Tag Archives for american airlines.
American Airlines Concierge Key and Executive Platinum customers entering the Dallas Fort-Worth Flagship lounge have an option to buy access to the more exclusive Flagship First Dining room when traveling long haul international or on eligible transcon flights for $150 per person. This is a test scheduled to last three months.
American has an amusing commercial about how much we’ve come to rely on inflight wifi. And American does a great job with domestic wifi, as Delta does and United does not. In fact the major reason I’ve continued to fly American Airlines is because United’s connectivity is so poor (and because Delta’s route network doesn’t work super well for me in Austin).
This new ad could have just as easily been made by Delta, and there it would have been even more persuasive.
American Airlines is evaluating new business class seats, expected to debut in 2023. The new business class will have doors. They’re looking at one from their current seat provider, Rockwell Collins, and they’re looking at the Adient Ascent seat (a joint venture between auto seatmaker Adient and Boeing).
What seemed confusing is that in the seat focus groups last week American was actually showing four business class seats.
I’ve written about American’s process for selecting a new business class seat to debut on the Boeing 787-9s slated for delivery beginning in 2023. I’ve argued that the most likely seat is their current Super Diamond seat, adding doors. And a second option – the Adient Ascent seat – leaked.
However it seems that people who are part of customer focus groups looking at American’s new seat options are reporting that there are actually 3 seats under consideration, and some may even be suggesting they’ve been shown four seats.
American is looking at installing a new business class seat. The timing is expected to coincide with the arrival of new Boeing 787-9 planes into the fleet in three years. They’re focus grouping two options now.
I recently wrote that I believed the seat they would choose is the current Super Diamond seat they’ve been using, with doors added. We now also know the second option they’re considering.
By beating the airline’s internal goals for “D0” or exact on-time departures, employees will get at least a $50 bonus under American’s ‘Grand Slam’ bonus program. American employees can earn up to $200 a month based on the airline’s operational performance when the airline beats Delta, United, and Southwest for the month in four areas.
American Airlines flight AA1528 from San Juan to Philadelphia was delayed 7 hours and 45 minutes on Monday when pilot Mathew Stapula didn’t show up at the airport. He was killed outside a San Juan strip club early Sunday morning. American sent a new crew member to operate the flight.
The strip club was the scene of another fatal shooting in late September.
American has announced a new codeshare relationship with Gol as well as frequent flyer partnership and an expansion at their Miami hub including to Latin America.
Gol wasn’t a great partner for Delta, which doesn’t have a huge presence in Brazil and so the opportunities to feed Delta flights were limited. Gol is a much better partner for American, which serves four cities from Brazil and flies to the country from four of its hubs.
According to Department of Transportation statistics American Airlines is number 8 out of 8 airlines in baggage mishandling. They view this as a competitive disadvantage in the Chicago market where they lag United (#4 of 8). So they’re working to improve their baggage reliability statistics. Whether the bags make it to you dry seems like it may be another matter.
American Airlines is testing new business class seats. This week they’re even testing new coach and premium economy seats with customers. Next week they’ll test new seat options for business class. And once that happens the leaks will, presumably, start pouring out.
However we don’t need to wait for leaked word on the seats American is trialing to know not just what they’re considering but to make a strong educated guess about the seat they will actually select.
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 »
