Category Archives for Airlines.
American Airlines is in the process of rolling out what’s being called a “complete refresh” of domestic first class meals. Many routes are already seeing new offerings, and it’s expected that these new meals will be served on all meal flights by February 14th – American’s Valentine’s Day gift to premium cabin flyers and those with status receiving upgrades.
American Airlines flight attendants, amidst union officer elections and ongoing wage disputes, are escalating their efforts to strike by confronting CEO Robert Isom and pushing for government mediation, despite upcoming negotiations and a previous rejection for a strike during the holiday season.
A flight attendant confiscated alcohol from two passengers, while another passenger on board the aircraft filmed. The two women had open mini-bottles that they’d brought on board themselves. They weren’t being discrete – they were cheersing across the aisle of what appears to be a United Airlines Boeing 757.
I like to call out the things that struck me as most interesting, both from official remarks and from answers to analyst and reporter questions – the things that give me greater insight into the airline.
Here are (8) things that stood out to me in the American Airlines fourth quarter earnings call on Thursday morning.
American Airlines announced changes for the 2024 member year that are generally positive. Chief Commercial Officer Vasu Raja had previewed broad changes in the airline’s employee podcast – but those weren’t announced.
AAdvantage reports up to Raja, and the changes he talked about are still coming.
American Airlines earned just $19 million in the fourth quarter and expects to lose money in the first quarter. Both are above analyst expectations. However their first quarter loss (historically the weakest period for a U.S. airline) doesn’t have United’s excuse of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 grounding.
The FAA halted expanded production of new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft today, but also will be ungrounding the 737 MAX 9.
The federal government keeps kicking the air traffic control crisis in New York down the road. About three quarters of all airspace delays track to the New York metro area, according to the FAA. And this has knock-on effects as delays of planes flying out of New York wind up causing downline delays elsewhere in the country. So far all the government has been able to do is encourage airlines to fly less, rather than fixing the problem. The government hands out the right to takeoff and land at congested airports (“slots”) to incumbent airlines. These are treated as property rights (given free, so subsidies) that block competitors from entering the market. Since there’s a severe shortfall in air traffic controllers in the New York area, the government has waived the normal requirement that airlines…
Facing unexpected delays or cancellations on your next American Airlines flight? Be prepared for their latest policy twist: only AAdvantage members get the green light for alternative rebookings on most partner airlines.
Aer Lingus has terminated its codeshare with United. And in another major move, Aer Lingus customers can now use American Airlines lounges.
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 »
