Dear American Airlines. One simple change to your service would signal a break from the past and a bright premium future. Change the coffee, and I have a specific suggestion for how you do this.
Part of the ‘premium pivot’ means paying attention to cabin maintenance and appearance, but that will entail a huge culture shift. One commenter explains just how much the airline is up against if they are to make this shift. This American Airlines employee says they were offered therapy for their insistence on getting aircraft clean between flights.
Some customers choose on schedule and price. They may not value the difference in product across airlines, or may not be aware of them. To Kirby, those are basic economy customers – show them the lowest price and give them the least. (This may be a mistake, I will explain below.) Others choose on product elements. Those are the customers to fight for.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
A passenger walked up to a gate agent at Washington Dulles airport United Airlines gate D12 – apparently planning to board while the previous flight was deplaning – saying things like “who wants it first?” and then punched the agent hard enough to knock him down.
American Airlines flight 1006 from Colorado Springs to Dallas – Fort Worth diverted to Denver due to abnormal engine vibrations during its climb out, “cruising slower than normal.”
When it landed and taxied to gate C38 around 5 p.m., the right engine caught fire and thick black smoke surrounded the aircraft. Emergency slides were deployed and all 172 passengers and six crewmembers were evacuated from the full Boeing 737.
The Hyatt Centric brand can be expected to deliver inferior stays. It’s for hotels that don’t want to conform to brand standards, so there aren’t many standards. That’s the sine qua non of cheap owners.
Still, it seems to me that there’s an increasing sense in which Hyatt hotels are not abiding by program terms, or rather Hyatt’s rules seem to have changed for some hotels and customers just aren’t being informed.
At an investor conference this week, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby was asked whether United might buy another airline? “JetBlue is the obvious candidate” and don’t ask me, go ask JetBlue!
Basic economy fares and changes to the validity of flight credits may be terrible for Southwest Rapid Rewards redemptions, on top of the reduction in points-earning and changes to how award tickets are priced.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
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 »
