Tag Archives for american airlines.
American’s new Chief Customer Officer Heather Garboden offhandedly mentions that “we’ve seen a 10% reduction in gate checked bags just within the first few weeks” of the carrier’s new boarding process.
If they’ve made changes to consciously drive down the number of bags they’re gate checking, that’s actually a huge win for customers and they should be shouting it from the rooftops! I just can’t figure out why they’re seeing this result.
The problem is that American Airlines has high costs, but an average product. Customers choose them on schedule and price, not because they’ll go out of their way to do so – the argument Delta makes about their business.
American Airlines has introduced elite status in their small business program. Companies that credit $250,000 or more in a calendar year receive (3) incremental benefits.
American Airlines is putting an additional row of first class into its Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft. They’re about the start work on the prototype A319. They expect to retrofit the first group of planes in the fall – the ones due for heavy maintenance checks – and then will proceed with the ones that only need cabin interior work.
A passenger boarded their American Airlines flight and found a child sitting in their seat. He paused, double checked the row, and is ready to let the child keep the seat-provided the parent asks politely.
Everyone can now standby on American Airlines for free. They’ll no longer be told to use the website or mobile app if asking an agent for help. The airline no longer actually forbids standing by within 45 minutes of departure, they just don’t guarantee it for most customers. And they’ll allow standing by to a co-terminal airport, too. These are all real improvements, and better than what American had announced.
I did manage to find some place to sit in the dining area when I first arrived there, or so I thought. There was an empty table, so I put my belongings down and went to check out the buffet. But when I returned a couple of minutes later, my bag had been moved by a man probably in his 70’s. He began to stand aggressively and told me he was sitting there “he just didn’t leave any bags to mark the spot.”
It’s not just legroom that’s going to be squeezed on Airbus A319 planes to fit in more seats. They nip and tuck everywhere on the aircraft.
American Airlines now has (4) really nice Admirals Clubs: Washington National E Concourse, Newark, Denver, and Philadelphia A West. However, this club just isn’t large enough. They should have made the whole thing Flagship (since the Flagship side can’t support passenger volume before the evening transatlantics) and kept the A East Admirals Club open. Perhaps they’ll ultimately renovate that space and we’ll have both a nice Flagship lounge and a large enough, nice Admirals Club in Philadephia as well.
American has decided to reverse course on pajamas. There will also be mattress pads. And they won’t be taking away the slippers to pay for 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 »
