Airline Observer is well worth subscribing to for recaps of airline earnings calls and investor presentations. Here’s a free post on airline catering and naturally Brian Sumers picks on American Airlines here. Their CEO’s philosophy is that employees should never spend a dollar they don’t have to and it shows.
American cheaps out on premium cabin wine and repurposes premium economy amenity kit contents for Flagship first class, too.
American is spending a fortune on new business class suites for long-haul and premium domestic transcontinental routes. That’s all great. Clearly, it wants you to see it as a premium airline. But American still doesn’t sell real food in economy class on flights shorter than 1,300 miles. That decision probably saves American money and makes logistics easier. But is it good for the brand?
…Can I pick on American again? It serves white-labeled pretzels. It looks cheap, no?
AA’s pretzel bags showcase their different hubs. This isn’t all, there are others for the missing hubs.
byu/YHDiamond inamericanairlines
American Airline used to offer baked on board cookies in premium cabins. These were cheap to offer, but US Airways management dropped them. They initially offered a more expensive prebaked cookie, that completely missed the point. The smell of freshly baked cookies wafting through the cabin was amazing.
US Airways aircraft only had one over in first class, and they thought the service couldn’t be provided without two, and they didn’t want to spend the money to retrofit galleys on some aircraft with an additional oven (in fact, American wasn’t offering meals on flights short enough where a crewmember couldn’t finish heating meals and then use the same oven to bake cookies).
The biggest problem with American Airlines management, I think, is that they focus on costs instead of revenue. They think on-time performance is all they need to accomplish in order to succeed, and that might be true with commodity products but we’re less and less in a commodity product airline world. Products are differentiated, customers now choose on more than schedule, price and reliability, and American Airlines as a high cost airline needs to earn a revenue premium in order to be profitable.
When current CEO Robert Isom was the airline’s President, he explained his strategy of focusing on competition with Spirit and Frontier. However Spirit and Frontier, themselves facing higher costs, are even chasing increasingly premium revenue!
[T]oday there is a real drive within the industry and with the traveling public to want to have really at the end of the day low cost seats. And we’ve got to be cognizant of what’s out there in the marketplace and what people want to pay.
The fastest growing airlines in the United States Spirit and Frontier. Most profitable airlines in the United States Spirit. We have to be cognizant of the marketplace and that real estate that’s how we make our money.
We don’t want to make decisions that ultimately put us at a disadvantage, we’d never do that.
United Airlines began its turnaround under CEO Oscar Munoz in very symbolic fashion. Munoz traveled the system visiting employees and lifting morale, and to show that things were different they symbolically dropped the low quality coffee they were serving (FreshBrew was derided as Fresh Poo), replacing it with Illy, and paired it with Stroopwafels. American Airlines serves FreshBrew. Here is Sumers,
[A]s a few North American airlines — Air Canada, United, Delta, and Alaska among them — have shown [, t]hese airlines understand that while on-time performance is the biggest driver of customer satisfaction, they don’t have that much control over it. They can’t control the weather or how many front-line employees call in sick, but they can control food (along with working WiFi and happy passenger-flight attendant interactions), and that goes a long way toward helping an airline improve its satisfaction scores.
Getting it right — so people will pay more to fly you — costs a lot of money. But that’s not all. The people running the food and beverage operation need to think less like airline executives and more like restaurateurs or hoteliers.
I would put it a little differently. It isn’t just that airline managers need to think of their product differently. The management culture of the airline needs to stress the importance of paying attention to the little details. Those aren’t even always more expensive. What pairs well on the plate? Don’t just check boxes with airline meals. My personal record is three dishes with lettuce in American Airlines domestic first class, which made no sense. But it too often seems like, there, a meal is a meal rather than obsessing over the impression it creates. And managers only do that when it’s emphasized (and rewarded) from the top.
And sometimes the emphasis on short-term cost savings winds up far more costly in the long run. American Airlines never invested in mock ups for its new standard domestic product that rolled out with the Boeing 737 MAX and eventually across (most of) the fleet. As a result they didn’t realize problems with first class seats that lacked under seat storage, the bulkhead seats were too cramped and people stopped paying for them, and that the seats which lacked back support also didn’t even have the tablet holders provided in coach. They didn’t realize rear galley lavatory doors slammed into each other, and that sinks which weren’t deep enough sprayed water back onto customers. So they had to spend to retrofit planes. All of this is no surprise since their CEO at the time didn’t even bother to try the product they were selling to customers in the first six months in the was in the market.
In contrast, Singapore Airlines once built an Airbus A380 out of manila envelopes. The seats inside the model even reclined. Their tagline? “It’s the small details that make giants in the sky.” To succeed in the current airline environment, it’s critical to sweat the small details to deliver an outstanding product. Otherwise you’re sentencing your business to financial underperformance.
AA lost its “premium” when HP/US management took over post merger. Wasn’t terribly premium before that, but far better than the meh product offered today.
Just when I thought AA hit rock bottom, they figure out a way to go even lower. Really the worst airline. Spirit even sells you ramen noodles!
Management is who they are and always will be. AA is what management wants it to be. Don’t expect or hope for anything else. It’s the same with the other airlines. Acknowledge this concept and choose what is a best fit. Anything else leads to frustration and anger.
In the Airline Observer article titled Secrets of Airline Catering, author Brian Sumers says, “The smell of freshly baked cookies wafting through the cabin was amazing.” I agree, but many passengers consider the smell of the foul-smelling constituent of decomposing mammalian feces in out-of-service American Airlines aircraft toilets wafting through the cabin also amazing.
If he could spell, it would lend more credibility to the article.
AA should come clean and admit it looks to JPATS for inspiration.
Unless I get an upgrade, I no longer purchase premium class on AA. It just isn’t worth it.
If the focus on saving a dollar produced superior results at AA that would be one thing. However, they cut, cut, cut and then deliver lagging results. It’s time for management to wake up or move on.
I encourage you to take Spirit, if you have not already. Simple things.
Water is in a bottle for Gold customers. Really easy to distribute. Really easy to account for. Really, really easy.
Snacks are from actual companies that you have heard of. Doesn’t mean it’s good for you, but this is Spirit. Yes, I want Peanut M & Ms, please. That’s to be contrasted with whatever Chia seeds American is currently pushing. Total garbage.
People complain so much about first and business class AA should just remove it from all domestic flights! AA can’t please any of the entitled ep’s and others why bother!!
We are over a decade into this experiment and AA continues to fall further and further behind DL and UA. At what point does someone shout stop and kick out the current leadership?
Complete dereliction of duty by the board
Frank is right. AA should just drop first and business class and embrace the minimal crappy experience they are. “Sure, we suck, but we’re cheap…. Oh wait…. Uh oh…..”
AA lost its edge with the U.S Airways merger. American Airlines had a little bit of class back then. All the new AA cares about now is pitching tacky credit card spiels which a full of lies and 99 flights to London. The once global airline is no more.
In my long experience with American (over 50 years), it has never had a premium edge. It’s been just another airline. As for cutting costs. what about removing an olive from salads. Airlines can’t completely control or manage revenue with any degree of certainty, but they can manage expenses.
“US Airways aircraft only had one over in first class,”
I think you meant to say “oven” there.
It’s amazing how quickly an impression can change, and how that can drive spending.
I fly about 160K/year. Yesterday, I flew MRU-IST-LGW-MCO, the first two segments on TK, the last on BA. I chose the routing because it was the cheapest way — using a combination of cash and miles — to fly decent business classes.
I appreciate Turkish because their food is so good, it makes up for the 2-2-2 a330 configuration. British Airways was thrown in because it would get me where I wanted to go at an adequate total cost, and it was a good-enough product.
Imagine my surprise that the BA flight was the highlight of the trip. The new 1-2-1 seats are terrific, the IFE was very good, the FAs were consistently warm and skilled, and the catering was hugely improved…almost as good as TK’s! One flight has made me actually want to fly BA.
The point is — and please forgive my being obvious — it’s a combination of factors (safety + cost + schedule + FF program + seat + food + IFE + service = VALUE) that drive my spending. Yes cost is important (BA’s reduction in surcharges was one component), and I will fly, for instance, Ethiopian when it’s the best mix of what I need and want. But, it’s the total picture that makes my decision.
There are reasons I was an EP with American, and now fly them maybe twice a year…usually domestically. There are also reasons I don’t fly, for instance, EK or DL very often. And reasons why I want to try the new AZ. It’s the mix that matters.
Now, BA has risen to the top of my list of airlines I fly across the Atlantic: TK, AF, UA, AC, OS (and occasionally LH and even SN). It’s because of the mix.
I hope more airlines — especially American — figure that out.
Sounds a lot like AA’s anglophone Transatlantic partner in crime British Airways with the attitude toward cost-cutting at customer expense.
AA has been the worst for a long time and my experience with them has been bad in every class. I MIGHT fly with them if it was free. Possibly.
My last AA experience basically required me to mutter “free, free, free” to myself for the duration of the flights in order to get through it. Had some points to use up. Having done so, never again.
@ Tom — These new BA suites are not really that good. They are light years better than their atrocious old J seats, but they still are meh.
@Tom
Safety is your #1 concern and you like Turkish. Interesting.
Enjoy the food.
If I wasn’t strapped to their hub in Philly I would actively avoid them. Every hub they operate out of is disgusting. I actively avoid “premium” because other than 3 inches of additional leg room and getting off 1 minute earlier, there is no benefit.
This article reminded me of a 1980s Alaska airlines commercial:
https://youtu.be/thDbVKB2v7w?si=P1r33uJ9tUrGxFZu
Other than hub captured passengers AA isn’t much of a choice to people that will spend money on premium tickets whether buying them outright or cash upgrades, albeit the former sometimes at very deep discounts. AA does some things right: Flagship Lounges, the new 789s and 321xr.
But when it comes to the coach domestic product and to a certain extent the domestic first product outside of a few transcon Flagship routes it’s all about Frontier. Moreover, it operational reliability sucks and last time I flew the front of the plane arrived at the gate at the same exact time as the back of the plane.
@George N Romey
For once, we agree. On AA not being a ‘first choice,’ but that they do Flagship routes and lounges well, and the new planes should be nice, whenever they actually happen. Might I add that AA does the Caribbean better than anyone from MIA, and their partners, like Qatar, are top-notch.
Also, I enjoyed your joke at the end. Good one.
Pour one out for Midwest Express. The smell of cookies on those planes could block out any wretched smell produced by a passenger that had eaten too much protein. Can we just lobby for air fresheners that smell like baked goods? Would that be cheap enough?
I really felt it on a recent flight from Phoenix, AZ to Kona, HI AA 603. It was a nearly seven hour flight with only a single drink service. WTF?!!
This article is exactly on point.
Yesterday (1/10) I had a failed trip to the south due to weather but left an AA hub airport reasonably happy thanks to DAL.
Was originally booked on AA but they cancelled flights before midnight. Rebooked on DAL – this flight delayed 2 hours – immediately upon delay, I got a text from DAL with a $12 food voucher. Grabbed a coffee and sandwich – sat at the DAL gate where agents were pleasant and kept pax updated. They brought out a trolley with coffee, water and branded snacks to the gate.
Eventually wx delays stacked up to the point I decided to abort the trip – cancelled for a full refund.
Left the airport (annoyed my trip got cancelled, but flying in winter these things happen) – but feeling valued by DAL that they spent a few dollars to try and at least make the delay experience bearable.
That food voucher, water and a can of Pringles now has this AA PPro traveler seriously considering switching to DAL when possible and chasing a status match. My only hold up is being 15 minutes from an AA hub and ATL not being my favorite connection…. but the DAL customer experience was miles ahead of AA has ever shown me – for the few bucks DAL spent on snacks.
Many years ago, having been a 1K flyer on United long enough to be a Million Mile flyer, I was so aggravated with United’s declining service that I switched to American. I flew so much on American that I have 3.5 million lifetime miles, and I thought American was superb. Then came USAir. American is now a complete joke. Terrible customer service. Delayed flights. And onboard service is a disgrace. (I just flew from Madrid to DFW in business. The lavatory “amenities” were paper towels and soap.) As United and Delta improve their products and their profits rise, one would think that American would figure it out.
I’d just as soon take a bus as fly these days. Same experience, shorter fall.
It’s all America West, they destroyed AA name, repeat it’s all American West, it’s all their MGMT, they are the ones AA let in to destroy the airline
I’m a captive audience at PHL, but have recently tried Spirit (horrendous) and BA (barely okay). A few months ago I flew on UA (no @Gina F, AA isn’t the worst, UA is, though I think they might be about to drop AA into the cellar because AA continues to sink) and it was the same old lousy UA experience with flight attendants who disappear, inedible food and drunk passengers continuing to be served by FAs.
I agree with Gary that if AA was smart (Their current management isn’t smart, although in the last year they’ve stripped themselves perhaps their worst offender, Vasu Raja, but unless they get rid of Robert Isom, Steve Johnson, David Seymour and Cole Brown in particular, they aren’t going to improve because these people use a management philosophy that’s self-destructive to AA.) they’d concentrate on revenue more than costs.
@DesertGhost, you said, “Airlines can’t completely control or manage revenue with any degree of certainty, but they can manage expenses.” Yes, they can’t completely control or manage revenue, but then again, considering severe weather events, air traffic control delays, unexpected maintenance issues, changing government regulations, fuel price fluctuations, and updated security measures by the government, cost control isn’t exactly within their grasp either.
Being in the corporate suite for years I can tell you that you can manage for revenue and in fact that’s what most top companies in service industries are doing to produce significantly improved bottom lines. A top revenue management strategy is a data-driven approach to maximize company revenue by strategically adjusting pricing, inventory and product and/service distribution based on predicted demand. A revenue strategy aims to sell the “right product to the right customer at the right time” to generate the highest possible profit. If you look at all the top airlines in the world, it’s clear that they are managing for revenue as their primary profit making action, while they manage costs too, but not to the destruction of revenue, which is what AA is doing. AA is cutting costs so much that they are cutting revenue, and that revenue is being cut faster than their costs are being cut.
It’s not a smart way to do business, particularly in the airline industry.
Lol. You get what you hire. CEO Robert Isom is focusing on being like and copying a low cost bad airline(s), like Spirit and Frontier. That’s what your going to get. A premium, should be, airline, but a clone of bad cheap airlines. With sub-par amenities and food. Employees want to be proud of their company, but hard with bad leadership and Isom’s “yes” people around him. Stock should be trading at $50, not $18. Why do you think he dumped all his stock? Because Isom knows bankruptcy is coming. Unless the board and shareholders push him out. Hire a new group with better, long term, vision. Fire Isom! Only way. Don’t hire another legacy airline user CEO. New ideas, fresh blood!
Well at least they listened when they changed the warm nuts mixture a few years ago with cheaper fillers.
I’m only writing about the coach experience. The IFE and WiFi, as Delta provides goes a long way to improve customer experience. Part of it is that they’re distracted for the duration of the flight which means less disruption to the flight attendants etc.
I took American a couple of times in the recent years and it felt unbearable. Compare that to a Delta flight that I usually take that’s a little over 2 hours, I barely notice it.
Flying DFW-BOG, I was going to upgrade to J when I realized that the seats are uncomfortable, there’s no entertainment screen & the food certainly doesn’t justify the premium. They took out screens for transatlantic, too, even in J. I have lounge access regardless. Bulkhead economy seats have become too uncomfortable. It feels more and more like flying a budget airline. The food on a 90 min Turkish flight in economy is much better than on a 5.5hr AA flight. Even though I’m in DFW & am Plat, I’m increasingly willing to reposition to fly abroad on another airline.
I hate flying AA for one reason that may seem silly but it just grates on me: the intercom system won’t shut up. They’re constantly playing long, pre-recorded messages, mostly about applying for their credit card. Even my nose cancelling headphones can’t completely block it out. Having my time disrupted so often when I just want to read or listen to media is infuriating. I now avoid them whenever possible.
I flew American a month ago and they put us on a bus for the last leg of our flight because it was cheaper. It was a 2 hour bus ride. If I wanted to ride a bus I would have bought greyhound tickets.
@david427:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2024/01/03/ranked-the-25-safest-airlines-in-the-world-according-to-airlineratingscom/
@gene
I’m intrigued: I’ve experienced better business seats on QR, NH, and a few others, but for U.S. and European carriers, I don’t don’t know of any that are better than the BA I just flew. Which ones do you prefer?
“They think on-time performance is all they need to accomplish in order to succeed….”
In the six months I spent with them – I really tried! – they didn’t manage that, either. And the app is so poor compared to Delta’s that dealing with the fallout of a missed connection was a hundred times harder.
Sure, the details matter if they want to be a premium product, but they don’t seem to have the basics of flight down yet.
United Airlines’ stock is almost $100 more a share than American’s. If that doesn’t make it crystal clear to the board that current management has made all the wrong decisions and rewarded itself lavishly (think $36 million dollars) then I don’t know what else will. The employees tried to warn them they were going down the wrong path from the beginning starting with removing seatback entertainment and in every single other bad decision they’ve made like practically eliminating main cabin buy onboard food. I’m shocked that investors haven’t revolted and insisted on replacing the whole board and executives starting with the CEO.
One of my favorite Airlines is SAS…it’s business class is great…over the top, and that’s what drives my personal travel dollars…hot cashews…high end chocolates at the end and everything in between…they get it! My great uncle was the chief pilot for Piedmont…the old one…and he personally flew planes they were going to buy. It’s the little things sometimes.
Living in DFW AA is my 2nd choice for direct non-stops. That should say a lot. Having worked for them and TWA at one time I can vouch for the fact that AA is no longer the AA of old. I would say it is a brand in search of an identity right now.
The article was correct. America West management is focusing on cost cutting too much and not enough on increasing revenue through the little touches. As my hometown airline they should be my first choice. They aren’t.
From deferred repairs in the cabin to a lack of amenities in the plane and at the airport, the experience in AA is 2nd rate.
Routes, ontime, and reliability are important for sure and they should never take the focus away from that. But so are the creature comforts. The fact they even considered removing business class from domestic is telling of managements lack of focus on what is important.
Sure the business traveler isn’t traveling like they used to with video conferencing now a thing. But even at that there are still passengers willing to pay a little more for a nicer experience.
I recently had an opportunity to upgrade to business class for $140 on United. I took it, and it was worth it. UA got $140 more for a seat they probably wouldn’t have sold otherwise, or maybe would have upgraded for points instead of cash. Go figure.
AA do better. Don’t go after the low cost guys. Spirit may not survive and Frontier is in trouble. And your financials aren’t so hot either compared to DL and UA. Maybe look at what the profitable carriers are doing instead.
Pan Am version II
it starts when management starts to take its premium passengers for granted they silently migrate to other carriers and will end when the current up-cycle inevitably reverses and the high revenue passengers they need have fled
the result is AA is no longer an airline – it has become a credit card with wings with no respect for its passengers
Personally, between ! Nov to now, i spent a combined $45K in business and family travel – not one penny of it on AA or OneWorld when in the past, i would have gone out of my way to fly the alliance exclusively
> Most profitable airlines in the United States Spirit.
Ummm, no.
What kind of sh!tpost is this article???
> Compare that to a Delta flight that I usually take that’s a little over 2 hours, I barely notice it.
Ditto… I go out of my way to fly DL and I’m based in DEN. UA is garbage too. Which makes sense as UA and AA shared Scott Kirby.