American Airlines now issues scores to flight attendants. That’s ‘to help them know how they’re doing’ and low scores don’t necessarily mean discipline. While pitching the credit card inflight is voluntary, and earns flight attendants extra income for approvals, these approvals are also performance score “accelerators” in the new system.
The airline is also making a major push to “get flight attendants excited about in-flight credit card pitches,” according to aviation watchdog JonNYC.
- They are “being told just how much money they can make from them if they succeed (pay off loans, travel the world, etc)”
- While the number one reason that passengers don’t apply and flight attendants don’t get paid commission is that they do not make the announcements, “it’s being emphasized that providing passengers exceptional service during the flight is the single best way to increase uptake.”
The psychology here is that customers who are happy with American are more likely to apply, and customers who feel well taken care of by a flight attendant will want to apply out of a sense of reciprocal obligation.
AA
Major push underway to get FAs excited about in-flight credit card pitches. FAs being told just how much money they can make from them if they succeed (pay off loans, travel the world, etc)Expect flights to become slightly more annoying in this regard.
Now, it should…— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) August 3, 2026
There are flight attendants earning six figures at airlines getting card approvals. However, the way these announcements are done matters a great deal. Kevin Williamson observed that there was a certain “Clockwork Orange sensation [to] being literally strapped into a seat while someone screams corporate banalities at you on a loudspeaker fifteen inches from your head” and suggested,
It is a “limited-time” offer in the sense that the sun eventually will run out of gas and become a dying star, first engulfing the Earth in fire and then leaving the wreck of the solar system a sterile plane of interstellar cold and utter silence, which will be interrupted only by some addled flight attendant screeching about the limited-time…card offer.
The announcement is often a wake up call at 6 a.m after a redeye flight, or the first thing you’d hear once airborne on a 5 a.m. departure. Yet only about 14% of passengers on a given flight have an AAdvantage credit card. That’s a huge opportunity to grow the card portfolio. The people most likely to be interested in the American Airlines credit card are those already flying American Airlines.
One good reason, by the way, for airline seat back entertainment is that the entertainment can be paused during flight attendant announcements. When people are using their own devices, they’re free to ignore card pitches. American Airlines should work with Citi to sponsor a return of the seatback screens.
I’ve even argued that American should increase the size of its lavatories and plaster them with credit card ads. That way a revenue stream would attach to the lavatory space, and American would no longer need to view the fact they have to provide lavs as deadweight loss.
4 flights. 4 mechanical delays. Hate flying American
I can see it now, you are squatting in the airborne water closet trying to equalize the necessary pressure to complete the job and up pops a Citi Card ad explaining all its perks for just $795 a year.
I can see it now, you are squatting in the airborne water closet trying to equalize the necessary pressure to complete the job and up pops a Citi Card ad explaining all its perks for just $795 a year.
AA and “friendly” FA’s in the same sentence is a complete joke. One of the many reasons I quit AA was the insufferable, nasty, and outright mean FA’s for the most part. Simply one of the least friendly skies in the industry. AA is trash, delays, cancellations and crappy old planes. Did I mention I avoid AA unless a complete last resort? Oh yeah, I have.
Take away all the passengers listening to content. Take away the passengers that can’t qualify for anything above a sub prime credit card. Take away the passengers that just do not want the card. And finally take away the passengers that have the card. What are you really let with? Not to mention as soon the pitch starts the realization it’s not anything important and drowning it out.
I thought flights attendants were there for my safety.
@Crandall — Huh, “mechanical,” eh? If only we had an EU/UK 261 equivalent…
AA FAs #surly
If it annoys you, complain to American. If this is what American is pushing their employees to do at the counter and in the air, then the employees are just doing their jobs. Being annoyed at them and making this a topic in your blog is just you riling up people to direct their hate towards the wrong people. Direct it at the executives. Not the people doing what is asked of them in their job.
@1990
There is always Mamdani’s grocery stores when you want a hand out.
The way I stay satisfied with AA is to only use them as a LAST resort.
After late arrivals, long delays, indifferent FAs, and no nonstop flights from FLL/PBI to NYC I’ve flown American west AIRLINES once since 2019.
@Coffee Please — I wish, but you’re conflating ‘free’ with merely subsidized.
Management 101 – don’t treat your employees like kids. If you want them to be happy and carry forth that same attitude toward customers – treat them better, have them be genuinely part of the process and in a position where they can respect leadership and leadership direction. That’s how culture change occurs. Sadly, management at the top (and possibly the Board too) will need to be replaced in order for that change to occur – and I scratch my head why everyone keeps looking the other way expecting some big change in direction from American because it’s not going to happen without a top management overhaul.
Management did not consider the main issue.
Who is willing to write down their contact information and SS number and then hand it someone with no chain of custody?
I did take one home and entered the referral number (employee?) but do not know if she received any credit. Her reaction was one of probably not. The offer was the same as all bonus offers but with a reduced spend which was helpful for us retired folks.
Take care of your employees and they will take care of their customers. Having said that, on a very recent flight from PHL-CVG, the FA was simply NOT in the mood to be helpful. The flight was on time, no mention of pre-flight beverages. When you asked for something while in the air, he though you had horns in your head. And interestingly, no announcement for the credit card either. As a former payment processing guy/guru, I am very sure that AA can afford a pretty high CAQ (Cost of Aquisition, which is the cost you incur to sign up one customer). Because of the recurring revenue nature of the business (similar to a netflix subscription), the math likely dictates you can spend between 1x to as much as 2.5X the amount of revenue you get the first year from the customer in order to even sign them up.
My suggestions as someone who flies all of the time and is EP on AA:
1) I love the friendly strategy, but in addition to the free miles award (sigh up and get 50k miles!), I would actually *decrease* that and instead offer a free treat box (and if laws allow, a free drink!).
2) Have the FA make the announcement, not the automated voice/Ken guy.
3) Have the FA ask customers if they know that applying is easy and ASK something like, “It would really help *me* if you apply”. People will do things to be nice to other people, if they are asked. Called the “Benjamin Franklin” effect (I hope a dozen people look it up, it’s real, lol) , when you ask someone to help you, they immediately like you, and when they do, they like you even more because of course, why would they help that person if they didn’t like them?
4) Provide incentives for FA’s that actually matter but may not cost more money. Like preferred scheduling. Probably breaks some union rules, but I bet there is a way to make it work where the FA can have more say with other FA’s of their own seniority. Controlling your own schedule is VERY valuable to most (all?) FA’s.
-Jon
My favorite mid-flight sales pitch is “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Captain has just informed me this flight was selected for a special bonus of 65,000 miles. Congratulations on being part of today’s award offer!”
Right…as if Dispatch is sending Captains ACARS messages telling them that out of the 3,000 daily mainline flights their flight was only one selected for the 65,000 mile “limited time” offer (that’s been around for the last five years).
As a frequent flyer, I find credit card solicitations onboard to be annoying. But if I was running a major American airline, I would make sure we did them. And I would also take steps to encourage my flight attendants to be good salespersons. Isn’t all this blindingly obvious?
If they want friendlier flight attendants, I hear the Tasmanian Devil is looking for work, or maybe Karen from the condo board. They are both awful, but a step above the friendliness of most AA flight attendants
The FAs are often the WORST part of one’s trip. So often, very unprofessional. The FAs on Delta, United and AA are the worst. The best ones are from the foreign carriers. Those FAs are so professional.
I know I like to joke around here on-occasion, but, just wanted to say, I do appreciate @Julie, @Oregon Traveller, @Jon Biedermann at least trying to address the real issues here, productively.
On the other hand, venting about crews (@D Fray, @Donn, @Lisa Anniston, @What’s up) misses the mark; you’re blaming the messenger. FAs didn’t choose to hawk Citi cards; management turned the cabin into a revenue channel and put sales metrics on their heads. When leadership crews like salespeople, service suffers. Blame the C-suite pocketing bank bonuses, not the crews.
I think American is right that happy flight attendants make for happier passengers and happier passengers are more likely to get an AA credit card. Maybe, just maybe, the management group at American should actually sit down and chat with FA’s to see what could easily be accomplished to make flight attendants happier with actual earnestness and goodwill (let’s call this the Oscar Munoz approach) rather than imposing a grading system from some ivory tower.
They better make the CC pitch first thing upon boarding, and hope people apply on their phone before they experience the awful service.
In any case, Toby banned me, and as @retard will tell you ad nauseam, I’m not in the US right now, and don’t plan to ever fly AA again when I am in the US, so no dog in this fight. Enjoy your grumpy FAs. This won’t move the needle at all.