AA is known for taking one olive off every salad served to save $40,000 per year. That is AA's corporate philosophy in a nut shell, bean counters digging in the minutia for pennies.
It is sad when an important airline like AA would lower is customer service! Ignoring its values to the travellers! To be told that it is the responsibility of the passenger to check gate departures rather to announce change of gates! Sad!
it's also the company that strongarmed Boeing into launching a "re-engined 737NG" and made them promise it will handle exactly the same as a 737NG with zero differences training required. It's also the company that flirted with Lockheed and the Tristar, only to go with McDonnell Douglas and their cheaper DC-10
My father-in-law used to teach MBA candidates at a college northeast of Atlanta. He usually had 2 to 3 Delta employees among his students at any time. The belief of management is that if an airline tries to improve Coach, thinking it can charge a higher price, a competitor will try to further cut prices. American tried More Room Throughout Coach, taking 2 rows out of the Coach section of every mainline aircraft. AA lost a lot of money. Whereas people will pay for better cars, better clothes, better hotel rooms, restaurants, and so on, they treat air travel like milk, gas, flour, and other items deemed commodities. The idea of airlines splitting the way GM, Ford, Chrysler, and other car makers have different makes for different price points just doesn't apply to commercial aviation.
"Horrendous" is about right, and although American's steerage class seating is an ordeal, it's about par for the course for all three American legacy airlines. It was a sad day when my favorite airline was bullied into partnership with American.
American Air lines lack customer service! I sat at a gate in Miami for 3hrs not knowing AA had changed the gate! No announcement! I had to run from D46 to E3! The AA informed me that AA does not make announcements for gate changes! It was the passenger responsibility to check for gate changes!
I live in Dallas/Fort Worth, so American has a virtual monopoly here. On one hand its great to be able to fly direct to almost anywhere from here and I use American mostly because of loyalty points, but it'd be nice if they had some competition. They've also had a lot of issues lately with baggage claim. Three times in the last month, we've had to wait more than an hour after landing for them to unload the bags.
In a previous project, I had to fly to a different U.S. city weekly and after experiencing United, Delta, Southwest, America and Spirit, I chose to exclusively fly US Airways. I was very concerned with US Airways combining with American since the customer service at the time (and labor relations, etc. as a result of the Crandall leadership) might deteriorate, much as Continental going from first in customer satisfaction to last when combined with United. I was relieved that the AA/US combination seemed to keep my experiences on par with US Airways. As of late, however, I've been less satisfied with the cabin experience and pricing. There was a reason that AA went bankrupt before combining with US, and I hope things aren't headed that way again. As far as employee pay, the CEO of AA makes in the neighborhood of 32 million a year, while new hire flight attendants qualify for food stamps. Executive salaries really need to be under control, since they seem to have no effect on company performance, as is readily observable with the likes of Stellantis, and Boeing.
Robert Crandall had long left American since 1998 and when he left AA was making record profits at the time. the employees had a love hate relationship with him because he was tough negotiator but he kept AA afloat during the tough uncertain times of adjusting to a deregulated environment where a lot of airlines went under. Hence Mr. Crandall certainly is not responsible for the mess that America West which we call AA is now in today. AA didn't go bankrupt. As a matter of a fact, AA went into chapter 11 reorganization with over 4 billion in cash and wanted to use Chapter 11 to cut costs and eliminate debt which all of their competitors have done including USAirways and America West which have all done so 3 times prior to their merger with AA. UA Airways wasn't a stellar performer from a customer service point of view their management kept the airline operating under separate union concessionary contracts for years (the America west side and US Airways side) which allowed them to keep making money but they knew their route network wasn't competitive in the long-run and their own unions were demanding better salaries hence why USAirways was desperate at the time to merge with either UA, DL and AA. US Aiways which is actually America West took over AA and was managing the airline since 2013 and they promised the unions better working conditions and salaries because it was them who helped them get the merger approved. The problems i see with the airline today started with Doug Parker. He became too full of himself after becoming the CEO of the merged company and made some arrogant remarks that the merged company will never loose money and poorly managed the company finances by spending billions on shares buy backs while accumulating a large amount of debt and making unpopular customer service decisions. Now AA is in a weaker financial position than its main rivals because of his decisions. I personally don't think that the CEO they currently have is capable of fixing these issues.
@@ashgreene4914 I'm afraid I must disagree with you. My family and I have been involved with the airline industry since the 1950s and have experienced much with the likes of Robert Crandall, Carl Icahn, Frank Borman and Frank Lorenzo, to name a few. Crandall was beyond a tough negotiator. He was, in my opinion, an egomaniac in the same vein as Borman and Lorenzo, who seemed to think they were royalty. I'm not going to respond to your diatribe. Suffice it to say that you and I have differing opinions, based on different experiences.
The thought of flying a narrow body plane on a flight 6-10 hours is painful. I liken it to the days when airlines starting using regional jets for 3 hour flights when they were meant for 1 hour flights. You may talk about your horrible experience on a 787, but that is not a 787 issue, that was AA like other airlines making 3-3-3 seating in a plane Boeing designed for 2-4-2. JAL does 2-4-2 on their international 787 and it is ranked as one of the best economy classes. Taken further, the continued reductions in seat pitch to squeeze yet another row is torture. The continued push to lower ticket prices further is destroying air travel. If you want cheap, fly RyanAir, EasyJet, or Spirit and accept the service level you pay for or lack of service you didn’t pay for. Southwest was just pushed to focus on improving their service by investors because the operational philosophy when they flew 100-140 seats on one hour flights is not working with 180 seat planes flying 3-5 hours.
The 3-3-3 seating is not the problem. The issue is the lack of standards, particularly near the rear of the cabin where seats are as narrow as 16 inches.
From the perspective of flight crew who are required by US regulations to have in-flight rest, it will be interesting to know how the various airlines will configure the XLR for crew rest that is within the parameters of designated crew rest facilities for flight attendants and for pilots.
We flew an AA 787 basic economy. The last row had only two seats. The space not taken up with seats was between the window seat and the window enough room to move belongings from under the seat in front. I thought that was great.
I have to say I flew American about a month ago from LHR to DFW and loved the flight. Absolutely no complaints whatsoever. BA is the weakest link in this partnership… BA flight was shitty AF. Flight was in Business so I can speak on that.
...I remember back in the regulated era when American had a sense of "professionalism" and excellence in service that is sorely missing today. I also miss the old 1960s "Astrojet" livery, possibly one of the best ever.
@bcshelby4926 All airlines used to be more professional. My wife noticed a lot of United gate agents all but barking at passengers at Newark in 2015. What happened to the United of the 1960s and 1970s and it's Midwestern friendliness? Delta was a genuinely southern carrier in the era of regulation. Its flight attendants were most charming southern women, and the meals skewed southern. My father loved the grits that Delta served on breakfast flights. Delta is no longer a southern airline. It's just an airline that happens to have its HQ and fortress hub in Atlanta.
One thing I have noticed was the devaluation of the Loyalty program. If you had Ruby or above one world status, you had the ability to pick some of the best economy seats on the plane. They were blocked off from the non status members. Now AA will let any person buy these better economy seats, bags and even extended leg room with cocktails included. So unless you fly over 100k your status means very little, not to mention the standard seat pitch of 30" in stead of 31 on Delta and Alaska, and 32 on Southwest and Jetblue. The number of miles required to buy an economy seat has gone up significantly. So each mile is worth just over a penny in most economy tickets. I have million mile status on the carrier. AA is not my first choice by any means when I buy tickets any more.
Since Robert Crandall left American, the company has gone downhill. I spent 43 years in the industry, and retired as a passenger service service agent. I was more compelled to retire at 62 because of the changes intact ed by management. They certainly were not putting the passenger first. I was always under the impression that the passengers that chose to fly with American were our top priority. Toward the end of my career the company made it seem as though the passenger was not first, that the bottom line was most important. I saw our customers start to suffer rather than enjoy their experience. Thanks
AAL is my favorite Us airline. Not perfect, but my experiences have been positive and I fly quite a lot. Prefer them over UAL and DAL. Generally pleasant crew, professional pilots, smooth boarding process and newer cabins. And the flights are always full.
I could not disagree more on this video. I’ve traveled with AA for over 34 years. I’ve traveled with QANTAS, Delta, United, Alaska and Southwest. The US carriers are all basically the same as far as seat pitch Southwest was worst and Alaska a bit better. Where you sit in the cabin matters. AA flight attendants were the best out of them. They are always very personable to us. That’s why I keep flying them. I also live in a AA hub city. Delta FA were couldn’t care less if you were there or not. We spent a fortune to go to Rome on DL no good morning and no thanks you. SW stupid annoying announcements keep me from going on them anymore. United’s FA’s were very pleasant. Alaskas FA’s were short on meals and they did everything possible to get us something to eat on the flt to ANC. We have never had a horrendous experience on any airline especially when we can get extra seats in our row. Any airline that doesn’t maximize their assets is very stupid. Boeing is causing stress at AA by not delivering the aircraft to AA. You might need to reevaluate your contact at AA. They aren’t very neutral. QANTAS wasn’t all that great from LAX to SYD and back. The seats are just as comfortable as AA, UA or DL on that trip. Customer service was lagging behind the US carriers. If you are a tall man, pick your seats accordingly. I love your videos and channel. I rarely comment on them. I just could let this video go without a comment. Keep up the good work
I flew on an American Airlines 787 in economy back in February on a long haul flight. I fly long haul at least 3 times a year, so 6 flights in total for round trips. And I have to say, that was the worst experience I ever had on an airplane. I knew from the moment I sat down that I was in trouble. And I had to suffer through it for 14.5 hours. I am more than willing, in the future, to pay a little more on other airlines for better comfort and a better experience. In fact, on this trip I had back in February, I canceled my return trip on American Airlines and rebooked with China Airlines in my long haul portion of my return trip, and it was a 10 fold better experience. I really hope they take a hard look at that product and redesign it. It is horrible as it is now. They also need to reintroduce some long-haul markets they got rid of during covid or introduce some new long-haul markets in general as they severely lack in that department compared to competitors. They are focusing too much on South America and domestic weird routes. They need more Asia flights to be specific. But that is my opinion. I fly to Asia a lot.
I refuse to fly with AA long haul. I did LHR to MIA recently on economy and even with nobody by my side I had a horrible experience. And I won't even mention the horrible service and experience I had with the flight attendants. Unfortunately in MIA most of the flights are with AA but I always avoid it.
The economy section flight experience is key. I won’t fly in United economy section because of the legroom and seat pitch. That part of the cabin should be, and is relegated to those looking at price only. This group exists but everyone else will have a miserable experience. Just one or even two more inched will make for an enjoyable flight but they would need much thinner seats or pull out three rows. Neither being likely.
Would be interesting if they could use Airbus a321XL to fly out New York LGA to LHR that could mean you could fly into manhattan directly without the traffic jams from Newark or JFK
Never going to happen for two reasons. One is flights at LGA are limited by the perimeter rule, so they can’t go further than I believe 1250 miles. Two is there is no customs facility at LGA to handle international flights and after spending billions of dollars pretty much rebuilding the terminals from the ground up, do you think they will spend more on an FIS facility that may not get much use?
Can’t do that when it’s their most profitable route overseas or in the industry as a whole. They need the big 777 to fly to LHR from JFK, because of slot restrictions. Can’t have a smaller plan using up valuable slots while they lose capacity by flying to LGA.
They will be only flying out of JFK. Maybe! Newark. But once they start rolling out the XLR, they will be doing transcons before they go to Europe. They have 50 on order and 30 787-9s in order. Delivery starts at the end of 2024 and 2025
Anyone stuck in the coach cabin over 9 hours or more, has definitely thought that a fewer seats, and higher price would be a better experience. Airlines need to end the shuttle bus mentality for those extra long flights. Have always disagree with deregulation.
I love American Airlines because they make it easy to change flights, cancel a flight and get your money back as a travel credit, and I can easily call them and never ever get put on hold. Their onboard service and product is as good as delta (idk about united), it is the most underrated ("over-trashed"?) airline in the world
Their onboard service definitely isn’t the same as Delta. American always puts the minimum amount of flight attendants onboard, resulting in lacking service imo
@@TysonIke Without seeing their uniforms I don't think I would've known a difference, but maybe I have just had back luck on delta long-haul flights or good luck with American
@@jaxonmattox9267 it was noticeable for me on my most recent pair of transatlantic flights on American. Now I have never flown Delta internationally, but it’s fair to assume that on a flagship route American would put their best product out, yet it wasn’t as good as any of the Delta connection or Delta domestic flights I had been on. I mostly fly on United and understand how each airline can be inconsistent, but I have noticed that American is just constantly worse. The flight attendants messed up my neighbors food order twice last time, and also ran out of meals for business class. Seated in the front row of main cabin extra legroom I saw them turn the cart around and start serving economy meals in business. I got my meal but if I was one of those 2-3 passengers in business who got economy food I’d be pissed
The ONE and ONLY issue American Airlines is focused on is On Time Departures. Gate Agents and Flight Attendants are particularly singled out and WILL be held accountable. American Airlines has and continues to utilize a Culture of Intimidation. Employees with the least amount of control bare the brunt of discipline. Ironically... with EVERYTHING AA puts into place... yhe majority of their flights suffer with severe delays
Please be specific. Are you talking about the wholly owned carriers? The contract carriers? Or both? American Eagle used to be an airline. Now, it’s a brand. Made up of the Original airline, two new additions to the wholly owned fleet, and multiple “contract” carriers that provide service under the “American Eagle” brand.
I am not defending American (or any other airline). However, I do think it is wise to point out that every airline needs to make a profit, and that since Congress deregulated the airlines (in the Carter years I think) the main point of competition is price. Airlines have tried to ameliorate that with loyalty programs, but unless you fly 100K+ miles each year, you're not going to achieve the status necessary for being reliably upgraded. As a very tall man, I'm stuck with the provided leg room - but if all airlines want to do all of us a favor, disable the reclining seats. Nothing worse that being cramped for a medium haul flight AND have a 5'6" person in the seat ahead feel the need to relax.
Have flown American Airlines for years and never had an issue. Heard so much about Delta being great but my one experience with them was awful. I'm not gonna judge them base on this one experience though.
1st. American is a great airline they're the biggest in the industry. They pay relatively well and most of friends enjoy working for them.. but still not better than united nor delta.. they should have kept scott kirby
@@sncy5303 my issues with AA are with their customer service and in flight accommodations. I have to fly biz or better because of my disabilities, and in "first" on domestic AA flights my knees hit the seatback in front of me. That stinks in coach, but is outrageous in first! Plus their in flight service is the worst.
I hated their cabin crew’s attitude in business class on a 14 hour long flight (787-9). I could hear them talking about me when they sat for landing, for what? Requesting a cappuccino (I didnt know if they had one or not) when it isn’t available on a 14 hr long flight and then complaining that I wanted a cappuccino. And the cabin crew were basically talking about the fact that they aren’t my maids or whatever and won’t even try to fulfil such requests. I mean stop acting like one then and talking about things which weren’t even relevant. It was horrendous especially after experiencing Qatar’s Qsuite till Doha. Never gonna fly AMERICAN.
It is 100% management and that trickles all the way down to the bottom. We're encouraged to sacrifice customer satisfaction to make sure we have an on time departure. We'll have flights go without catering because we have to get that OTD, even Brady Byrnes the SVP of Inflight has said the only thing passengers care about is on time arrival. I fear that until there's a change in management, things will still be same.
Let me see if I understand. They are buying a new XLR presumably to be more efficient. Then they are going to pack people like sardines in them. Or perhaps offer business class and premium economy seats only and rake in the cash. As we know that is where they make the most money when they aren't being banks.
I cannot understand the comparison complaints of airlines vs. other airlines. I recently flew Delta's Domestic First Class, Iceland Air's First Class and I have flown American many times in the past. I find them all average. The food is the same, the gate agent announcements are the same, the flight attendant announcements are the same , etc. It is all the same, average.
So you didn't do your research of the seat pitch in economy before buying your ticket? I would have done so if I was tall and wanted to be comfortable on a long flight from Australia to the US and I would have opted to buy a ticket in economy extra for the extra the legroom. All of the US airlines these days are monetizing all aspects of air travel so don't expect roomy regular coach seats on any US carrier.
I agree. The overnight journey from the U.S. to Europe is among my favorite, in part because you can count on being on a wide-body aircraft. "Crossing the pond" on a single-aisle jet diminishes the experience considerably.
You are straight up bootlicking AA. Why not talk about their debt to income? Talk about them delaying 787s that are already delayed. Do you really think most pax are going to want to go trans-oceanic on a narrowbody XLR? Talk about them ordering 90 ERJs because they are focussing on becoming a regional airline. What about their abysmal customer service?
I’ll never fly on a single aisle for an international flight much less US carrier for those flights. Their level of service is FAR below international carriers such as Qatar, Emirates, Etihad, ANA, Japan and even FinnAir. The comfort level even in those economy sections is still a cut above any US carriers and don’t mention their customer service from the way their FAs treat you to the food offerings. Just not worth the money to fly America, Delta, or United for me
I live near Medellin Colombia and visit Dallas/Ft. Worth often my only reasonable alternative has been American Airlines. I can tell you it is always a horrendous experience, especially the changing planes in Miami because, American doesn't fly from South America to their home hub at DFW. So far, my only alternative has been Spirit which is even more daunting. Every time I've noticed many passengers from the Medellin to Miami flight have changed planes with me for DFW so, it seems to me American could easily justify at least one flight a day direct to DFW from Medellin. Imagine spending nearly seven hours in one of their very uncomfortable seats and still having to negotiate immigration, baggage retrieval and recheck and then going through security again. It's miserable!
DFW-BOG is available. Sadly American cut its DFW - Lima route, but they've still got Santiago, Buenos Aires, Sao paulo, and are adding Rio to their DFW nonstop routes
I hated their cabin crew’s attitude in business class on a 14 hour long flight (787-9). I could hear them talking about me when they sat for landing, for what? Requesting a cappuccino (I didnt know if they had one or not) when it isn’t available on a 14 hr long flight and then complaining that I wanted a cappuccino. And the cabin crew were basically talking about the fact that they aren’t my maids or whatever and won’t even try to fulfil such requests. I mean stop acting like one then and talking about things which weren’t even relevant. It was horrendous especially after experiencing Qatar’s Qsuite till Doha. Never gonna fly AMERICAN.
Interesting as always, Dj! I find AA's domestic U.S. service to be just fine (by today's standards). Once of the advantages I see with their partnerships is that their partners typically offer a better product than their U.S. competitors. For example, I would much rather fly Cathay Pacific or JAL when travling to Asia the Delta or United. Similarly, AA partners Hawaiian, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and even BA, offer a superior experience to DL and UA. Finally, it is significantly easier to redeem FF miles on AA than on DL. I can usually fly round-trip from Florida to Europe during the winter months for as little as 35K on AA or one of its partners. Meanwhile, DL's mileage redemption amounts are ridiculous regardless of route or season.
C-suite execs that have no business running an airline. Literally that simple. An international airline being run by small minded America West and US Air management.
I fly a lot. and 5 years ago, I would have been in the American Airlines camp. The previous two years, I flew enough seat miles to get to the top tier Platinum Exec tier. This year, I have all but stopped flying American for two reasons... The loyalty program is oversubscribed and too many people are in the top tier. For having flown 200k miles, you would expect to be upgraded more often than not. On my last flight, there were over 10 people ahead of me on the upgrade wait list and more and more I never make it to the upgrade. This leaves me in economy which is an often derided and not a good experience. I have all but stopped flying American even though I still have Platinum Exec status. The benefits for being loyal are just not the compelling any more.
While I haven't had a problem with American the few times, American Airlines continues to have problems with a segment of their customers. American continues to soludify its reputation as an airline that treats its African American customers poorly. There's a viral video of a former rapper Juvenile being asked to sit in coach even though he and his wife gad purchased first class seats. There's another viral video of 7 different Black men ( who didn't know any of the other men) being taken iff the plane because the flught attendant said someone had a bidy odor (* obviously couldn't identify who that someone allegwdly was).. American Airlines reputation has been taking a beating since before the AA/US Airways merger. In fact, you could go all the way back to the days of Robert Crandall and find out how passengers and employees felt about American .
While I have never observed racial incidents on AA, I do agree that AA during the Robert Crandall period was a disaster, which is probably why the AA/US merger made it necessary for AA to survive.
that video of what you are referring to was taken out of context. Based on the what I have learned about that situation was that he along with others (selected at random based on they paid for their ticket) were downgraded to fly economy because their was last minute change in the aircraft used. This is nothing new in the airline business since i have worked in it before. Normally in situations like that passengers are reimbursed for that fare difference. That situation had nothing to do with race.
back then AA was a much better carrier under than Crandall than what it is now. Crandall was hard negotiator but he really cared about the company and kept it out of bankruptcy since there was a lot financial turmoil that other airlines were going through throughout the 80s and early 90s when deregulation was in full effect and numerous airlines either filed chapter 11 or closed down. the problem I see with AA today is that the wrong type of managers took over the company when the merger happened. They don't know how to run an airline.
@@ashgreene4914 the irony is that the American Airlines employees were saying that about how the the people running the airline didn't know what they were doing BEFIRE the merger. They were begging Doug Parker and US Airways management to take over AA because they hated Tom Horton ( i think that was his bame) Doug Parker had already managed the America West take over of US Airways although the America West pilots would tell you he screwed them over in that merger and tried screwing them over again with the AA merger. Also ironic that Parker champions more opportunities for Blacks at an airline with a history of racial conflicts with Black customers and employees. Parker's obe time right hand man is running United while his hand picked successor is now running American.
Senior management in a non stop Dan video said and you can look for it. Our customers aren't worried about service onboard, only on-time departures. They are running a customer based company 😂
I don't fly them anymore Delta is by far the best in the US they also have issues from time to time. I believe American wants to be more more of a low cost airline. They have cramed seats on all there aircraft.
AA is known for taking one olive off every salad served to save $40,000 per year. That is AA's corporate philosophy in a nut shell, bean counters digging in the minutia for pennies.
It is sad when an important airline like AA would lower is customer service! Ignoring its values to the travellers! To be told that it is the responsibility of the passenger to check gate departures rather to announce change of gates! Sad!
it's also the company that strongarmed Boeing into launching a "re-engined 737NG" and made them promise it will handle exactly the same as a 737NG with zero differences training required.
It's also the company that flirted with Lockheed and the Tristar, only to go with McDonnell Douglas and their cheaper DC-10
I never got a single olive in my salad! That being said, I wouldn’t notice it if economy class was more comfortable….
@@duaneyeoh4283that was southwest
My father-in-law used to teach MBA candidates at a college northeast of Atlanta. He usually had 2 to 3 Delta employees among his students at any time.
The belief of management is that if an airline tries to improve Coach, thinking it can charge a higher price, a competitor will try to further cut prices.
American tried More Room Throughout Coach, taking 2 rows out of the Coach section of every mainline aircraft.
AA lost a lot of money.
Whereas people will pay for better cars, better clothes, better hotel rooms, restaurants, and so on, they treat air travel like milk, gas, flour, and other items deemed commodities.
The idea of airlines splitting the way GM, Ford, Chrysler, and other car makers have different makes for different price points just doesn't apply to commercial aviation.
"Horrendous" is about right, and although American's steerage class seating is an ordeal, it's about par for the course for all three American legacy airlines. It was a sad day when my favorite airline was bullied into partnership with American.
@@gilroyhain2058 Just get a AAdvantage Credit Card and use miles to upgrade to Economy Plus. That's what I do and it's been working well.
American Air lines lack customer service! I sat at a gate in Miami for 3hrs not knowing AA had changed the gate! No announcement! I had to run from D46 to E3! The AA informed me that AA does not make announcements for gate changes! It was the passenger responsibility to check for gate changes!
I live in Dallas/Fort Worth, so American has a virtual monopoly here. On one hand its great to be able to fly direct to almost anywhere from here and I use American mostly because of loyalty points, but it'd be nice if they had some competition. They've also had a lot of issues lately with baggage claim. Three times in the last month, we've had to wait more than an hour after landing for them to unload the bags.
In a previous project, I had to fly to a different U.S. city weekly and after experiencing United, Delta, Southwest, America and Spirit, I chose to exclusively fly US Airways. I was very concerned with US Airways combining with American since the customer service at the time (and labor relations, etc. as a result of the Crandall leadership) might deteriorate, much as Continental going from first in customer satisfaction to last when combined with United. I was relieved that the AA/US combination seemed to keep my experiences on par with US Airways. As of late, however, I've been less satisfied with the cabin experience and pricing. There was a reason that AA went bankrupt before combining with US, and I hope things aren't headed that way again. As far as employee pay, the CEO of AA makes in the neighborhood of 32 million a year, while new hire flight attendants qualify for food stamps. Executive salaries really need to be under control, since they seem to have no effect on company performance, as is readily observable with the likes of Stellantis, and Boeing.
Robert Crandall had long left American since 1998 and when he left AA was making record profits at the time. the employees had a love hate relationship with him because he was tough negotiator but he kept AA afloat during the tough uncertain times of adjusting to a deregulated environment where a lot of airlines went under. Hence Mr. Crandall certainly is not responsible for the mess that America West which we call AA is now in today. AA didn't go bankrupt. As a matter of a fact, AA went into chapter 11 reorganization with over 4 billion in cash and wanted to use Chapter 11 to cut costs and eliminate debt which all of their competitors have done including USAirways and America West which have all done so 3 times prior to their merger with AA. UA Airways wasn't a stellar performer from a customer service point of view their management kept the airline operating under separate union concessionary contracts for years (the America west side and US Airways side) which allowed them to keep making money but they knew their route network wasn't competitive in the long-run and their own unions were demanding better salaries hence why USAirways was desperate at the time to merge with either UA, DL and AA. US Aiways which is actually America West took over AA and was managing the airline since 2013 and they promised the unions better working conditions and salaries because it was them who helped them get the merger approved. The problems i see with the airline today started with Doug Parker. He became too full of himself after becoming the CEO of the merged company and made some arrogant remarks that the merged company will never loose money and poorly managed the company finances by spending billions on shares buy backs while accumulating a large amount of debt and making unpopular customer service decisions. Now AA is in a weaker financial position than its main rivals because of his decisions. I personally don't think that the CEO they currently have is capable of fixing these issues.
@@ashgreene4914 I agree with you they need a completely new team to run the airline.
@@ashgreene4914 I'm afraid I must disagree with you. My family and I have been involved with the airline industry since the 1950s and have experienced much with the likes of Robert Crandall, Carl Icahn, Frank Borman and Frank Lorenzo, to name a few. Crandall was beyond a tough negotiator. He was, in my opinion, an egomaniac in the same vein as Borman and Lorenzo, who seemed to think they were royalty. I'm not going to respond to your diatribe. Suffice it to say that you and I have differing opinions, based on different experiences.
You need to understand that US Air management IS the management team at AA. AMR personnel have been replaced.
@@ricklowers8873 I do understand that, which is why I feel the service has not taken a precipitous drop.
The thought of flying a narrow body plane on a flight 6-10 hours is painful. I liken it to the days when airlines starting using regional jets for 3 hour flights when they were meant for 1 hour flights.
You may talk about your horrible experience on a 787, but that is not a 787 issue, that was AA like other airlines making 3-3-3 seating in a plane Boeing designed for 2-4-2. JAL does 2-4-2 on their international 787 and it is ranked as one of the best economy classes. Taken further, the continued reductions in seat pitch to squeeze yet another row is torture.
The continued push to lower ticket prices further is destroying air travel. If you want cheap, fly RyanAir, EasyJet, or Spirit and accept the service level you pay for or lack of service you didn’t pay for.
Southwest was just pushed to focus on improving their service by investors because the operational philosophy when they flew 100-140 seats on one hour flights is not working with 180 seat planes flying 3-5 hours.
The 3-3-3 seating is not the problem. The issue is the lack of standards, particularly near the rear of the cabin where seats are as narrow as 16 inches.
You’re absolutely right.
It isn't a matter of flying cheap, it is about getting what you pay for.
I thought the investors over at SWA were demanding the airline generate more revenue? That rarely bodes well for service improvements.
Like a lot of flyers, I'm semi-locked in by mileage program but AA is ok for domestic travel, try to use partners for international
Thanks for this one Dj!!
From the perspective of flight crew who are required by US regulations to have in-flight rest, it will be interesting to know how the various airlines will configure the XLR for crew rest that is within the parameters of designated crew rest facilities for flight attendants and for pilots.
Newer aircraft isn’t going to solve the problem of having some of the rudest flight attendants in the world.
It may be American by name. But management that runs the company is America West/US Air and remember how great those companies were. 8:35
As a VERY frequent business traveler in the early to mid-2000's, I had great experiences on US Airways. Great service and no lost luggage.
Obviously Cactus was good enough to twice take over larger companies.
We flew an AA 787 basic economy. The last row had only two seats. The space not taken up with seats was between the window seat and the window enough room to move belongings from under the seat in front. I thought that was great.
I have to say I flew American about a month ago from LHR to DFW and loved the flight. Absolutely no complaints whatsoever. BA is the weakest link in this partnership… BA flight was shitty AF. Flight was in Business so I can speak on that.
The current sad state of BA service in any class is truly a disappointment. How far they have fallen.
Nice to know
How about the part where they fired 80% of their customer service employees. It is snowballing into a very hot mess
AA admitted to not even doing mock-ups of the interiors before buying them. This came out when Vasus was let go.
that fact on mock-ups first "came out" years before "Vasu" was pushed-out.
Nice vid!
...I remember back in the regulated era when American had a sense of "professionalism" and excellence in service that is sorely missing today.
I also miss the old 1960s "Astrojet" livery, possibly one of the best ever.
@bcshelby4926 All airlines used to be more professional.
My wife noticed a lot of United gate agents all but barking at passengers at Newark in 2015.
What happened to the United of the 1960s and 1970s and it's Midwestern friendliness?
Delta was a genuinely southern carrier in the era of regulation. Its flight attendants were most charming southern women, and the meals skewed southern.
My father loved the grits that Delta served on breakfast flights.
Delta is no longer a southern airline. It's just an airline that happens to have its HQ and fortress hub in Atlanta.
One thing I have noticed was the devaluation of the Loyalty program. If you had Ruby or above one world status, you had the ability to pick some of the best economy seats on the plane. They were blocked off from the non status members. Now AA will let any person buy these better economy seats, bags and even extended leg room with cocktails included. So unless you fly over 100k your status means very little, not to mention the standard seat pitch of 30" in stead of 31 on Delta and Alaska, and 32 on Southwest and Jetblue. The number of miles required to buy an economy seat has gone up significantly. So each mile is worth just over a penny in most economy tickets. I have million mile status on the carrier. AA is not my first choice by any means when I buy tickets any more.
Since Robert Crandall left American, the company has gone downhill. I spent 43 years in the industry, and retired as a passenger service service agent. I was more compelled to retire at 62 because of the changes intact ed by management. They certainly were not putting the passenger first. I was always under the impression that the passengers that chose to fly with American were our top priority. Toward the end of my career the company made it seem as though the passenger was not first, that the bottom line was most important. I saw our customers start to suffer rather than enjoy their experience. Thanks
AAL is my favorite Us airline. Not perfect, but my experiences have been positive and I fly quite a lot. Prefer them over UAL and DAL. Generally pleasant crew, professional pilots, smooth boarding process and newer cabins. And the flights are always full.
4:34 the photo there is not an AA 787. Safety card and seat style are different.
Good video
I could not disagree more on this video. I’ve traveled with AA for over 34 years. I’ve traveled with QANTAS, Delta, United, Alaska and Southwest. The US carriers are all basically the same as far as seat pitch Southwest was worst and Alaska a bit better. Where you sit in the cabin matters. AA flight attendants were the best out of them. They are always very personable to us. That’s why I keep flying them. I also live in a AA hub city. Delta FA were couldn’t care less if you were there or not. We spent a fortune to go to Rome on DL no good morning and no thanks you. SW stupid annoying announcements keep me from going on them anymore. United’s FA’s were very pleasant. Alaskas FA’s were short on meals and they did everything possible to get us something to eat on the flt to ANC. We have never had a horrendous experience on any airline especially when we can get extra seats in our row.
Any airline that doesn’t maximize their assets is very stupid. Boeing is causing stress at AA by not delivering the aircraft to AA. You might need to reevaluate your contact at AA. They aren’t very neutral.
QANTAS wasn’t all that great from LAX to SYD and back. The seats are just as comfortable as AA, UA or DL on that trip. Customer service was lagging behind the US carriers.
If you are a tall man, pick your seats accordingly.
I love your videos and channel. I rarely comment on them. I just could let this video go without a comment.
Keep up the good work
I flew on an American Airlines 787 in economy back in February on a long haul flight. I fly long haul at least 3 times a year, so 6 flights in total for round trips. And I have to say, that was the worst experience I ever had on an airplane. I knew from the moment I sat down that I was in trouble. And I had to suffer through it for 14.5 hours. I am more than willing, in the future, to pay a little more on other airlines for better comfort and a better experience. In fact, on this trip I had back in February, I canceled my return trip on American Airlines and rebooked with China Airlines in my long haul portion of my return trip, and it was a 10 fold better experience. I really hope they take a hard look at that product and redesign it. It is horrible as it is now.
They also need to reintroduce some long-haul markets they got rid of during covid or introduce some new long-haul markets in general as they severely lack in that department compared to competitors. They are focusing too much on South America and domestic weird routes. They need more Asia flights to be specific. But that is my opinion. I fly to Asia a lot.
I refuse to fly with AA long haul. I did LHR to MIA recently on economy and even with nobody by my side I had a horrible experience. And I won't even mention the horrible service and experience I had with the flight attendants. Unfortunately in MIA most of the flights are with AA but I always avoid it.
The economy section flight experience is key. I won’t fly in United economy section because of the legroom and seat pitch. That part of the cabin should be, and is relegated to those looking at price only. This group exists but everyone else will have a miserable experience. Just one or even two more inched will make for an enjoyable flight but they would need much thinner seats or pull out three rows. Neither being likely.
Would be interesting if they could use Airbus a321XL to fly out New York LGA to LHR that could mean you could fly into manhattan directly without the traffic jams from Newark or JFK
Never going to happen for two reasons. One is flights at LGA are limited by the perimeter rule, so they can’t go further than I believe 1250 miles. Two is there is no customs facility at LGA to handle international flights and after spending billions of dollars pretty much rebuilding the terminals from the ground up, do you think they will spend more on an FIS facility that may not get much use?
@@richmartin1427more and more European airports will have US customs for pre clearance.
Can’t do that when it’s their most profitable route overseas or in the industry as a whole. They need the big 777 to fly to LHR from JFK, because of slot restrictions. Can’t have a smaller plan using up valuable slots while they lose capacity by flying to LGA.
They will be only flying out of JFK. Maybe! Newark. But once they start rolling out the XLR, they will be doing transcons before they go to Europe. They have 50 on order and 30 787-9s in order. Delivery starts at the end of 2024 and 2025
Anyone stuck in the coach cabin over 9 hours or more, has definitely thought that a fewer seats, and higher price would be a better experience. Airlines need to end the shuttle bus mentality for those extra long flights. Have always disagree with deregulation.
I love American Airlines because they make it easy to change flights, cancel a flight and get your money back as a travel credit, and I can easily call them and never ever get put on hold. Their onboard service and product is as good as delta (idk about united), it is the most underrated ("over-trashed"?) airline in the world
Their onboard service definitely isn’t the same as Delta. American always puts the minimum amount of flight attendants onboard, resulting in lacking service imo
@@TysonIke I guess I've had different experience than you with Delta. My onboard service on AA has been far superior to DL.
@@TysonIke Without seeing their uniforms I don't think I would've known a difference, but maybe I have just had back luck on delta long-haul flights or good luck with American
@@jaxonmattox9267 it was noticeable for me on my most recent pair of transatlantic flights on American. Now I have never flown Delta internationally, but it’s fair to assume that on a flagship route American would put their best product out, yet it wasn’t as good as any of the Delta connection or Delta domestic flights I had been on. I mostly fly on United and understand how each airline can be inconsistent, but I have noticed that American is just constantly worse. The flight attendants messed up my neighbors food order twice last time, and also ran out of meals for business class. Seated in the front row of main cabin extra legroom I saw them turn the cart around and start serving economy meals in business. I got my meal but if I was one of those 2-3 passengers in business who got economy food I’d be pissed
The ONE and ONLY issue American Airlines is focused on is On Time Departures. Gate Agents and Flight Attendants are particularly singled out and WILL be held accountable. American Airlines has and continues to utilize a Culture of Intimidation. Employees with the least amount of control bare the brunt of discipline. Ironically... with EVERYTHING AA puts into place... yhe majority of their flights suffer with severe delays
Another 321XLR promo video .
What would this site be without a daily dose of your love of the type..
We get it DJ...
The A321 XTR Dangerous.
@@pvsantos999must be the MCASystem.
@@pvsantos999nothing dangerous about it.
🙄
American is usually my go to airline, but for me, they have to upgrade their American Eagle fleet. If not, then I'll look elsewhere.
Please be specific. Are you talking about the wholly owned carriers? The contract carriers? Or both? American Eagle used to be an airline. Now, it’s a brand. Made up of the Original airline, two new additions to the wholly owned fleet, and multiple “contract” carriers that provide service under the “American Eagle” brand.
@@ricklowers8873 Pretty much of all American Eagle planes are E175s or smaller. To me, they're very uncomfortable.
@@melvinjacobs2328 fair nuf
That is great they are modernizing their fleet but where they really need help is in their inflight passenger and food service for it sucks!!!!!
I am not defending American (or any other airline). However, I do think it is wise to point out that every airline needs to make a profit, and that since Congress deregulated the airlines (in the Carter years I think) the main point of competition is price. Airlines have tried to ameliorate that with loyalty programs, but unless you fly 100K+ miles each year, you're not going to achieve the status necessary for being reliably upgraded. As a very tall man, I'm stuck with the provided leg room - but if all airlines want to do all of us a favor, disable the reclining seats. Nothing worse that being cramped for a medium haul flight AND have a 5'6" person in the seat ahead feel the need to relax.
Have flown American Airlines for years and never had an issue. Heard so much about Delta being great but my one experience with them was awful. I'm not gonna judge them base on this one experience though.
1st. American is a great airline they're the biggest in the industry. They pay relatively well and most of friends enjoy working for them.. but still not better than united nor delta.. they should have kept scott kirby
You must be an executive or A level shareholder. Nobody likes flying AA and they have huge lAAbor problems
@jmWhyMe haha no im not I actually work for their larger better competitor but I do like American airlines atleast their us airways side
@@sncy5303 my issues with AA are with their customer service and in flight accommodations. I have to fly biz or better because of my disabilities, and in "first" on domestic AA flights my knees hit the seatback in front of me. That stinks in coach, but is outrageous in first! Plus their in flight service is the worst.
I hated their cabin crew’s attitude in business class on a 14 hour long flight (787-9). I could hear them talking about me when they sat for landing, for what? Requesting a cappuccino (I didnt know if they had one or not) when it isn’t available on a 14 hr long flight and then complaining that I wanted a cappuccino. And the cabin crew were basically talking about the fact that they aren’t my maids or whatever and won’t even try to fulfil such requests. I mean stop acting like one then and talking about things which weren’t even relevant. It was horrendous especially after experiencing Qatar’s Qsuite till Doha. Never gonna fly AMERICAN.
It is 100% management and that trickles all the way down to the bottom. We're encouraged to sacrifice customer satisfaction to make sure we have an on time departure. We'll have flights go without catering because we have to get that OTD, even Brady Byrnes the SVP of Inflight has said the only thing passengers care about is on time arrival. I fear that until there's a change in management, things will still be same.
I’d rather go without pretzels than risk missing a connection on the other end.
Remember Airbus is just one software glitch away from killing you. High Times Magazine
Let me see if I understand. They are buying a new XLR presumably to be more efficient. Then they are going to pack people like sardines in them. Or perhaps offer business class and premium economy seats only and rake in the cash. As we know that is where they make the most money when they aren't being banks.
If American focused on “people”, then the CEO wouldn’t get his $24million bonus
I cannot understand the comparison complaints of airlines vs. other airlines. I recently flew Delta's Domestic First Class, Iceland Air's First Class and I have flown American many times in the past. I find them all average. The food is the same, the gate agent announcements are the same, the flight attendant announcements are the same , etc. It is all the same, average.
Icelandair were Worse than average when I flew on them.... for the last time, I might add
So you didn't do your research of the seat pitch in economy before buying your ticket? I would have done so if I was tall and wanted to be comfortable on a long flight from Australia to the US and I would have opted to buy a ticket in economy extra for the extra the legroom. All of the US airlines these days are monetizing all aspects of air travel so don't expect roomy regular coach seats on any US carrier.
787 on American - seriously only go premium economy or higher. don't waste your time with standard or saver. you will eternally regret it.
Sorry DJ ,I don’t agree with A 321 XLR’s being used to cross the Atlantic.
I agree. The overnight journey from the U.S. to Europe is among my favorite, in part because you can count on being on a wide-body aircraft. "Crossing the pond" on a single-aisle jet diminishes the experience considerably.
Rememer USAIr? America West? Well Doug Parker merged em all into the current version of AA. None of them was known for the customer service.
You are straight up bootlicking AA. Why not talk about their debt to income? Talk about them delaying 787s that are already delayed. Do you really think most pax are going to want to go trans-oceanic on a narrowbody XLR? Talk about them ordering 90 ERJs because they are focussing on becoming a regional airline. What about their abysmal customer service?
Long time. American Airlines traveler for business and personal and quite frankly it SUCK! I can’t wait to move out of DallasTX!
I’ll never fly on a single aisle for an international flight much less US carrier for those flights. Their level of service is FAR below international carriers such as Qatar, Emirates, Etihad, ANA, Japan and even FinnAir. The comfort level even in those economy sections is still a cut above any US carriers and don’t mention their customer service from the way their FAs treat you to the food offerings. Just not worth the money to fly America, Delta, or United for me
I live near Medellin Colombia and visit Dallas/Ft. Worth often my only reasonable alternative has been American Airlines. I can tell you it is always a horrendous experience, especially the changing planes in Miami because, American doesn't fly from South America to their home hub at DFW. So far, my only alternative has been Spirit which is even more daunting. Every time I've noticed many passengers from the Medellin to Miami flight have changed planes with me for DFW so, it seems to me American could easily justify at least one flight a day direct to DFW from Medellin. Imagine spending nearly seven hours in one of their very uncomfortable seats and still having to negotiate immigration, baggage retrieval and recheck and then going through security again. It's miserable!
DFW-BOG is available. Sadly American cut its DFW - Lima route, but they've still got Santiago, Buenos Aires, Sao paulo, and are adding Rio to their DFW nonstop routes
But, from Medellin you would have to change airlines in Bogota, which is a real nightmare, not to mention a lot more expensive.
United is starting MDE this year.
@@kennethlee4894 When?
@@merrillkingston8807 I think in November. Google it.
I hated their cabin crew’s attitude in business class on a 14 hour long flight (787-9). I could hear them talking about me when they sat for landing, for what? Requesting a cappuccino (I didnt know if they had one or not) when it isn’t available on a 14 hr long flight and then complaining that I wanted a cappuccino. And the cabin crew were basically talking about the fact that they aren’t my maids or whatever and won’t even try to fulfil such requests. I mean stop acting like one then and talking about things which weren’t even relevant. It was horrendous especially after experiencing Qatar’s Qsuite till Doha. Never gonna fly AMERICAN.
Interesting as always, Dj! I find AA's domestic U.S. service to be just fine (by today's standards). Once of the advantages I see with their partnerships is that their partners typically offer a better product than their U.S. competitors. For example, I would much rather fly Cathay Pacific or JAL when travling to Asia the Delta or United. Similarly, AA partners Hawaiian, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and even BA, offer a superior experience to DL and UA. Finally, it is significantly easier to redeem FF miles on AA than on DL. I can usually fly round-trip from Florida to Europe during the winter months for as little as 35K on AA or one of its partners. Meanwhile, DL's mileage redemption amounts are ridiculous regardless of route or season.
C-suite execs that have no business running an airline. Literally that simple. An international airline being run by small minded America West and US Air management.
AA has the worst soft product …
I avoid AA at all cost
I fly a lot. and 5 years ago, I would have been in the American Airlines camp. The previous two years, I flew enough seat miles to get to the top tier Platinum Exec tier. This year, I have all but stopped flying American for two reasons... The loyalty program is oversubscribed and too many people are in the top tier. For having flown 200k miles, you would expect to be upgraded more often than not. On my last flight, there were over 10 people ahead of me on the upgrade wait list and more and more I never make it to the upgrade. This leaves me in economy which is an often derided and not a good experience. I have all but stopped flying American even though I still have Platinum Exec status. The benefits for being loyal are just not the compelling any more.
While I am not at your level in the loyalty program, I have noticed that it has degraded over the past 2 years. AA is still my first choice, though.
Awe!
While I haven't had a problem with American the few times, American Airlines continues to have problems with a segment of their customers. American continues to soludify its reputation as an airline that treats its African American customers poorly. There's a viral video of a former rapper Juvenile being asked to sit in coach even though he and his wife gad purchased first class seats. There's another viral video of 7 different Black men ( who didn't know any of the other men) being taken iff the plane because the flught attendant said someone had a bidy odor (* obviously couldn't identify who that someone allegwdly was)..
American Airlines reputation has been taking a beating since before the AA/US Airways merger. In fact, you could go all the way back to the days of Robert Crandall and find out how passengers and employees felt about American .
While I have never observed racial incidents on AA, I do agree that AA during the Robert Crandall period was a disaster, which is probably why the AA/US merger made it necessary for AA to survive.
I agree with you, Mr. Aholland. American is way too racist!
that video of what you are referring to was taken out of context. Based on the what I have learned about that situation was that he along with others (selected at random based on they paid for their ticket) were downgraded to fly economy because their was last minute change in the aircraft used. This is nothing new in the airline business since i have worked in it before. Normally in situations like that passengers are reimbursed for that fare difference. That situation had nothing to do with race.
back then AA was a much better carrier under than Crandall than what it is now. Crandall was hard negotiator but he really cared about the company and kept it out of bankruptcy since there was a lot financial turmoil that other airlines were going through throughout the 80s and early 90s when deregulation was in full effect and numerous airlines either filed chapter 11 or closed down. the problem I see with AA today is that the wrong type of managers took over the company when the merger happened. They don't know how to run an airline.
@@ashgreene4914 the irony is that the American Airlines employees were saying that about how the the people running the airline didn't know what they were doing BEFIRE the merger. They were begging Doug Parker and US Airways management to take over AA because they hated Tom Horton ( i think that was his bame) Doug Parker had already managed the America West take over of US Airways although the America West pilots would tell you he screwed them over in that merger and tried screwing them over again with the AA merger.
Also ironic that Parker champions more opportunities for Blacks at an airline with a history of racial conflicts with Black customers and employees.
Parker's obe time right hand man is running United while his hand picked successor is now running American.
Senior management in a non stop Dan video said and you can look for it. Our customers aren't worried about service onboard, only on-time departures. They are running a customer based company 😂
Oh the woes of AA! I have little hope…
I'll never fly American, too racist. Plus, BOEING? Not even NASA is going on a BOEING! I'm with NASA.
Dumbest thing I’ve read online…
Low information voter detected
I don't fly them anymore Delta is by far the best in the US they also have issues from time to time. I believe American wants to be more more of a low cost airline. They have cramed seats on all there aircraft.
I hAAte AA