Tag Archives for american airlines.
American Airlines rolled out a new automated phone system this summer. There was an AI-sounding voice that forced you to listen to a minute-long greeting about how, for instance, you can add a pet to your reservation online before you’re allowed to do anything else. The system no longer recognized “agent” or similar requests until it had finished burning a minute of your life you’d never get back.
Austin has had one of the fastest growing airports on the country, year-after-year for many years. American Airlines planted a flag, growing tremendously there, though Southwest Airlines remained the largest carrier in the market by a wide margin.
Now American has pulled back almost completely, retrenching to hub flights and limited Mexico leisure service.
American Airlines is getting an Admirals Club in San Antonio. It’s the first new airport they’re adding to the lounge network since Houston Intercontinental in 2017. And it’s one of only a few in the pipeline.
American Airlines is about to take the last standard domestic planes that still have seat back video screens, and rip those out.
The agreement provides 18% – 20% raises right away, full retro pay, plus boarding pay which the union says averages to an 8.5% raise. Taken together this outpaces what inflation has eroded from flight attendant wages over the last 5 years.
An American Airlines first class passenger took to social media to brag on his dog’s first flight. Sure, he says, the pet “took a poop in the parking garage” but once firmly ensconced on the floor of the carrier’s first class cabin, he knew it was going to be a great flight.
Gate agents came onto the plane and saw the car seat – being used – and they “lost their temper, screaming at the mother and the flight attendants.” They had already told the woman it had to be gate checked. Their authority wasn’t going to be undermined.
If passengers are getting delayed, cancelled, and diverted – and if their bags are lost, or they’re turned away from flying completely despite having a ticket – it’s probably happening on American Airlines, according to Department of Transportation data.
American Airlines changed its travel credit expiration policy, but by following three key strategies, frequent flyers can maximize the value and duration of their credits.
The takeaway isn’t just “don’t book codeshares in the first place” it is to remember that if an airline is rebooking you because your flight has been delayed or cancelled, and another airline is involved, don’t let them rebook you onto the codeshare if you can possibly avoid it!
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 »
