Archive for the 'American Airlines' Category
June 14 2008
American’s PR team was nice enough to send over an FAQ for the upcoming first bag fee, and I thought I’d pass along at a courtesy. Not that I’d tell you to go over to Dallas Love and fly Southwest to avoid the fee, but someone else might tell you that.
The majority of American’s passengers have already purchased their summer travel tickets and shouldn’t need to worry about the fee. For those who purchase tickets on/after June 15, the information below answers some of the big questions as to what they can expect when they arrive:
Ticketing Operations—
- A checked baggage fee alert has been added to the point of purchase section on AA.com, and to the e-ticket sent to an email inbox to alert customers of new fee implementation.
- If the checked bag fee was applied to the ‘purchased’ ticket (based on ticket purchase date, booking code, itinerary, fare paid, etc.), the checked bag fee would continue to apply in the event of an involuntary rerouting and schedule change. However, if the ticket was purchased prior to June 15, it would continue to be exempt.
- If a passenger makes a voluntary change on June 15 to an itinerary ticketed before that date, and the ticket is reissued on June 15, the bag fee will apply. Voluntary changes are subject to the rules in effect at the time the current ticket was issued. The date of reissue is considered a new purchase date.
At The Terminal—
- Customers have expressed concern over cramped overhead bins; American and non-American employees will be assigned to ensure that all customers are complying with the carry-on policy (http://www.aa.com/aa/i18nForward.do?p=/travelInformation/baggage/carryOnAllowance.jsp). Carry on luggage that is not in compliance with American’s carry-on baggage policy is subject to the first checked baggage fee at any point.
- There will be increased signage stating the carry-on policy at the first three touch points: Curbside Check-In, American’s ticketing counters, and at the security checkpoint.
- The baggage fee can be paid at airport Curbside Check-In, Self-Service Check-In machines or American ticket counters
- There will be a new screen on Self-Service Check-In machines explaining the new checked baggage fee, with a banner for customers who are exempt.
- All gate agents, ticket counter reps, reservation agents, Skycaps and TSA personnel are aware of the first checked baggage policy and will work in the coming months to assist customers.
- To keep the boarding process moving without delay, gate agents will make announcements and actively monitor the gate area for excess and oversized baggage, so that they can be checked before boarding begins.
Boarding/Seating Procedure—
- Flight attendants will monitor carry-on items and notify the gate agent when overhead bins are almost full on the aircraft. This will allow any additional bags to be checked before a passenger gets on the plane to keep the boarding process moving forward. As a reminder: Forced bag checks WILL NOT be charged the fee.
- Once the pre-flight duties are completed, boarding should begin 30-40 minutes prior to departure, or as soon as the cabin is ready.
- Flight attendants will make announcements during the boarding process, including announcements about using the under seat storage space for personal items.
Most know about it, but in case travelers haven’t seen, AA.com has set up a page to explain the fee process.
American Airlines | 3 Comments » 
Print This Post
June 02 2008
(Thanks to View from the Wing):
American Airlines announced that it will now charge $5 to book a reward ticket online (unless you’re executive platinum). Let me put that another way: their “free ticket” now costs $5. I know they need to get cash. That’s fine. It’s difficult to get annoyed by any of the fees that are being rolled out. But there’s something about charging for a “free” ticket that makes my stomach churn a bit.
American Airlines | 3 Comments » Print This Post
May 30 2008
In an age of fees for everything, American has actually eliminated one: The airline has decided to drop its $2 fee for skycaps at all its airports. Even better, it’s ended its ludicrous standoff with the skycaps and is permitting passengers to tip them again in Boston (if you missed it, AA was in a dispute with Boston’s skycaps and forbade tipping). All’s well that ends well.
American Airlines | No Comments » Print This Post
May 28 2008
A headline on a Reuters story today says that American Airlines will discontinue their JFK-Stansted service “to manage costs.” Um, I believe the costs they are managing are the costs of driving Eos out business. Which they did. Great job — keep up that fair competition.
American Airlines | No Comments » Print This Post
May 22 2008
You’ve no doubt seen elsewhere that American is now going to charge you to check your first bag. All of the stories, I’m certain, will have quotes from some travelers saying they’ll never fly again, and other quotes from travelers saying that they understand airlines have to make money. That’s the crux of the story.
As I wrote in my obituary to the airline industry a couple of months back, we are already in the era of the no-frills full-frills carrier, and this move simply demonstrates this effect further. Last week I booked some tickets on Spirit Airlines and my father was saying how ridiculous it was that Spirit charged you to check a bag. I was saying that when they frequently charge $2 for tickets, a bag charge doesn’t seem all that crazy. I guess a bag charge wasn’t crazy, regardless of who you fly.
The longer-term question for me is this: the airline industry is extremely cyclical and assuming things get good at some point, how will American (and the other no-frills full-frills carriers) position themselves? What’s their brand stand for? How will they ever possibly compete with Southwest?
I’m not at all saying this was a bad move — these carriers have to do something drastic given the fuel costs, but long term I’m not sure how they survive. Which is basically what JP Morgan wrote yesterday: that basically every airline (save Southwest and Allegiant) were bankruptcy risks. If I hadn’t already written the obituary, I would now…
American Airlines | 1 Comment » Print This Post
May 06 2008
Fuel cost have caused Oakland and LAX to lose existing and planned service: American is pulling out of Oakland after serving the city for more than 60 years. Oakland has also lost service from ATA, Aloha and Skybus in the past month or so.
JetBlue said that it will not launch planned service between LAX and NY/Boston. Passengers who have booked those flights will have the option of flying out of Long Beach. That sigh of relief you heard was Virgin America.
American Airlines and JetBlue | No Comments » Print This Post
May 02 2008
American Airlines recently lost a lawsuit filed by skycaps in Boston who claimed they had lost wages because of American’s $2-per-bag charge for curbside check-in. American’s subcontractor for skycaps then raised hourly rates for skycaps to about $12-14/hr, from the $5.15 per hour they used to receive (along with a hefty set of tips).
In response, the airline has forbidden skycaps in Boston for accepting tips from customers. Seems a bit petty, no?
American Airlines | No Comments » Print This Post
March 19 2008
As my mother reads this website, I’ll just say this: A woman is suing American Airlines because the passenger in the seat next to her was doing something to himself that people typically don’t do in public and the resulting aftermath was reminiscent of a scene in There’s Something About Mary. American denies responsibility, though their old slogan “Something Special in the Hair” (or was it Air?) seems fitting…
American Airlines and Crazy Passengers and Weird Airline Stories | 4 Comments » Print This Post
February 25 2008
A passenger died on an American Airlines flight from Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, to JFK on Friday after she complained of feeling ill. She twice asked a flight attendant for oxygen, and twice she refused the passenger’s request. After other passengers began to get upset, they attempted to administer oxygen, only to find that the oxygen canisters were empty.
You might have guessed that her death was the worst part of the story. Well, close. The worst part is after she died when they dragged her body to the first class cabin, put her on the floor, and covered her with a blanket. Upgrade, my ass.
(Update: American Airlines says the oxygen worked just fine. Well, not fine enough to save the passenger, but they said that the canisters were not empty.)
(Update 2: Let me give a shout-out to AA’s PR department for keeping me/us updated on this. Here’s their official position) :
American Airlines on Monday said it did administer oxygen and applied a defibrillator to a 44-year-old woman on a flight Friday from Haiti to New York who later died before the plane landed.
“We are investigating this incident…but American Airlines can say oxygen was administered and the Automatic External Defibrillator was applied,” the company said in a statement Monday.
The airline didn’t say in its statement whether the medical equipment worked, only that they stood behind its functionality.
American Airlines | 1 Comment » Print This Post
February 21 2008
American Airlines launched service between Flint and LaGuardia last August and, surprise surprise, shortly thereafter Northwest announced the same flights. Incredible! As you are probably thinking, Northwest didn’t want that route, they just didn’t want anyone encroaching on their lucrative New York to Detroit market (Flint is about an hour north of Detroit). Well, if that’s what you were thinking, you were probably right: American announced that they are dropping the route after seeing their planes flying about 40% full.
This was also the first time I’ve seen airport officials (in this case, Flint’s airport officials) complain about new competition. Even they knew that Northwest was only coming in to drive American out. Which is, as I noted 45 words ago, exactly what they did. To be fair, Northwest says they are “committed” to the route, which means that they’ll wait about 60 days before they cancel it.
American Airlines and Northwest Airlines | No Comments » Print This Post
Next »
FAQs for American Airlines’ Bag Fee