I Just Purchased American Airlines Tickets for Someone Else, and Two Things Struck Me

by Gary Leff

plane seating chart
Oct 29 2018

Here’s what it’s like not to have elite status on American Airlines. This is a two hour flight. In order to avoid paying extra for seats on top of their fare, and avoid a middle seat, these passengers are able to book something only in the last two rows of the aircraft.

It taught me something about basic economy — and why it is going to perform worse for American as they make the travel experience worse — and I noticed another big failure during the booking process as well.

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This Strange American Airlines Route is Just 69 Miles and Doesn’t Go Near a Hub

by Gary Leff

flight map
Oct 28 2018

One American Airlines route stands out to be as an aberration: Meridian, Mississippi to Hattiesburg, Mississippi. That’s a flight of just 69 miles, and it’s operated once daily in both directions with a Bombardier CRJ-200 50 seat regional jet.

To get a quick understanding for why this route exists — and persists under current management — Glazer’s law helps do some of the lifting.

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What Routes is American Airlines Considering?

by Gary Leff

british airways plane
Oct 28 2018

After American’s third quarter earnings call late in the week, executives gathered for their internal ‘State of the Airline’ comments to employees along with question and answer session. Vice President – Planning Vasu Raja answered questions about the airline’s route plans in a “network speed round.”

Here are key takeaways:

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Why Airlines Charge Big Change Fees (It’s Why Airline Tickets Are Different From Sports Tickets)

by Gary Leff

gary leff selfie
Oct 28 2018

In August United Airlines President Scott Kirby explains all of their fees and charges as being what you’d expect from a concert, implying it’s not reasonable for people to be frustrated with how airlines charge for things like seats.

In March American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said his airline’s tickets are flexible compared to buying a seat at a sporting event.

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American Is Losing Money Flying Passengers. Without One Accounting Rule Things Would Look Even Worse

by Gary Leff

american plane docked
Oct 28 2018

American Airlines is losing money on the part of their business which involves flying people. It turns out that American’s passenger operation would look even worse if it hadn’t been for an accounting rules change (ASC 606) that the airline had to adopt effective January 1, 2018.

The accounting rules change of course may be the best possible way to reflect the costs associated with issuing miles. It also has the effect of moving a quarter billion dollars of passenger revenue out of past years and into the present, making the present look better than it otherwise would have as a result.

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Here’s Why Frequent Flyer Programs Devalue Their Currency

by Gary Leff

zimbabwe currency
Oct 27 2018

Programs issue too many miles. There aren’t enough award seats, especially with planes flying full. They need to either increase the number of award seats or increase the cost of each seat, otherwise you just have frustrated members who can’t redeem.

At the same time programs don’t need to spend as much marketing to fill planes when planes are already full. But that’s an argument for reduced earning, not for changing redemption prices.

Programs with set award prices (award charts) usually devalue in a predictable way.

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