Jul 25th, 2009 at 12:00PM: When you have to combat a brutal economic downturn, there are few choices. The airlines are cutting costs, cutting seats and looking for new sources of revenue. But, none of this compares to doubling down on the old revenue streams they've already devised! Why work so hard trying to come up with new ideas, when you already have old ones? So, get ready for bag-checking to get more expensive on ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
americanairlines posts
American Airlines: open your wallet
Jul 25th, 2009 at 12:00PM: When you have to combat a brutal economic downturn, there are few choices. The airlines are cutting costs, cutting seats and looking for new sources of revenue. But, none of this compares to doubling down on the old revenue streams they've already devised! Why work so hard trying to come up with new ideas, when you already have old ones? So, get ready for bag-checking to get more expensive on ...Birds vs planes. Another bird loses and forces an emergency landing.
Jul 1st, 2009 at 1:30PM: The bird strike in the skies above LaGuardia airport yesterday didn't faze the passengers--they didn't know it occurred. When American Airlines Flight 1256 was arriving from Miami, getting ready to land, it met up with some of our feathered friends. Good-bye birds. Also, good- bye nose gear hydraulic system
After landing, the pilot discovered that the system wasn't working, thus the 737-800 had ...On Southwest, the internet's no longer free
Jun 23rd, 2009 at 5:00PM: Starting tomorrow, Southwest Airlines is going to start charging for internet access on four of its planes. The fees will range from $2 to $12, based on how long you're in the sky and how you connect. For the past few months, access has been free, but the lure of additional revenue must have been hard to resist.
Yep, another extra fee to add to the list ...
Both Delta Airlines and American ...American Airlines' Mitchell: We want to give passengers "what they value most"
May 29th, 2009 at 2:00PM: Mark Mitchell, American Airlines' managing director of customer experience, is the point man for customer service at the airline. With the summer travel season now underway, I asked him how air travelers could have the best possible experience, and what airlines like American are doing to make it better. Q: What can air travelers do to get the best possible customer experience from an airline ...Giving up your seat for a voucher? Only on one condition!
May 19th, 2009 at 4:00PM: It's always pretty tempting. You're sitting in the gate area and hear the voice on the loudspeaker, offering travel vouchers and other perks if you'll give up your seat because your flight is oversold. You know the drill ... "if your travel plans are flexible." Well, while en route to the Gadling meet-up in Chicago, I got this opportunity and decided to roll the dice. Along the way, I learned a ...Misery works: airlines making money on baggage fees
May 14th, 2009 at 12:00PM: The one thing nobody says about the "nickel and dime" strategy is that it can work. For the airline industry, charging passengers for extra bags translated to more than $1 billion in lifeblood to a struggling business last year, according to the Department of Transportation. As much as you may hate to shell out that extra cash, last year, it went to businesses that desperately needed it.
Before ...American Airlines to offer one way mileage bookings
May 11th, 2009 at 5:00PM: Frequent flyer programs are infamous for adding restrictions to possible bookings. Everyone knows that the cheapest reward tier is almost never available when looking for tickets, that numerous fees and surcharges still apply after you redeem your "free" ticket and that miles just aren't as useful as they once were. That's why it's so befuddling to see one of American Airlines' new mileage booking ...March airline plunge softens in April
May 9th, 2009 at 3:00PM: Passenger traffic is still falling. That's not going to change for a while. But, the decline slowed in April, signaling that the prolonged sharp dips may be behind us. Some optimists even believe that the worst is over – though I maintain a healthy skepticism.
Note the metric being used: passenger traffic. There's a lot of mileage between asses in seats and money in the bank. On a positive ...Making sense of the airline industry
Apr 27th, 2009 at 4:00PM: The situation is currently grim for airlines, having gone from "bad in January to ugly by March," according to USA Today, mirroring the U.S. economy as a whole. But, some feel that the worst is behind us. At the same time, a decline in business traveler traffic may suggest that we have a long way to go.
That's why I love USA Today ... two perspectives for the price of one!
Let's make one thing ...American Airlines updates fleets with new Boeing 737s
Apr 21st, 2009 at 2:00PM: With the oldest fleet in the American workforce, it was about time that American Airlines got aggressive with updating their aircraft. This year they're starting the revamp with delivery of new Boeing 737-800s. While the 737-800 airframe has been around for ten years now, American is making sure to include all of the modcons to keep passengers happy. Among those tidbits will be new, numerous ...More airline employees with sticky fingers
Apr 8th, 2009 at 9:00AM: Did you lose a bag at Philadelphia International Airport? Well, there may be a reason. An American Airlines baggage crew chief was arrested and charged with stealing clothes from the luggage he handled. The game appears to have been: (1) steal the clothes, (2) return them to a department store and (3) don't get caught. That last one's the hard part. A passenger on Flight 892 from Dallas to Philly ...American Airlines bringing in-flight Internet to more domestic flights
Mar 31st, 2009 at 2:30PM: There is no denying it - in-flight Internet is here to stay. The popularity of being able to get some work (or fun) done during your flight helped make in-flight WiFi one of the winners of the 2008 Engadget awards. This morning, American Airlines announced their commitment to the service by revealing plan to bring the Gogo in-flight Internet service to 300 of its domestic planes. American Airlines ...It's Ladies Night at American Airlines!
Mar 26th, 2009 at 1:31PM: Traveling is hard. Don't you think you should get a special discount just for being a woman? American Airlines does! In recognition of Women's History Month ... March (also, according to Wikipedia, American Red Cross Month and Fire Prevention Month), American Airlines is offering a special deal just for the ladies. If you visit AA.com/women, you can: "Print out a flyer and present it to any ...U.S. Airlines can't come up with any new ways to charge their customers
Mar 22nd, 2009 at 10:00AM: Some sad news from Reuters this afternoon (for the airlines at least). U.S. based airlines may have finally run out of new fees for their passengers. Indeed, after years of moving things that used to be free into a fee based category, there simply isn't anything left they can charge us for. Some airlines, have increased their revenue by over $2 Billion a year, just off things like meals, drinks ...American Airlines passengers: Get double elite miles
Mar 19th, 2009 at 2:00PM: Now that the economy is low and demand is tapering off, airlines are doing whatever they can to encourage passengers to return to flying the friendly skies. Sure, oil has come down from it's all time high of $5000/barrel, but without passengers to fill airplanes, some equipment has to be shelved, and that's never good for profit. What to do? Incentivize. A deluge of fare sales including dirt cheap ...Man sues American Airlines for revoking his lifetime travel pass
Mar 12th, 2009 at 3:00PM: A man from Chicago is suing American Airlines for $7 million after the airline allegedly revoked his lifetime travel pass back in December. Steven Rothstein paid $250,000 back in 1987 for lifetime, first class travel aboard AA and a few years later ponied up another $150,000 for the right to bring a companion along. In December, AA revoked the travel pass, saying Rothstein was fraudulently using ...The sky is falling!: Nope, it's just plane parts
Mar 12th, 2009 at 8:30AM: Imagine this. You're going about your busy day without much thought about what's going on above your head and then Bam! There's a bit of an explosion and pieces of metal start falling, some the size of a BlackBerry--others bigger. Not as big as a house, but bigger than a BlackBerry.
"Was Chicken Little right?" you might ask yourself and whoever else is close by, providing those people weren't ...Age old question of chicken or beef ends up in Court of Appeals
Mar 7th, 2009 at 3:00PM: Chicken or beef? It's the question almost everyone on an International flight will end up hearing at one point (unless of course you are flying up front, where you'll probably get more choices). Millions of people answer this question every year, and are presented with a meal that is somehow meant to represent their choice. On an American Airlines flight from Zurich to New York several years ...Man can't wait for plane to reach the gate - opens door and jumps down slide
Mar 4th, 2009 at 11:00AM: It's starting to look like we'll soon need a "stupid passenger of the week" segment here on Gadling, because there certainly does not seem to be a shortage of material. The stupid passenger for today was on his way on American Airlines from Charlotte to Dallas Fort Worth when the plane was waiting for a spot at its assigned gate. Apparently this wait was a bit too long, so instead of grumbling ...Boston reaps the rewards of airline competition
Mar 3rd, 2009 at 1:00PM: It's funny. Airlines blame last year's industry implosions on consumers' non-stop demands for low fares. Ask any analyst and they'll say "Transcontinental fares are as low this year as they are were in 1986! Where's the inflation! The Humanity! The Humanity!" We can't be completely to blame though. Three out of four times, a consumer like myself needs to buy a ticket, logs on to Kayak, finds the ...
