American Airlines Top Executives Have Been Calling Their 50 Best Current Flyers

by Gary Leff

Sep 24 2020

American has been speaking to the customers that are traveling the most now during the pandemic – and it’s not the ‘executive liaison’ callers doing the dialing, it’s the airline’s senior management.

American Airlines President Robert Isom told pilots last week that Chief Revenue Officer Vasu Raja and Chief Customer Officer Alison Taylor thought it would be “neat to find out who it is that’s traveling and still earning elite status throughout the pandemic.” So they “pulled a lit of the top 50 customers and assigned 10 [each]” to various senior executives, including Isom himself who reports that this was the “first time [he] cold called customers in a long time.”

Continue Reading »

United Introduces At-Airport Covid Testing For San Francisco-Hawaii Flights

by Gary Leff

Sep 24 2020

There are two new important testing developments in travel today, both United Airlines announcement. United is partnering to provide Covid testing for its San Francisco – Hawaii flights. They’re providing testing at the airport, and they’ve worked with Hawaii to accept an Abbott rapid test rather than just a PCR test.

The airline expects to expand this to other airports and destinations.

Continue Reading »

No More American Airlines Elite Membership Cards, But You Can Still Call For Employee Recognition Certs

by Gary Leff

Sep 24 2020

American Airlines no longer sends membership kits to frequent flyers when they earn AAdvantage elite status. This means that elites are no longer sent a membership card, luggage tags, or employee recognition certificates. Instead the airline tells newly minted elite members that AAdvantage is “a fully digital experience.”

However they will still allow elite members to call and request certificates to give to employees for ‘above and beyond’ service.

Continue Reading »

European Airports Will Use Covid-Sniffing Dogs And A Virus Gargle Test To Bring Travel Back To Normal

by Gary Leff

Sep 23 2020

Covid-sniffing dogs were already tested in the UAE with 90% accuracy, now they’re being trialed in Helsinki. Two European airports will use a self-serve ‘Israeli gargle test’ which provides results in 15 minutes. Both are efforts to ensure travelers are all virus free, and give both passengers and governments confidence to travel the way we (mostly) used to.

An even better solution extends far beyond airports. Cheap, at home strip tests (think of something similar to a pregnancy test) that identify whether or not you’re Covid-positive. The primary obstacle to cheap daily at home testing isn’t technology, it’s the FDA. Set this up to read results through an app, and the app could become your passport not just to travel but also bring back indoor activities.

Continue Reading »

Four Principles American Airlines Is Using For Adding Widebody Flights This Winter

by Gary Leff

american plane
Sep 23 2020

American Airlines is primarily a domestic airline. They’re smaller internationally than Delta and United. Their focus has been building domestic connections between the middle of the country and also the Sun Belt.

Like all the other major airlines they have a number of planes parked, especially widebody planes that fly internationally. Talking to pilots last week about how they’ll grow their route network again and deploy these widebodies, American’s Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer Vasu Raja offered four principles.

Continue Reading »

What Should You Do When It’s Flight Attendants Not Wearing Masks?

by Gary Leff

Sep 23 2020

This week a photo of a United Airlines flight attendant not wearing a mask went fairly viral, because airlines have been kicking two year old children off of planes for lack of masks. Surely the ones tasked with ensuring compliance should do so themselves.

What should a passenger do if a flight attendant isn’t wearing a mask? It’s reasonable to be both concerned for health, but also reticent to challenge flight crew out of fear of being removed from the aircraft or having law enforcement called.

Continue Reading »

American And United Will Both Fly Non-Stop To Bangalore, But Their Strategies Are Very Different

by Gary Leff

Sep 23 2020

In mid-February, just as the coronavirus pandemic was gaining steam, American Airlines announced a partnership with Alaska Airlines and plans to serve Seattle – Bangalore, India. It was to be American’s return to India, and the first U.S.-Bangalore non-stop.

The flight’s launch as been delayed to next year, but American Airlines President Robert Isom told his airline’s pilots last week that they’re still committed to it – even though United Airlines has just announced plans to fly San Francisco – Bangalore and will likely pick up most of the non-stop tech corridor business, and they’re planning to launch their flight before American begins its service.

Continue Reading »