american airlines

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American Airlines Will Begin Requiring Passengers To Wear Face Masks

by Gary Leff on April 30, 2020

Apr 30 2020

To show how quickly things are changing – the modern day equivalent of one being as a thousand years and a thousand years one day – it was only Monday that American announced flight attendants would be required to wear masks and that starting May 1 they’d begin to roll out complimentary masks for customers as an option, subject to supply chain and operational constraints.

Indeed it was just six weeks ago that American still disciplined flight attendants who wore masks.

6 Things I Learned During The American Airlines Earnings Call

by Gary Leff on April 30, 2020

Apr 30 2020

American Airlines lost over $2.2 billion in the first quarter, even though things didn’t begin to go south until March. They’re pulling in new cash everywhere they can, cutting costs, and expect not to have any difficulty securing not just payroll protection grants from the U.S. treasury but also subsidized loans.

Those financial metrics aren’t what I’m most interested in at this point, nor the $40 billion in debt they could soon be carrying. Those issues are well covered elsewhere. I wanted to highlight 6 other things last may get less play in broader coverage.

American Airlines Will Do More Cleaning Between Flights, Provide Masks and Sanitizer to Passengers

by Gary Leff on April 27, 2020

Apr 27 2020

American is rolling out deeper cleaning of aircraft between all flights, eventually extending to all of their domestic operation, and – supplies permitting – will begin offering masks and hand sanitizer to passengers. Starting May 1 flight attendants will be required to wear masks as well.

New American Airlines Rules Force Passengers To Congregate At The Gate Earlier, Miss More Connections

by Gary Leff on April 27, 2020

Apr 27 2020

American Airlines has updated its rules have been tightened to require customers to be at the gate earlier, and to board flights earlier.

Requiring passengers to spend more time congregating in cramped gate areas is the opposite direction from where the airline should be moving in the current era which calls for greater social distancing. And closing the doors earlier means more passengers missing more flights.

How Social Distancing Really Works On Planes Now (It Doesn’t Always)

by Gary Leff on April 26, 2020

Apr 26 2020

Airlines are blocking middle seats. Delta has stopped processing upgrades in advance, handling all upgrades at the gate, to manage seat assignments in domestic first class so that passengers aren’t seated beside each other. They’re also blocking seats near flight attendant jump seats, to keep passengers away from flight attendants.

These are all social distancing steps to limit contact between people during travel, both to help stop the spread of the coronavirus and also to give customers confidence to fly. But they won’t do this if it means losing even a single ticket sale.

Take One American Airlines Flight, Get A Free Roundtrip (“Fly One, Get One”)

by Gary Leff on April 26, 2020

Apr 26 2020

I’ve been saying we’ll start to see travel incentive programs investing in generous promotions, though frankly didn’t expect to see any this soon. American Airlines Business ExtrAA will give you points for a free roundtrip if you sign up for the program and take a single flight by June 30.

American Picked The Wrong Week To Raise Checked Bag Fees On Europe Flights

by Gary Leff on April 21, 2020

Apr 21 2020

American Airlines today has increased first check bag fees on flights between North American (or Central or South America) and Europe on basic economy fares from $60 to $75.

Branding Videos Are Tough During The Pandemic. American Airlines Pulls It Off.

by Gary Leff on April 21, 2020

Apr 21 2020

American is out with a new video, You Are Why We Fly. That’s not one of American’s new slogans (e.g. “caring for people on life’s journey”) but does harken back to one of the airline’s more important messages of the past: we know why you fly.

‘You are why we fly’ speaks to why they keep going in the face of unprecedented challenges, why they continue the business with fares so low and planes so empty, why employees travel from place to place and continue to interact with customers at the airport and on board even in the face of the global pandemic.

New American Airlines Safety Video Leaked “Safety At Scale”

by Gary Leff on April 18, 2020

Apr 18 2020

The new American Airlines safety video certainly would have been released by now if not for the current global pandemic. It features the airline’s new uniform. Seeing this gives me a sense of normalcy.

American Airlines Extends Expiration of Systemwide Upgrades (But Some Upgrades Will Be Lost)

by Gary Leff on April 16, 2020

Apr 16 2020

Along with extending elite status by a year American Airlines is also extending systemwide upgrade certificates. Any systemwide upgrade expiring by January 31, 2021 will be extended to July 31, 2021.

But what about getting new upgrades when status is extended? And what about upgrades from last year that have been applied to 2020 travel?