American’s ‘Premium’ Push Looks Like This: Broken Seats, Duct Tape, And Not Yet Any Coherent Plan [Roundup]

by Gary Leff

News and notes from around the interweb:

  • The reality of the American Airlines pivot to “premium” in two photos?

    Of course, United has plenty of dreck seats, too! The biggest challenge American faces in pushing premium is to imbue the ethos consistently across its operation. So far it’s been piecemeal and scattershot, and more importantly there’s been no consistent narrative offered so it’s just a laundry list of disconnected changes. There’s no messaging to employees (that tells them the service they’re supposed to aim to provide) or to customers (to help reset their expectations).

    That is what the airline needs from the brand advertising discussed in last week’s episode of The Air Show podcast.

  • Why are these bottles never clearer about which is soap and which is lotion?

    Admirals Club new soap
    byu/Key-Map1883 inamericanairlines

  • Parents, you really do need to think about how your children will display on upgrade and standby lists when naming them.

    We have a few unfortunate names on tonight’s standby list
    byu/ch1ck3npotpi3 indelta

  • Stoned Ground Worker Smashes Into British Airways Jumbo Jet, Then Walks Away Without Reporting $228,000 Damage Why do ‘airline worker on drugs’ stories always seem like they involve British Airways?

  • 1,320 year old hotel, still run by the same family:

    But TIL:

    In Japanese tradition you adopt a capable manager or have arrange for him to marry your daughter to keep business in the family. Otherwise there’s no way you’d keep something in the family this long.

    This is still common practice! 98% of adoptions in Japan are adults, almost all men 20-30, brought in for business succession purposes.

  • I’ve always had the sense that there’s pretty wide variance in experiences with Chase Private Client (target > $500,000 assets) and J.P. Morgan Private Bank (target > $5 million assets). In terms of the concrete, published services the benefits there didn’t seem like much difference other than the latter letting you apply for a J.P. Morgan Reserve Card. But I guess there’s further differentiation now… no surprise… with even more merchant-funded offers? Is it weird I’d have thought that this product would escape coupon book-ization?

    The services will give J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s U.S. clients access to a specialized network of companies that have been carefully vetted and curated by the bank. There is no additional charge to access the services, and clients will get exclusive offers, free consultations, discounted rates and other deals from the companies on the platform.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. Uh, new Flagship Suites on 789, a321XLR, and retrofitted 777, eventually; new Flagship lounges (PHL), and renovation plans to old ones? That’s still a plan. I know, never fast enough, and, also, ‘Clean/Repair. Your. Planes.’ Also, pay your people.

  2. One says hand and body balm and looks like lotion? I guess we could get out the P-Touch and make some nice big clear labels. But that doesn’t seem premium either.

    Not planning to use it but I liked the Breitling amex offer that was pushed out at the time of the Plat relaunch. 50k MR for $2500 spend, can use 3x. Not sure what kind of offers JPM Private will get vs Chase Private (and note the complete lack of linkage between Chase on the checking/banking side and Chase cards – you’d think CPC clients would get something a la Citigold, but nope!), but I think there’s a way to target both clientele successfully. As usual Amex knows what the secret sauce is and Chase continues to fumble the ball.

  5. I’ve been in a few Admirals Clubs lately where someone used a label maker and put “HAND WASH” or “SOAP” black text/white tape labels on the bottles or holder.

    At least they replaced the door to the CLT club men’s room… no longer looks like people have clawed at it to escape.

  6. “It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”—Theodore Roosevelt

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