesting everyone should fly Emirates First…in fact, that would be the dilution of luxury to the point of it becoming pedestrian. When everyone has something it is not luxury…it is commonplace. When someone perceives their luxury has become common place they up their game. This is why PS is opening their true luxury experiences in markets where there is enough concentration of people seeking true luxury for the concept to work.
My point to this is lounges were once branded an a luxury or elevated experience. How they are just another place to sit with marginal food, partying vacationers and screaming children running around unsupervised by their parents…who are busy getting blowed. I know I am generalizing here, but we’ve all seen this and it is not definitely not luxury.
Crowded lounges other than a relatively few premium seating only have become a joke. Airline lounges might make sense to a FF of that airline as you “might” find someone there to assist you during irregular operations albeit you will likely need to do the research of alternatives. Long lines, 7/11 quality like food, lines for the bathroom, dirty bathrooms, loud and full of Ethel and Fred screaming in their phone to Lucy and Ricky back home that they’re getting drunk for free (on cheap booze) while their little monsters run amuck.
In some situations AA has or is trying to expand lounge space but the gaps are wide. Most notable are CLT, PHX, TPA, ATL, MCO, and AUS. There are times after I’ve had a bit of the 7/11 cuisine I just leave the lounge and find a quite unused gate.
@Parker — You’re absolutely right on that ‘evolution’ of ‘luxury/premium’ travel over the years. And, I was just cherry-picking some of the ‘better/best’ luxury travel experiences currently commercially available in the market. Yet, even those, are not in their original prime anymore. The original ‘Jennifer Aniston Emirates ad’ aired in 2015. That was probably its heyday. Funny how that ad’s flight attendant actors even looked like they were wearing American Airlines outfits. ‘Ma’am, there are no showers (or lounges) here… have a bag of peanuts…’ A nightmare!
@George N Romey — What happened to Wawa? And, don’t knock 7/11! (Some of the ones in Japan are better than The Capital Grille!)
I miss Virgin America First as well. I flew with my wife and our son and they treated him very well. Great product to go to Hawaii. I was in a couple AA lounges this weekend and it was very refreshing not having to wait in a big line to get in. Check in was quick and I was able to find a seat quickly and get some food which surprisingly wasn’t bad. Was not packed at all plenty of seats for a 9 am flight and a noon one. It was a weird reversal compared to the centurion lounge in Vegas where I am normally looking for an open seat vs deciding which seat I wanted. Much better than Amex or C1 lounge with the long wait times. A 30 minute layover stop is doable because of that which is great. I flew LAX to ORD and back on the new 78P in premium economy and that was a fantastic product. The interior looked great everything functioned as well as the Starlux J seat I just flew. I would not mind flying anywhere in that product. For those wonder why people are loyal to AA. Here are a few reasons. They are the most family friendly loyalty program. It’s easier to attain status compared to other carriers and their miles are worth more. Lastly I’m rooting for the underdog. I used to be EXP back when they flew shiny planes right when the transitioned to the new livery. I was treated well and had some great flights. Hoping that will continue. The AAngels noticed my black EXP tag from back in the day and told me to never get rid of it. They even showed me driver’s license picture of when I was EXP. Man I looked young. Very pleasant and down to earth check in staff compared to the usual Delta check in people I interact with when going to the skyclub or even Delta 1 lounge.
I wish Domestic Carriers would stop pretending. They are simply a mass herd bus in the sky. They charge for this or that, the flight crew is usually sub par and all the rest of what was mentioned above.
“This time wasn’t as bad!” When the bar is so low haha
“Airport lounges are too crowded so they aren’t great, mostly, although Capital One > Chase > American Express“ 🙂
@L737 — We need James Cameron to raise the bar… “music on!”
Would you have preferred the AA Philadelphia “bus plane” special versus the flight? Hard to evaluate any of the big 3 though on the performance of their mediocre regional fleets. Although I just had a great AA regional flight last weekend, even though the wifi was broken. (But always complain – got 5,000 miles each just for sending an email).
I think your lounge ranking is spot on. And if I was Chase, I would be concerned that CapOne will now have the nicer lounges for NYC folks in LGA TB (coming soon) and JFK T4. At a much lower price point for a KISS (keep it simple stupid) Venture X card. Combine with a Savor and in many ways it’s the new CSR/Freedom Unlimited.
AA products went downhill when they kept US Airways management who prioritized low cost everything rather than focusing customer experience/satisfaction/ loyalty. Not to mention the constant promotion of their Aviator card.
Ah, back to quality, wait lines, no seating, and above all, the ever present Karen’s.
My home lounge is the LA Valletta in Malta. All biz class flyers, on all airlines, have access. Can get busy, but not overcrowded. Never refused entry or a line.
My connections are usually Frankfurt or Munich. As UA 1k, gold, we have access to LH Senator lounges( multiple in both airports). Business class had their own lounges. No waits, little crowding, great food, showers, etc. Karen’s not allowed. If anyone even thought of putting their bag on adjacent seat, a withering stare fixes that. Children don’t run amok because don’t allow it.
Oh, and multiple FC lounges and a separate FC terminal.
Hey people, it can be done, and not break the bank. Civility can reign.
@AlanZ & @Tomri — Speaking of Karens, there was a commenter in the last week named Karen who took great offense to the use of ‘Karen,’ so I hope she sees this, and enjoys the ride. Y’all come back now, ya here!