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American Airlines Looking for Solutions During Tough Times, Thinks Selling Boston Market Sandwiches on Long Flights Might Do the Trick
It’s not surprising to hear that several major airlines are struggling to keep their flights filled with globetrotting passengers. I don’t even want to talk about the economy because I think that has been the MAJOR excuse for cutting back on GREAT, GENUINE CUSTOMER SERVICE and INCREASING costs in ways that really makes no sense. I just got word that American Airlines Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey informed its shareholders that the airline will focus on the things they can control, and not fixate on the things they cannot.
The last time I checked, good customer service, treating families on board with respect, and a simple smile and hello from the airline attendants ARE things that can be controlled but simply aren’t being done by airlines today.
Update for Mr. Arpey and the AATeam: The methods you propose are far fetched. While I think that you are onto something, you might want to try catering to family passengers by offering respect and incentives to get us, as a family, to fly on your airline. There are a million and one strategies that can be easily implemented without breaking the budget. What you’ll find by simply offering us common courtesy and a helping hand when we board the plane, is that your airline will ACTUALLY make a difference. Making a difference is what will place AA ahead of the class when it comes to TOP family picks. Give it a try.
Economic Crisis
“While the price of oil has fallen rather dramatically in recent months, we have now in effect transitioned, rather seamlessly, from a fuel crisis to an economic crisis. Put another way, we still have a gap between our revenues and our costs, but now the gap is being driven by a shortfall in revenue rather than a spike in fuel expenses. And just as the airline industry was not built for 125 dollar oil, neither was it built for an environment of negative global economic growth and non-functioning capital markets.”
“While there is no sugarcoating the impact associated with the fall off of both business and leisure travel, the supply and demand relationship is not nearly as bad as it would have been without the capacity reductions we implemented in 2008. The benefits of capacity discipline are evident in the fact that American’s load factor — or percentage of seats filled — was actually up year over year in April. At the same time, the various service charges we implemented last year have been very helpful, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in incremental revenue.”
“We are focused on doing what it takes to win a disproportionate share of the industry’s premium travelers. And one of the most powerful weapons at our disposal is AAdvantage, our award-winning recognition program. Earlier this month, we announced our latest innovation — one-way flex awards, which give our customers more options to redeem travel.”
“Of course, the sheer size of the AAdvantage program — we have more than 62.8 million members — reminds us that in addition to our premium customers, we also serve many millions of customers, who fly less frequently and who — despite being very budget conscious — are extremely important to us. Earning their business means offering a competitive price and true value for their travel dollar. Delivering the basics — getting them where they want to go, safely, on-time and with their bags — in a clean airplane — and treating them with courtesy and respect every step of the way — and doing all that at a competitive price, is the key.”
“The key to our unbundled — or a la carte — pricing initiative’s effectiveness is that it gives customers the ability to customize their travel experience as they see fit, according to what they value most. We have enhanced our Buy on Board food service in the coach cabin, selling Boston Market sandwiches and salads on some longer flights, and we are continuing to look for more opportunities to sell value-added products and services to our customers, both in-flight and on the ground.”
“As you know, because of the adjustments we have made to respond to the oil shock and the economic crisis, we are a smaller airline today than we were a year ago. The same is true for most of our competitors. But it’s worth noting that while the combined Delta/Northwest has eclipsed us in total size, we remain larger when it comes to the top thirty domestic origin-and-destination markets — in other words, the markets that matter most.”
“Moreover, we have made — and will continue to make — some strategic additions to our global network, in markets that are very important to our best customers. We’re building a presence in China and India, and expanding our reach into new markets like Barcelona, Milan and Moscow. We are very optimistic about the DFW-Madrid service we launched earlier this month, and of course our enhanced presence in Spain will both bolster — and be bolstered by — the deeper relationship we are pursuing with Iberia.”
“The airline business today is evolving into a competition between the global alliances, and today we and our oneworld partners are at a significant disadvantage. By enabling us to coordinate our efforts, the joint business agreement we have reached with BA and Iberia will level the playing field as we battle it out with the Star and Sky Team alliances, both of which already enjoy broad antitrust immunity across the Atlantic.”
“‘One of those hard truths is that American’s labor cost per available seat mile is the highest in the industry. Every one of our legacy competitors has used the bankruptcy courts — some more than once — to lower their labor costs relative to American. And every new carrier entering the marketplace has a built-in labor cost advantage from day one. That has a profound impact, because we have to compete with these companies, whether we like it or not.”
Breezing Through Airport Traffic Might Be the Clear Thing to Do For the Whole Family
Not many families are talking about it but there is an alternative to standing in long security lines at the airport with your tyke. The solution is called Clear and with anything, if you plan ahead by applying for this service, complete all of your paperwork and pay a fee, you can save you and your family a ton of heartache when it comes to crossing the lines with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
I haven’t tried it, but would like to, and now seems to be a good time, given they’re offering a family special. Have any of you tried this service? Is it really beneficial? Does it really save you TIME and HASSLE?
Check out the family savings plan currently being offered…
The Process is Simple
*Select the number of family memberships you would like to purchase (2-5)
*Enter your credit card information
*Enter the email address and a short personalized note for each recipient (be sure to include your own email address if you are one of the recipients!)
*Each member of your family will receive an email with a code good for a one year membership in Clear, and instructions on how to redeem his or her membership and enroll at www.flyclear.com.
Number Of Enrollees/Price
2 family members $329 – Save $69
3 family members $459 – Save $138
4 family members $589 – Save $207
5 family members $719 – Save $276
*Please note: Children 11 years of age and under can use the Clear lane with an adult Clear member. They do not need their own membership.
