Tag Archives for doug parker.
After 9/11, airline CEOs met with the White House to shape the future of air travel — and to quietly tilt new laws to their own advantage. What followed was less about safety than strategy, as rival carriers fought to design security and subsidy rules that would put each other out of business.
When US Airways Flight 1549 went down in the Hudson River in January 2009, Captain Sully Sullenberger became a national hero for saving 155 lives. What’s never been told publicly until now, according to former CEO Doug Parker, is that the “Miracle on the Hudson” may also have saved the airline itself.
No one did more to drive consolidation in the U.S. airline industry, to get the airline industry hooked on government subsidy, or to destroy passenger experience. And he did this while furloughing more workers than anyone else in aviation history, and destroying more shareholder value than any other CEO than any airline in history.
When the ‘solo traveler surcharge’ news was first broken by Thrifty Traveler, Delta and United pulled these fares from the market. American – which by all accounts was first to implement this idea – pulled only some of their fares. However, they’ve largely returned.
American Airlines promises free wifi starting in 2026 which is outstanding and long overdue. ConciergeKey members actually get free wifi starting May 1.
Former American Chairman and CEO Doug Parker explains what took so long.
This week’s guest on the Airlines Confidential podcast was flight attendants union head Sara Nelson. Since retirement, Doug Parker has been taking victory laps with her over their ability to work together to secure three rounds of massive subsidies during the pandemic.
Former American Airlines CEO Doug Parker co-hosted this week’s Airlines Confidential podcast and was asked for his best travel tip. He offered don’t ever check a bag. Parker though goes on to offer something much more important.
Parker offered that when he was acquiring US Airways as CEO of America West, David Bonderman no longer had a financial interest in the Arizona-based airline. However he called Parker three or four times, and urged him to name the combined airline America West rather than US Airways. And Parker concedes Bonderman was right.
Early in Doug Parker’s tenure the company’s market cap reached $37 billion. It’s now just over $8 billion. At the airline’s Media and Investor Day in 2017, the CEO famously declared that they would ‘never lose money again.’ Whereas their major competitors’ stock has returned to trading at pre-pandemic levels, American’s returned to its pre-pandemic decline.
For Parker and American, this was the heist of a lifetime. He spent all his time in D.C. lobbying and Nelson played a key role. Without Nelson’s cover with the narrative about workers, and bringing along Democratic leadership, it would never have worked. Together, they robbed the American people of $54 billion in direct cash, $25 billion in subsidized loans, plus money for airline contractors and tax subsidies as well.
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 »
