A couple of months ago I shared some videos by former American purser Gailen David, who made videos expressing his frustration with American management under the name “Aluminum Lady.”
In the end he got fired, and the reason given wasn’t his videos, but rather that he violated American’s social media policy regarding his website (which seemed to have generic ads for competing airlines).
Anyway, while I certainly don’t agree with everything he says, I see where he’s coming from, and his opinions are definitely worth a read.
Most interesting has to be his AAdvantage Aluminum program, which works as follows:
Benefits of the AAdvantage Aluminum program may be accessed by any American Airlines passenger. Simply mention the code word, Aluminum, and your crew will instantly recognize you as one of the special passengers that appreciates all that the front-line workers do to make the experience an exceptional one!
Here are the steps once again:
- Mention the code word “Aluminum” to your flight crew and if you’ve suffered any inconvenience during your trip allow us the opportunity to make it up to you!
- Receive the Rock Star treatment and amenities you deserve!
- Enjoy!
Now, I suspect this will end up being counterproductive, but it’s interesting nonetheless. Apparently American flight attendants have the ability to comp a drink if you’ve been inconvenienced, so by saying “Aluminum” and mentioning a way you’ve been inconvenienced they can do so. There are only three issues with that:
- Do flight attendants really want to hear complaints from passengers? I can’t imagine any flight attendant would be delighted to hear “you lost my bag two months ago, now can I have a free drink? ALUMINUM!”
- I’m curious just how many flight attendants know about this. I’ve gotta give Gailen a lot of credit for how widespread he’s been able to make his message.
- At the end of the day while this is a way to take a jab at American’s management short term, I suspect the impact of this could be that flight attendants no longer have the ability to comp drinks.
Has anyone here “enjoyed” AAdvantage Aluminum status? Not something I necessarily suggest you do, but at least figured I’d pass it on and see if anyone’s had an experience.
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