american airlines

Tag Archives for american airlines.

Lesson From The Deal Of The Year, Don’t Neglect Other SimplyMiles

by Gary Leff on December 15, 2021

Dec 15 2021

If you were going to buy from Wine.com or CVS anyway these are incredible deals, and maybe worth doing even if you weren’t going to. MovieClub was profitable on its own, but the charity offer if you had it was more lucrative and you probably didn’t want the MovieClub product. Vinesse wines are terrible (in my experience) but again miles worth more than the purchase price. Barnes & Noble effectively got you a rebate of the full value of a book (or other) purchase in the form of miles. And this isn’t the first time they ran a sextuple miles offer, they did it at the end of 2019 also.

All of which is to say this bonus highlights SimplyMiles and makes it something worth checking more often than I would have before.

American’s Chief Commercial Officer Lays Out A New Vision For The Airline

by Gary Leff on December 15, 2021

Dec 15 2021

American Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Vasu Raja laid out a new vision for the carrier, as part of the announcement of a new senior leadership team that comes with Doug Parker’s stepping down as CEO and Robert Isom taking that position at the end of March.

It’s a customer-focused vision which isn’t something we’ve seen clearly articulated at American Airlines since US Airways took over. (“Caring for people on life’s journey” is too non-specific and milquetoast to count.)

American Picks New Seat Back Screens For Long Haul Planes

by Gary Leff on December 14, 2021

Dec 14 2021

Selecting a provider for seat back entertainment and power is a step forward in preparing for new business class seats on aircraft that will be coming into the fleet.

American Airlines Names New Senior Leadership Team – But One Spot Is Glaringly Vacant

by Gary Leff on December 14, 2021

Dec 14 2021

When American Airlines announced that Chairman and CEO Doug Parker would become non-executive Chairman on March 31, 2022 and current President Robert Isom would take over as CEO and join the board, I wrote that Executive Vice President of People and Communications Elise Eberwein would step down as well. That’s now official.

Robert Isom has named his new leadership team and it’s interesting as much for what hasn’t been stated as what has.

Leaked Recording: American’s Top Executives Weigh In On The Operational Mess Of Their India Flights

by Gary Leff on December 13, 2021

Dec 13 2021

American Airlines launched its New York JFK – Delhi flight, marking its return to India, but it’s been plagued by massive problems. They haven’t been granted the right to fly over Russia, and so the flight takes two hours longer than flights on other airlines. That means more fuel and more crew and the plane has frequently had to take a diversion – further lengthening the trip and inconveniencing passengers.

Right now fares would have to be a lot lower for anyone to want to fly American over even Air India, let alone United from Newark. Addressing the issues has been a company-wide priority for the airline.

Here Are The Steps American Airlines Is Taking To Stop Unruly Passengers

by Gary Leff on December 13, 2021

Dec 13 2021

It seems as though airlines are getting better at this just as the craziest inflight incidents – though still appalling – are becoming a bit more rare, and the FAA is ramping up enforcement just as there’s a bit less to enforce.

Robert Isom Explains: As CEO Of American, It’ll Be Meet The New Boss, Same As The Old Boss

by Gary Leff on December 12, 2021

Dec 12 2021

American has underperformed the industry financially, alienating shareholders. They’ve alienated customers and employees. They’ve focused primarily on operational reliability but haven’t delivered that, as they’ve offered a ‘me too’ (but a little bit less) inflight product. They lack a strategy for earning a revenue premium over competitors, necessary because of their lagging financials and crushing debt. So far it doesn’t sound like Isom sees that the current path is unsustainable over the long term.

In comments to employees this past week he made clear that his appointment at CEO isn’t about change that he’s been a part of every major strategic decision at the airline for years, and he believes they’re on the right path.

A New Agenda For A New American Airlines CEO

by Gary Leff on December 11, 2021

Dec 11 2021

Doug Parker will step down as CEO of American Airlines March 31, 2022 and current airline President Robert Isom will become CEO. He reaction of many was ‘meet the new boss, same as the old boss.’ Isom as served along side Parker for years. Before becoming President of American Airlines he served as Chief Operating Officer at American and at US Airways. He has previous experience at Northwest Airlines, which had a deservedly bad reputation for its product, service, and employee morale.

But as Scott Kirby at United shows – himself formerly President of American and US Airways – a fresh start and ascending to the CEO role affords an opportunity to break from the past. And a CEO transition is the perfect time to revisit >everything. A CEO transition coming out of a pandemic doubly so.

American Airlines Announces New Doha Flight, Lacks Planes To Fly Its 2022 International Schedule

by Gary Leff on December 9, 2021

Dec 09 2021

New long haul routes are exciting! American Airlines will fly from New York to Doha this summer. That’s great for AAdvantage elites looking for an upgrade. For most others, Qatar Airways remains the better airline of choice.

They’re adding this flight at a time they’re announcing they lack enough widebody aircraft to fly their summer Europe schedule, so they’re cancelling plans for many flights. They’re blaming Boeing’s production problems, and ignoring the decisions they made during the pandemic that put them in this bind.

Southwest CEO Gary Kelly’s Amazing Tribute Video To Retiring American CEO Doug Parker

by Gary Leff on December 7, 2021

Dec 07 2021

On October 22nd American Airlines CEO Doug Parker received the Wings Club’s Lifetime Achievement Award. I shared the video American prepared for the event, and Parker’s acceptance speech, earlier today in my coverage of his retirement announcement. Parker will stay as CEO through March 31 when he becomes Chairman and current airline President Robert Isom becomes CEO.

The real star of the Wings Club event, enjoyed by around 1300 guests at the New York Hilton, was Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly’s music video tribute. It’s been held close to the vest since that night.