An American Airlines passenger found that a chld took the aisle seat he says he paid extra for, and had words with the family over it – but a flight attendant seems to have come down on the family’s side.
He says a flight attendant told him the family was entitled to the seat, “She got on the plane before you” and told him “you are being the bad guy.” He says he was even threatened with ejection from the flight over it.
An Air France passenger flying from Paris to Washington Dulles switched seats to a new coach middle because her seat back entertainment screen wasn’t working. She’s black, and the passenger next to her was uncomfortable with her taking the seat beside him. Air France made her move because he was uncomfortable.
Last month American’s new 787-9 registration N846AN was having real teethng pains, including issues with the door seals. Now, the plane N842A appears to be struggling.
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The U.S. is doubling the cost for visitors from close allies and security partners to come to the country. The price of an “ESTA” or Electronic System for Travel Authorization which passengers entering the United States on a visa waiver is going from $21 to $40.
American wasn’t able to get a temporary restraining order in federal court to stop this process. They voluntarily dismissed the federal claim last week and re-filed in Cook County Chancery Court.
Passengers flying from London Heathrow to Dallas – Fort Worth on American Airlines flight 51 and taking a connecting flight no longer walk to immigration, pick up their bags at customs, drop them back off to re-check them, and go through security again.
American Express still sees headroom to charge customers more, and make them feel o.k. with it by selling access to their cardmembers to adjacent brands in exchange for coupons and discounts. That strategy will work until they reach some theoretical limit – but they haven’t found it yet. As long as they keep promising you a somewhat better experience in aspirational portions of your life like travel, you will keep paying and keep spending on their cards.
The Big Beautiful Bill has more and more warts that just keep coming out, including a new $250 “Visa Integrity Fee” for most foreigners applying for U.S. nonimmigrant visas. It’s a ‘refundable deposit’ that you’re supposed to get back for leaving the U.S. on time, though no one knows yet how refunds will actually happen. Implementing a cross-agency refund system is going to take… time. The fee amount will adjust up with inflation.
There’s so much to do to improve customer experience at American that the biggest task is prioritization.
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 »
