Apr
23
2020
Rolfe Shellenberger, who with a couple of other executives under American’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Tom Plaskett (once considered a possible successor to Bob Crandall) worked with consultant Hal Brierley to launch American AAdvantage as the first mileage-based frequent flyer program in 1981.
Many forget that Shellenberger’s AAdvantage was introduced as a promotion, and wasn’t made indefinite until April 1983 two years into its life. It wasn’t obvious at the start how big this would become. He wasn’t just known for frequent flyer programs, but also took credit for putting pianos on 747s.
