Regular readers might imagine that I’m not the most popular guy at American Airlines, and certainly not the most popular in Corporate Communications. That’s because of two things:
- My incessant criticism of decisions like continuing to spend money adding seats to planes (to cram people closer together) and taking seat back entertainment out of planes during the global pandemic – when they have little need for more seats, people want more space, and the last thing the airline should be doing is making unnecessary capital expenditures.
- My continued leaking of internal plans and communication, stories that are often picked up by journalists who read this site.
At times I’ve even been ordered ‘frozen out’ by the communications team. And despite all our ups and downs one person I’ve come to respect a great deal is Ross Feinstein who leaves the airline today after 5 years. There are two things about Ross that make him an outstanding communications professional.
- He’s always honest
- He works hard to get the right answer
As a result he’s trusted and he has a chance to make his employer’s case. For instance I recall having a story first about an American Airlines customer service agent who accessed a passenger’s personal information to text her, making unwanted advances. That story eventually went somewhat viral, much later, but he managed to convince me it wasn’t news because there was nothing really unique here – virtually every merchant we deal with has similar employees and similar data, and the airline acted swiftly to discipline the employee and protect the customer from further intrusion.
Even though I’ve been a tough audience for American Airlines corporate communication I’ll still go to them for information. Sometimes that means learning something isn’t a story, and not covering it. Other times it means including American’s perspective when I wouldn’t have otherwise had it.
Ross also works hard. He’s the guy who has been tasked for the last several years with investigating passenger incidents. When something goes wrong, he’s on it early (he’s a loud proponent of tools like Dataminr to get out ahead of things that will become stories) and he’s the one who meticulously combs through data and airport video footage to figure out what really happened.
He’s also willing to mock stupidity, and to do it publicly – but ironically has helped earn respect from serious people that cover the industry.
How this is news is beyond me. @FAANews ATC asks a flight to go around. @FOX46News believes this is a news story. https://t.co/f1YyUPHNea
— Ross Feinstein (@RossFeinstein) August 12, 2020
Let’s be clear, this guy was well-prepared for the role and so he knows how to best represent a client that’s often on the receiving end of negative press. During the second Bush 43 term and through most of the Obama Presidency he flacked for everyone people love to hate before arriving at American Airlines. He served as Press Secretary for TSA, spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Deputy Press Security for the Office of Director of National Intelligence.
When he was ready for a new, even more challenging role representing an unpopular employer he chose.. American Airlines. This man can make almost anything sound reasonable, and he does it through deep knowledge, research, and presentation of facts. I honestly couldn’t ask for more in dealing with someone at an airline, or any other company I reach out to.
Ross Feinstein will be missed at American Airlines. Selfishly I hope his next role is in the travel industry. For his sake, I hope it isn’t.
@ Gary — You scared me. For a second, I thought you meant JonNYC. He is the BEST communicator of insider AA info!
Best of luck to Ross! He was always a pleasure to work with.
I have to say that was some of the most honest, often self deprecating, reporting in an opinion piece Ive seen in years.
I’ve been loosely following you through my Google discover feed for about 6 months now but this piece has made me a committed fan of your work.
You managed to do what many at MSNBC, CNN & Fox etal ( I’m a Brit so I’m keeping this objectively non-political) seem to have lost the ability to do – give an opinion objectively AND managed to pay, considered, homage to someone who at times has been something of an adversary.
Kudos
“Unpopular employer”????
Your prism is showing.
Every interaction I had with Ross while I represented my TWU Local was a pleasant one. AA will miss him.
Class article about a class act.
Former AA Permanent Platinum with 4 million miles.
For a bit, he was a bit of fresh air from DHS/TSA on FT and elsewhere in the social media world. But that too didn’t last forever.
I thought his move to AA would do AA customers a favor, but AA had already become such a customer-hostile business by that point that his time there too showed how organizational culture that is rotten usually stays rotten at best even when there are some people trying to do something a bit different.
I wish him the best of luck in his next role(s).
Five years? Yawn, all of which under LUS post merger. Why are you portraying him as some fixture at AA HDQ?
I’m sure you like the “access” and attention he gave you more than anything else.