Category Archives for Airlines.
American Airlines has introduced boxed (cold) meals to flights over 900 miles. In an employee meeting last week, Jodi Spicer (Managing Director of Onboard Dining), argued that this is a return to pre-Covid meal service.
A year ago American planned for cheaper catering when service returned. Lets hope these boxed meals are just the bridge to something better and not the destination themselves.
The agent declares to her, “You can find another carrier to fly. I’d suggest Spirit.”
The U.S. government proposed to fine Air Canada $25.55 million for selling tickets to customers, cancelling their flights, and refusing to issue refunds. When customers complained to the Department of Transportation, Air Canada claimed they weren’t subject to U.S. law. And Air Canada sought to dismiss the fine arguing that, despite U.S. government claims, the law doesn’t require refunding customers when an airline fails to provide the paid-for service anyway.
The response from the Department of Transportation to this nonsense is brutal.
American Airlines and JetBlue launched their ‘Northeast Alliance’ early in 2021.
Until now there haven’t been elite benefits recognized between the two airlines, and there’s no redeeming miles for each others’ flights. Elite benefits, though, will begin this fall.
American Airlines is currently in the process of designing the cabins of the brand new Airbus A321XLR and Boeing 787-9 aircraft they’ve ordered, and some details that had previously been speculated on are now confirmed.
Major airlines today seem more worried that some member, somewhere might actually benefit from a promotion than they seem to care the promotion actually incentivizing customer behavior.
American Airlines has had catering issues they’ve blamed on pandemic unemployment and other supply chain disruptions. Their goal now, according to the airline’s managing director of onboard dining, is to have “at the very minimum enough water to go to everyone.”
American Airlines customers, especially, should like flying JetBlue which offers more legroom, seat back entertainment, free wifi and a business class product (on routes where it’s offered) with relatively great seats, food, and friendly service.
However the actual partnership – as experienced by passengers – is quite broken. Several customers, based in both Boston and New York, have shared the problems they’ve faced.
Everyone knew that 2021 would be an odd year. It might not be a total loss, like 2020, where American like most everyone else just extended status. However business travel hadn’t returned in the first half of the year in a meaningful way, and much of long haul international travel remained out of reach. Customers who normally made their status on international business class tickets just weren’t doing so, yet no one wanted to lose these customers when their business returned.
With how easy they’ve made it to keep status, the airline now needs to encourage people to actually fly the airline.
R&B singer Lyfe Jennings flew American Airlines and recorded his last interaction with the airline as he boarded his flight, being asked whether there would be any issues on the flight – whether he was going to be a troublemaker – after, he says, he was continually questioned over boarding as a first class passenger. He believes the airline’s employees were skeptical that he belonged in first class because he’s black.
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 »
