american airlines

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American Airlines Pilots Union Telling Members to Refuse Trips to Venezuela

by Gary Leff

maduro
Mar 15 2019

American Airlines is the sole remaining US carrier serving Venezuela and there are few other airlines flying in and out of the country as well. As the nation has fallen apart, with mass shortages, rampant crime, and inflation over 5000%, American Airlines had found their Venezuela routes extremely profitable — because there was so little air service left.

With flight crews getting robbed by bandits airlines fly crews out of the country rather than overnighting, and try to refuel elsewhere as well.

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5 Things American Airlines Shared With Employees This Week About Their Product

by Gary Leff

flight attendant holding soda can
Mar 14 2019

American Airlines hosts a ‘state of the airline’ event for employees after its earnings calls. There senior management shares their vision for the company and employees can ask questions. In addition to those questions that are asked live, there are followup questions that get asked – and answered – in writing.

The airline has shared written responses to several employee questions, and some of those were interesting (to me).

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American Airlines Strands 16 Woman Bachelorette Party When Bride’s Mother Appears Drunk

by Gary Leff

cops in airport
Mar 14 2019

Sixteen women headed out Thursday on American Airlines from Sacramento to a bachelorette party in Cabo San Lucas while first connecting in Phoenix.

As they were about to board their connecting flight they were stopped — the bride‘s mother appeared to be intoxicated. Her daughter excuses it because she was nervous flying for the first time “in over 20 years” which is why she “had a few alcoholic drinks before their first flight.”

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Consequences of Grounding the Boeing 737 MAX for the American Airlines Operation

by Gary Leff

plane tv
Mar 13 2019

As American took the first 14 of their 24 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft out of service following President Trump’s grounding, planes were left sitting in Barbados, Cancun, Boston, Orlando, St. Croix, Tampa, Santo Domingo, Port of Spain, Santo Domingo, Miami and Puerto Plata.

The first 36 MAX flight cancellations affected schedules of 5500 passengers. Roughly speaking we’ll be looking at perhaps twice that many flights on an average day.

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American Airlines Pilots Back the 737 MAX, as Black Boxes Get Analyzed We’ll Know More

by Gary Leff

airplane flying
Mar 13 2019

I would love it if it were more possible to follow the facts and not the mob. We don’t yet know where the facts on the Ethiopian Airlines disaster will lead.

American Airlines pilots have come out in support of the 737 MAX. Contrary to the Chinese regulator’s lack of confidence in their pilots flying aircraft manually, they remain confident in their ability to operate the MAX, the performance of their planes has been exemplary, and their planes have a difference that they highlight from other MAX jets that may make them less vulnerable to mistaken Angle of Attack readings.

The Allied Pilots Association (APA), representing the 15,000 pilots of American Airlines, remains confident in the Boeing 737 Max and in our members’ ability to safely fly it.

The pilots for the world’s largest airline have the necessary training and experience to troubleshoot problems and take decisive actions on the flight deck to protect our passengers and crew.

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The Lengths American Airlines Will Go to Cram More Seats Into a Plane

by Gary Leff

american plane
Mar 12 2019

Apparently American Airlines is performing an evacuation test on their Airbus A321neo, which is required before they’re certified to fly it in revenue operations.

There’s controversy over whether today’s more densely packed planes — more seats, closer together, with higher load factors — can be evacuated that quickly under real world conditions, but I’ve argued that misses the point. Evacuation standards need to be so stringent in order to account for the delays that happen when frightened passengers actually leave the aircraft in real world stress.

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American Airlines Flight Attendants Union Telling Crew They Don’t Have to Work the 737 MAX

by Gary Leff

airplane flying
Mar 11 2019

American Airlines has 24 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in service. Plenty of customers are expressing concern over the aircraft after the Lion Air incident in October was followed by yesterday’s tragic crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX. China and Indonesia have grounded the jet.

Many airlines operating the plane, including Southwest and American, have expressed support for the aircraft’s safety. And it’s too early to know just what happened in yesterday’s occurrence. We’ll know more soon, especially now that the aircraft’s black boxes are being studied. It’s natural though to have concerns.

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American Express Acquiring LoungeBuddy

by Gary Leff

Mar 11 2019

Lounge Buddy features airport lounge reviews and also sells single visit lounge passes often at a discount. The last time I spoke with the Lounge Buddy team they were also providing management software to lounges as well.

They’re now being acquired by American Express. As a result we’re promised there will be “additional [unspecified] ways” that American Express will “become an essential part of our…digital lives.”

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