The AAdvantage program has been without a Vice President for several months. Rick Elieson, who took over from Bridget Blaise-Shamai in the huge American Airlines pandemic leadership shuffle, announced his departure has fall.
They’ve named a new Vice President in Julie Rath. Julie has been Vice President of Customer Experience and Reservations and becomes Vice President of Customer Experience, Loyalty and Marketing. American has also been without a Vice President of Marketing since Janelle Anderson’s departure.
She previously worked at Delta Air Lines and Northwest, where she went to work out of college in 1991. Ms. Rath continues to report to Alison Taylor, Chief Customer Officer who has overseen sales, and whom many have expected to leave after being passed over for incoming CEO Robert Isom’s Senior Leadership Team.
Heather Samp, the current Managing Director in charge of the airline-focused part of the program, remains in her position and reports to Julie.
Even with the appointment of a Vice President of AAdvantage to succeed Rick Elieson, the recent split up of the AAdvantage team between the airline component of the program and partner relations appears to continue. Scott Laurence, the former JetBlue executive who spent mere weeks working for Delta this year, now oversees AAdvantage partner sales.
Let’s hope they dump the changes and go back to being a premier airline.
Isn’t Bridget Blaise-Shamai a woman?
She has an 80 hour a week job.
Another Failure by American Airlines
@Michael Ryan – as I understand it… One person put it to me that she’s now (4) Vice Presidents.
@Daniel yes she is
Years ago, a study published in Harvard Business Review found that female executives were more successful at turning around a distressed company than male executives. If AA (or any other airline) is trying to turn something around, history says that giving the task to a woman is the right decision. It is in our interest to hope that she is successful. It is in our interest to hope other airlines follow suit. Focus on the positive.
A big can of nothing
as in nothing changes
So her experience was the head of “Customer Experience” so we should more of the same at AA.
@Reno Joe tells us that a woman should be the right choice. Sounds sexist to me. What if I said…”Years ago, a study published in Yale Business Review found that male executives were more successful at turning around a distressed company than female executives. If AA (or any other airline) is trying to turn something around, a random study by people who teach school for a living says that giving the task to a man is the right decision. It is in our interest to hope that she is successful. It is in our interest to hope other airlines follow suit. Focus on the positive.”
Gary, please do not use AA and loyalty program in the same sentence. The two are unrelated
Get rid of Alison Taylor….Jesus the worst AA Executive ever
Succession!
No end to the injection of “riffraff” from Northwest to supplement the inept mob from USAir/
AmWest.
Bring back the pre-merger AAdvantage team.
As long as she actually understands the importance of re-orienting the program to actually make people loyal, more power to her. She could start by trying to find some SPG loyalty people and put them into senior positions, then make some substantial customer-friendly changes like offering a minimum of 2 saver seats in every cabin and reinstituting the Oneworld Explorer program.
Says it all in charge of the “customer experience ” I’m choking
The better question is what customer experience ?
The one of misery dealing with an airline that will throw you down a stair case where the bags hit your head.Or the one where you stop breathing as you suffocate in the shrunken lavatory or seat thats so cramped your blood stops flowing to your limbs and your knee bleeds? Remember when then re-booked you on any other carrier when their flight cancels. American sucks.Did I mention they have copied the Delta sky pesos price gouging? 50k in miles one way for a coach ticket frequently in the US yet 200 for revenue
American Ponzi Scheme no Advantage
One of colleagues insists on calling the program disAAdvantage and I agree:
1) sub-par airline based on service and performance
2) award redemption that is a Ponzi scheme
3) turned away from business travelers with moving to LP scheme
4) Citi and Barclay are at the bottom of credit card providers
Well, if she’s not from the former NorthWorst the situation is a little more optimistic.
The changes do remind me of the cheapening of product (already downgraded) that US Air endured after the NorthWorst takeover, and I have to wonder if the points change wasn’t derived from the PHX office vs. DFW.
It’s worth pointing out that the NorthWorst team brought down not one, but two airlines (though with USAir, it’s not saying a lot). Ideas from that office do not bode well for airline survival.
My bad, meant to say America Worst” not NorthWorst (have blocked out the former, they were SO bad).