I’ve been critical of American Airlines management in recent years. It’s not because I have any sort of an axe to grind, or anything. I mean, I think the company’s results speak for themselves.
Instead, it’s because I think the top management at the airline has been failing the company for far too long, and the board seems checked out (or unwilling to admit their own mistakes). I fly American more than any other carrier, and there’s little I’d like more than for the airline to actually be good, and succeed. For that matter, I’d love to see the executives at Delta and United have to humble themselves a bit.
Unfortunately in recent years, American has just fallen further and further behind. For so long, it just felt like there wasn’t actually any senior executive at the airline who had anything resembling a strategy. So just as I’ve been critical, I’d also like to be positive for a moment — I finally have a bit of hope in American management, and that’s all thanks to the carrier’s relatively new Chief Commercial Officer, Nat Pieper. Let me explain why, and then I’ll talk about whether any of this is actually enough to “save” the airline.
Basics of Nat Pieper, American’s Chief Commercial Officer
For a bit of background, one of my main gripes with American’s senior management has been how insulated they’ve been. Over the course of just over 20 years, we saw America West merge with US Airways, and then saw US Airways merge with American.
What’s incredible is the extent to which the old America West team really runs so much of the industry. Yes, United CEO Scott Kirby was also part of the America West gang, before he was fired and went to United. But in general, it’s just incredible how many senior executives at American started at America West.
Nothing against America West as such, but the issue is just how insulated American’s management team has been. American needed some fresh perspectives, because there’s just a certain groupthink that has existed at the airline for far too long.
In late 2025, we saw American hire Nat Pieper as Chief Commercial Officer, replacing Vasu Raja, who was previously in that role. Pieper is actually from outside of American, so it was quite the radical hire for the Fort Worth-based carrier. He’s a very experienced industry executive — he started his airline career in the late 1990s, spent over a decade at Northwest, then spent a decade at Delta, and then spent half a decade at Alaska, before moving to American.
I also appreciate the breadth of his experience, as he worked in finance, alliances, fleet strategy, and more.
I’m impressed by Nat Pieper’s leadership at American
Let me say that I have no hidden agenda here, and I’ve never even interacted with Pieper. However, I try to learn as much as I possibly can, listen to any interview I can, etc.
When Pieper started at American, I thought “okay, it’s a great step in the right direction that they’re hiring an outsider.” I didn’t necessarily know that much about Pieper beyond that, though, so reserved judgement until he had more time in his role.
But the more I’ve seen, the more impressed I am. I get the distinct impression that he’s really calling the shots at American nowadays, and that American CEO Robert Isom is relinquishing some control, including with decisions like installing seat back TVs on all narrow body planes. Honestly, I think Isom’s issue is that he has never really come across as an “ideas” guy — when Raja was in the same role, Isom gave him way too much power, in my opinion.
Pieper comes across as a genuinely nice guy, an outsider, and as someone who has a deep understanding of the industry, and is fully aware of how far behind American has fallen, and how much needs to be fixed. It’s such a contrast to Raja, who talked such an absurdly big game, with nothing to show for it.
I think the best thing that could happen for American is that Pieper replaces Isom imminently, because Isom has virtually no respect from employees, and has failed the company in terms of his leadership. The airline needs a fresh start. As I’ve said over and over, morale among American employees is low, and we’ve never seen a major airline have a morale turnaround under a CEO who is not popular with employees.
Is it too late to save American, though?
Guys, I’m just a dumb blogger who has never had a “real” job. I’m not going to pretend that I have the five-point plan that’s going to fix the mess that has been years in the making — after all, I’m not a first year analyst at McKinsey with all the answers. 😉 That being said, I follow this industry very closely, and I’ve also been a frequent flyer with American for close to two decades, so I’ve seen how everything has changed over time.
If you ask United’s CEO, you’d think that American is knocking on the door of bankruptcy. If you ask American’s CEO, he’d have you believe that everything is just dandy.
American is starting to move in the right direction, addressing many of the shortcomings that customers have had with the airline. Is that enough, though? The problem with all of American’s changes is that they’re simply intended to narrow the gap with Delta and United.
When you’ve already lost a huge amount of market share to competitors, how do you win those customers back? I mean, those of us in Charlotte or Dallas or Miami already fly American, because the carrier has those as fortress hubs — those aren’t markets where airlines are really “competing.” How are you going to tell someone in Chicago or Los Angeles or New York who has switched to another airline to return to American?
Like, United will have seat back TVs and Starlink Wi-Fi on all mainline planes by the end of 2027. American has only committed to installing Starlink on some planes starting in 2027, and seat back TVs will be retrofitted well into the 2030s.
Seriously, what’s American’s pitch here? “Hey, switch back to us, we’ll maybe be almost as good as United at some point in the 2030s, we just hope you don’t care about a global route network?” American executives spent years pursuing the wrong strategy, and it’s really hard to make up for that lost time, especially when your competitors used that period to innovate, and continue to widen the gap.
I don’t know where exactly all the fault lies of everything that has gone wrong, but here’s my take:
- American needs a new CEO from outside the ex-America West bubble, who can actually inspire employees, and send a clear message that the airline is turning around; from within American, I think Pieper is the only guy who could accomplish that, or otherwise (I know it’s a long shot), I’d love to see Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith poached, and turn American around, as he’s especially good with labor
- American needs to stop just making all of these little, incremental announcements, and instead needs to have a big, splashy American 2.0 announcement, about how everything is changing, and it’s up to all employees to be part of that transformation; Isom has spent the past several years arguing everything is fine, and when you take that kind of an approach, nothing actually changes
- American needs to find a way to invest in its improvements ASAP; there’s just no sense of urgency here, as it’s expected to take well over five years for all planes to get seat back TVs, and that’s just not going to inspire anyone
- American needs to figure out its international and global route network; the airline needs to either poach United’s Patrick Quayle or Air Canada’s Mark Galardo, or anyone who actually believes they can build a cohesive, global network, which goes beyond just Latin America, joint venture flying, and summer seasonal Europe routes
This is probably beyond any immediate changes we see, but I also believe that American’s best shot at once again becoming globally competitive is to merge with Alaska, so it has an actual transpacific hub that makes sense. But that’s probably a topic for another time…
Bottom line
It has been really hard to get excited about the state of American over the past many years. Things are slowly moving in the right direction, as executives at the airline realize the recent strategy has failed. That being said, it’s the same people still in charge, with one exception — Chief Customer Officer Nat Pieper.
Pieper strikes me as a good guy who has a ton of experience, and he’s also an outsider, which gives him a unique perspective. He’s clearly driving the commercial strategy, so I think American is in good hands. That being said, I sure don’t envy his job, because the state of American is quite something to be “thrust” into.
Let me of course mention that a turnaround at a company the size of American is a team effort, so I don’t want to diminish the contributions of others. That being said, a big part of a turnaround needs to be a leader clearly articulating goals and motivating employees, and that’s something that has definitely been missing at American.
Anyone else impressed by Pieper? Do you think he’d make a good CEO at American?
They need to do a New American 2.0 style campaign. #goingforgreat — but actually sticking to that.
They also need to stop devaluing elite status. It decimates goodwill Andhra loyalty points don't really respect our reward loyalty. As they continue to move the goal posts and then give you back crumbs for frequently flying their planes and using their branded credit cards it makes little sense to choose their substandard planes and service over competitors. There's only so much juice to squeeze before the orange walks and they kill the golden goose....
They also need to stop devaluing elite status. It decimates goodwill Andhra loyalty points don't really respect our reward loyalty. As they continue to move the goal posts and then give you back crumbs for frequently flying their planes and using their branded credit cards it makes little sense to choose their substandard planes and service over competitors. There's only so much juice to squeeze before the orange walks and they kill the golden goose. They've forgotten flyers aren't ATM's and stooges to be taken advantage of but rather people to be given a good product at fair prices and cherished as the reason they all have jobs.
Hmm, AAL was equally excited over Vasu Raja- who accomplished little more than acting like King & driving the once great airline further toward irrelevance. Even before that, American foolishly bought two of the weakest, most troubled airlines thinking it was a grand idea (US Airways & America West)- then mistakingly bypassed brilliant executive Scott Kirby for weak CEO(s), and he has gone on to give UAL remarkable success. Nope Nat (odd name)..American is a...
Hmm, AAL was equally excited over Vasu Raja- who accomplished little more than acting like King & driving the once great airline further toward irrelevance. Even before that, American foolishly bought two of the weakest, most troubled airlines thinking it was a grand idea (US Airways & America West)- then mistakingly bypassed brilliant executive Scott Kirby for weak CEO(s), and he has gone on to give UAL remarkable success. Nope Nat (odd name)..American is a conglomeration of lousy, failing airlines- and a few rides on them makes it easy to see what an inferior product they offer compared with UAL or DAL, and why they have been forced to charge less on overlapping routes. Nice try- unfortunately the airline is a lot further down a hole than hiring one smart guy can help them with now.
It is very sad to see the decline from since Parker left ( I know things were not great, but I’d rather still have him). Isom slowly but steadily removed himself from facing the employees directly. Censuring open questions forums like Parker did . Taking the actual heat from their frustration. The monthly crew news completely eliminated . Pilots and flight attendants feedback are no longer a thing.
Censorship . Under Bobby Wells, the...
It is very sad to see the decline from since Parker left ( I know things were not great, but I’d rather still have him). Isom slowly but steadily removed himself from facing the employees directly. Censuring open questions forums like Parker did . Taking the actual heat from their frustration. The monthly crew news completely eliminated . Pilots and flight attendants feedback are no longer a thing.
Censorship . Under Bobby Wells, the punitive method is the leading way to do things right . She has no experience in the department she leads and does not get it . She has never done a Live open question session with the flight attendants, because she knows she is incapable to give a live response . She prefers to hide behind a screen with pre submitted questions she feels comfortable answering ( and for what she rehears to response.
The Pieper / Garboden era is here. Whether Isom "retires" in another 12 months or 24 months is a bit besides the point. Turnarounds on this scale take time - this one will take 5-10 years. Let Isom continue to break even and pay debt down for now - that's all anyone can really do at AA for the next few years anyway.
I also disagree on the incremental announcements - they continue to...
The Pieper / Garboden era is here. Whether Isom "retires" in another 12 months or 24 months is a bit besides the point. Turnarounds on this scale take time - this one will take 5-10 years. Let Isom continue to break even and pay debt down for now - that's all anyone can really do at AA for the next few years anyway.
I also disagree on the incremental announcements - they continue to build trust around the idea that American is actually going to do something to turn the ship around. One big announcement doesn't build momentum. And it makes the summaries of the announcements (one of which they emailed around the other week) that much more powerful.
AA-AS marriage is akin to SQ investment in Air India. Two opposite cultures cannot compliment but only devour each other. If Nat is a rising star in Team AA like you said, Isom will become a roadblock to Nat's path to CEO position. When Michael Bloomberg advised Trump to seek out the best and brightest people to fill his cabinet, Trump retorted " It is impossible because there is nobody in the world who is...
AA-AS marriage is akin to SQ investment in Air India. Two opposite cultures cannot compliment but only devour each other. If Nat is a rising star in Team AA like you said, Isom will become a roadblock to Nat's path to CEO position. When Michael Bloomberg advised Trump to seek out the best and brightest people to fill his cabinet, Trump retorted " It is impossible because there is nobody in the world who is smarter than me. I am the smartest." He often reminds the world that he is the only genius who exists. Man's ego and pride rule the world. Both Board members and Isom must be removed simultaneously-- a very remote scenario. The chance to revolutionize the culture of the rank and file is equivalently remote because aggression and confrontation are the hallmark of American culture.
I agree with what you said, but there is a path for Nat: If Isom is becoming more governance/oversight-like (more of a board director) and less of an operational executive leader, the board could split the President and CEO roles. Some companies do this, though the two roles are more commonly combined. This would allow the CEO to more independently run operations with the COO, allowing the President (who, in this case, is also a...
I agree with what you said, but there is a path for Nat: If Isom is becoming more governance/oversight-like (more of a board director) and less of an operational executive leader, the board could split the President and CEO roles. Some companies do this, though the two roles are more commonly combined. This would allow the CEO to more independently run operations with the COO, allowing the President (who, in this case, is also a board director), to step back and be more about broad brush strokes. I'm not saying they're likely to go with this option, but it would give Nat the flexibility to start building his vision while Isom is still there. It would give Isom a way to preserve his leadership and MAYBE not impede progress and change.
I am based in one of those competitive markets where I can be loyalty-agnostic and book based on convenience and price. While I fly AA, DL, UA and MX, I have found myself on AA increasingly in the last few years, as they greatly expanded their marketshare in the MSN market. As Lucky says, onboard customer service in the US is "consistently inconsistent." That said, in the last couple years, I've had more positive experiences...
I am based in one of those competitive markets where I can be loyalty-agnostic and book based on convenience and price. While I fly AA, DL, UA and MX, I have found myself on AA increasingly in the last few years, as they greatly expanded their marketshare in the MSN market. As Lucky says, onboard customer service in the US is "consistently inconsistent." That said, in the last couple years, I've had more positive experiences on AA, out of the MSN market, than the other carriers, in terms of on-time flights, clean planes, useable WiFi, and reasonable onboard service. Having gotten accustomed to SkyMiles while DL was our dominant carrier, I have to admit I'm finding much more generous award redemptions with AAdvantage. The onboard service seems to be on a trajectory of improvement in the last year, with a long way to go, of course. So right now, AA is winning more of my business (but not out of loyalty), and is making significant gains in the MSN market, where it is actively competing.
No shade toward the other carriers. DL appears to have backed off the capacity to try to chase higher yields (not a wrong strategy as long as it works for them), and UA and MX seem to be making steady increases here, as well. If you look at the MSN market share data posted elsewhere, though, you can see a very significant increase in AA's market share here. Whoever gets me where I want to go with the least overall hassle is who I fly. I used to chase loyalty (and many in this market still do), but I feel a good earn-and-burn FF program is higher yield for me.
Can confirm. The YoY gains by AA in market share for both residents and visitors are both pretty significant. Finally having the space they needed to expand hasn't hurt, either.
This is one of the most interesting commentaries I've read on this blog. Thanks, Lucky and everyone, for the interesting insights.
As a retired board director with some executive management experience (all non-travel-industry), it certainly appears the board is not holding Robert Isom accountable, with lots of evidence of groupthink and lack of creativity spanning several years. That said, the addition of Heather and Nat show some interest in change at the board/CEO level. I'm...
This is one of the most interesting commentaries I've read on this blog. Thanks, Lucky and everyone, for the interesting insights.
As a retired board director with some executive management experience (all non-travel-industry), it certainly appears the board is not holding Robert Isom accountable, with lots of evidence of groupthink and lack of creativity spanning several years. That said, the addition of Heather and Nat show some interest in change at the board/CEO level. I'm a firm believer in governance being separate from management; put another way, the company executives should not be on the board, but rather answer to the board. That gives true accountability for the CEO of any company. The overall trend is in that direction, though the transportation industry is one of the stodgier ones that follows trends slowly (they've got that in common with finance and healthcare industries, and I don't mean that as a compliment).
This guy is worthless until he does something about situations like the following: Had an awful experience with Philadelphia PHL customer relations desk attendants at the International arrivals terminal. 3-4 female agents sitting doing nothing and not even willing to help with issues caused by an American delay. Didn't even scan the boarding pass, which incidentally we would have needed for bag tags for completion of our journey. On top of that the gatekeeper event...
This guy is worthless until he does something about situations like the following: Had an awful experience with Philadelphia PHL customer relations desk attendants at the International arrivals terminal. 3-4 female agents sitting doing nothing and not even willing to help with issues caused by an American delay. Didn't even scan the boarding pass, which incidentally we would have needed for bag tags for completion of our journey. On top of that the gatekeeper event at the front of the roped area questioned why we may want to even approach the desk. Who would approach the desk if they didn't need to? That agent should have also been able to easily see we needed bag tags.
Nat is super talented. I worked with him when he was just a Sr FP&A analyst at NWA back in 1999-2000. Everyone knew that he was going on to better things. Perhaps his biggest weakness was being a huge Duke basketball fan (just kidding!).
I also find it interesting that you are comparing him to Robert Isom. I also worked for Robert at NWA who I found to be fantastic. Robert was several levels ahead of Nat at the time, so I find it really hard to compare the two
It's sAAd what's happening. Front-line employees vs. executives friction. An impotent BOD. No clear, well-articulated vision from the top. Fortress customers taken for granted. Overreliance on LHR. Nonsensical AAward pricing. A new CEO is long overdue.
A credit card company that flies airplanes...
We can only hope that Nat is able to make some real and lasting change. But you are spot on that it will never happen with Isom and his cronies there. Isom has been nothing but a massive failure, and the board should have fired him years ago. IF AA can hire a CEO who will actually lead and inspire employees will rally and it will have a positive effect on customers organically. Most of...
We can only hope that Nat is able to make some real and lasting change. But you are spot on that it will never happen with Isom and his cronies there. Isom has been nothing but a massive failure, and the board should have fired him years ago. IF AA can hire a CEO who will actually lead and inspire employees will rally and it will have a positive effect on customers organically. Most of them are good employees who want to do a great job but who have been beaten down for years by management, had tools taken away and ridiculous policies enacted. Product improvements are a start. New leadership who have a vision and actually lead are the only thing that will turn AA around. Thanks for the write up. I'll keep my eye on Nat.
Alaska merger is an interesting idea. But i agree with @Alex that LHR should not be the preferred transit point for Europre. Landing fees too expensive. AA should make a very bold attempt at int'l expansion and stop dicking around for God's sake.
Delta came back from the crapper starting in 2010 so can AA.
There’s an obvious prestige and language equality in LHR. That being said, I’d love to see AA route more through other joint venture partners or even try to bring in a Central European airline (e.g., Condor) to oneworld.
An Alaska-AA merger might be an interesting idea for AA, but not for Alaska!
Alaska is a well-run and conservatively managed airline. They have never gone bankrupt. They have a reputation for listening carefully to both customers and employees. They are early adopters of technology to improve their operations and passenger experience. And somehow, despite not having seat back entertainment, they have managed to grow and remain profitable, delivering excellent results to their shareholders relative to the rest of the industry.
Meanwhile, American is leveraged to the hilt. Nothing...
Alaska is a well-run and conservatively managed airline. They have never gone bankrupt. They have a reputation for listening carefully to both customers and employees. They are early adopters of technology to improve their operations and passenger experience. And somehow, despite not having seat back entertainment, they have managed to grow and remain profitable, delivering excellent results to their shareholders relative to the rest of the industry.
Meanwhile, American is leveraged to the hilt. Nothing is working right. Their whole management team needs to go. They definitely aren't in a position to take over Alaska, and if they did, they'd just destroy it.
Alaska could be in a position to take over American, but it'd have to be after American takes a trip to bankruptcy court. And it'd only work if HQ moves to Seattle.
It’s mainly Devon may of the old America west ilk
He and his clan are the only ones left of the true America west mindset.
He has no idea how to compete or run an airline other than monopoly hubs but he runs the company and pretends on the current premium offering until isom is gone
Everyone at AA knows it too
I agree with you about the America West management team style. That style of management needs to go already.
Interesting theory on the Alaska/AA tie up. I think Alaska should be the dominant partner and their management team should take over. Similar to how the American West team was the dominant partner in both the US Air and AA mergers. I’d argue they gutted both airlines and it’s about time a good management team (Alaska) took over.
They completely gave up on Boston and let Delta eat their lunch. They allow BA to drive EU business in one of the most expensive ticket markets, including ridiculous surcharges from the whole US, thus poaching their own potential international business, nobody in their right mind would want to fly via LHR to connect, forget LHR as a stopover point. Serious international expansion is only chance for AA to be in the mix or eventually be acquired or go belly up.
You want to fix American? It starts by eliminating the antiquated, angry union flight crews who have zero respect for customers and prove it every day of the week. It doesn't matter how much you coddle them and/or make excuses for their bad behavior (I'm looking at you 1990!). The bottom line is "Unions Breed Mediocrity"
@Some Things Just Need to Be Said--Nice try at pinning AA's personnel problems on unions but your apparent prejudices aside, how do you explain that most other US airlines' FAs are also unionized and don't have the problems you described? I can think of two words describing AA that provide the answer: bad management.
@Ben--You suggested that AA should merge with Alaska in order to gain a Pacific hub. God forbid! I wasn't even happy when AS joined oneworld. I (and most people in the PNW) would be outraged at that idea. If that were to happen, AA would likely pull AS down; I don't think AS (or any other merger partner) could pull AA up. If AA is to be saved, it will have to be organically.
I...
@Ben--You suggested that AA should merge with Alaska in order to gain a Pacific hub. God forbid! I wasn't even happy when AS joined oneworld. I (and most people in the PNW) would be outraged at that idea. If that were to happen, AA would likely pull AS down; I don't think AS (or any other merger partner) could pull AA up. If AA is to be saved, it will have to be organically.
I would also remind you that AA did have long haul international flights (to NRT and LHR) from SEA for a while, but then baled completely, leaving AS in the lurch. AS's previous international partner was Delta. Both DL and AA were supposed to provide international long haul services that AS could feed with its extensive domestic hub at SEA. DL didn't pull out but instead became a competitor, setting up its own SEA hub. I suspect the combination of those two experiences factored into AS's decision to fly international long hauls on its own metal. Regardless, AA's flip-flopping on SEA long haul routes has to have left a bad taste in AS's mouth.
Two step plan to revive American
Merger with Alaska
New CEO
Why would AK want that albAAtros around their necks?
Not to be that guy, but it’s “AS.” (It probably should be ‘AK,’ but there’s a history with Alaska Star (eh, look it up.)
Also, my goodness, some of the folks on their sub-Reddit lose-it if you refer to it as anything other than ‘Alaska Airlines’ (dear heavens, don’t say ‘Alaskan’… *gulp*)
Also, also, huge fan of adding the double-A to anything, so cAArry on with thAAt, PeteAAU!
Yes, my bad, I realised as soon as I hit "post". Oh, well. You got my point.
Now all he needs to do is keep the Board and the Unions from continuously undermining his efforts at genuine reform. Good luck with that, you go'n need it.
Ben, Excellent commentary. In addition to Nat Pieper's experience that you listed, he recently ran Oneworld. Having met him, I also agree that in addition to his management skills, he is a nice, caring person.
I'm just a small-time kibitzer here, but remember when AA started going downhill in the '90s, starting with horrible service from telephone to gate agents to FAs. You couldn't escape the condescending, "This is American" attitude. In fairness, they were all grossly underpaid, and management didn't care, touting the prestige of working for America's flagship airline as part of their compensation, which doesn't put food on the table. It was a slow, agonizing slide into...
I'm just a small-time kibitzer here, but remember when AA started going downhill in the '90s, starting with horrible service from telephone to gate agents to FAs. You couldn't escape the condescending, "This is American" attitude. In fairness, they were all grossly underpaid, and management didn't care, touting the prestige of working for America's flagship airline as part of their compensation, which doesn't put food on the table. It was a slow, agonizing slide into unprofitable, miserable overall service. Why America West wanted them in 2005 is anyone's guess, other than the prestige issue. Then, the financial crisis of 2008, making refinancing the huge debt they took on from AA impossible, continuing unhappy labor relations, heads-buried-in-the-sand management (because the Kirby crew could do no wrong), and it was a nightmare that AA still can't wake up from. At this point, I think it would take so much cash to turn them around that I doubt that they can do it. To get on top of your labor dissatisfaction, you need to throw gobs of money at them, which they don't have. They're trying to update their fleet, but that's always slow going, so all in all, I have my doubts.
You are 100% spot on as to what needs to be done to turn AA around and after reading your post, I believe this is the guy to make it happen! I have been flying AA since the late 90's and have accumulated over 3+ million miles and continue to do so. Of course I have a personal reason, as my late brother came up through the ranks as a pilot and retired out as...
You are 100% spot on as to what needs to be done to turn AA around and after reading your post, I believe this is the guy to make it happen! I have been flying AA since the late 90's and have accumulated over 3+ million miles and continue to do so. Of course I have a personal reason, as my late brother came up through the ranks as a pilot and retired out as an international check captain. I have also said for years, as you pointed out, a clean sweep of top management is LONG overdue, or it will never improve.
AA needed an enema since day 1 of "Dougweiser" reign.
Im a flight attendant for American Airlines. Welcome to my "punching bag" world.
This is hilarious! A.A.s problem is Isom AND everyone on the Board of Misdirectors. Management is a dictatorship at the place. Thousands of meetings, asking people's input on how to fix something.... anything, and then upper management goes and does whatever they were going to do in the first place. No one Dares tell their boss, no, or that won't work , we tried that already and it failed. So the endless loop continues. Bringing...
This is hilarious! A.A.s problem is Isom AND everyone on the Board of Misdirectors. Management is a dictatorship at the place. Thousands of meetings, asking people's input on how to fix something.... anything, and then upper management goes and does whatever they were going to do in the first place. No one Dares tell their boss, no, or that won't work , we tried that already and it failed. So the endless loop continues. Bringing one guy in won't fix anything! Trust Me on this!
Marketing says we need seat back monitors, next year after the retrofits are done, marketing says we don't need seatback monitors, so they are taken out. Marketing says we will give out tablets, then marketing says people being their own, we don't need tablets. Now the pendulum has swung the other way again. This, along with seat pitch, changes, and other things like rebuilding Admirals Clubs that were just rebuilt and many more decision swaps , ALL COST MONEY AND TIME! Back and forth they go. they are a Luxury Airline, no they are a low cost carrier, no they are Both, and yet neither, depending on which Senior Vice President , Manager, or upper Management person you talk to. There must be two dozen or more Senior Vice Presidents, and half that Vice Presidents of this and that.
They are all lost! And the actual Workers whether Pilots, Flight Attendants,Gate agents or Maintenance Workers, the latter used to be primarily in the U.S., but not anymore, all Hate the lost and wandering lack of support and direction by all those above them! That's why the workers aren't "happy". A new "program" every week that's going to fix everything, only they don't, they make jobs more difficult, cumbersome, and anger the workforce.
A.A. management, and Board needs a house cleaning. Then focus on one direction. Fly people where they need to go, with the amenities they want, comfort for the time they have to endure, and at a price point that isn't dumb! Stop pivoting directions every quarter !
Ben, come on. You know enough about this business to know it is not “too late to save American”.
I'm a DFW flyer and UA/AC have stolen some of my business, even willing to funnel through IAH, soooo...
I believe he is the right person at the right time.
A first-year analyst at McKinsey needs 10 data points to spot a trend, while a manager can do it with just 5. But a partner at McKinsey only needs one data point to spot a trend.
It's funny AND true!
Mr. Pieper presents a nice little four-piece pie (executives of all stripes and seniority like to use pies to draw metaphorical pictures) to describe his areas of focus: Network, Customer Experience, Revenue+Sales, and Loyalty.
Nowhere in that list is Labor, which is a giant area of required improvement, especially front-line facing employees. If he's bundling inflight service (surly, angry flight attendants who don't give a rat's patootie) into "Customer Experience" then he's not fully appreciating...
Mr. Pieper presents a nice little four-piece pie (executives of all stripes and seniority like to use pies to draw metaphorical pictures) to describe his areas of focus: Network, Customer Experience, Revenue+Sales, and Loyalty.
Nowhere in that list is Labor, which is a giant area of required improvement, especially front-line facing employees. If he's bundling inflight service (surly, angry flight attendants who don't give a rat's patootie) into "Customer Experience" then he's not fully appreciating the scope of his job and the size of the challenge he's facing. Labor needs to have its own pie slice, perhaps even two.
He's a step in the right direction. AA waited too long to understand there is a consumer segment that will pay for a better experience and not just the cheapest price point.
Please, oh please, do not have AA and AS merge. AS has it's own issues and has lost some of it's shine, but having AA take them over would be horrible.
Agreed - Alaska has enough in its plate with the basket case that is Hawaiian.
Out of curiosity I looked up Vasu Raja to see what he's been doing since leaving American. According to his LinkedIn he started a company called Dihedral, which is some sort of data company to "help companies move from disconnected data to active "customer orchestration." They strive to "make happier and more valuable customers" which is amusing given the job he did at American. After reading the word salad of a description I don't really...
Out of curiosity I looked up Vasu Raja to see what he's been doing since leaving American. According to his LinkedIn he started a company called Dihedral, which is some sort of data company to "help companies move from disconnected data to active "customer orchestration." They strive to "make happier and more valuable customers" which is amusing given the job he did at American. After reading the word salad of a description I don't really have any idea what exactly it is that Dihedral, and Raja, do, but there you go.
The Air Show podcast covered this recently. Raja's new game is monetizing seatback screens since those can be lucrative vehicles to target eyeballs with ads.
Speaking of The Air Show podcast, Cranky Flier just announced that they’ll be interviewing Alaska President Shane Tackett live on September 29. Should be an interesting listen in light of all this AA-AS speculation.
Why is Philadelphia often forgotten. Dfw, Miami and Charlotte...but no mention of Philadelphia.
I fly American all the time and u cannotbeat.what they do lit of Philadelphia to Europe. A non stop flight to Asia Pacific would be great.
Aww, that’s cute, Philly. Don’t worry, you’re still speshul... I guess that’d be like someone based in Detroit lamenting that they’ve been forgotten (‘we still make some cars, sorta!’) then praising Delta. I mean, it can be ‘a thing,’ but usually those trapped at fortress hubs don’t celebrate it. Stockholm Syndrome? (Oh, and it’s no MTA, but SEPTA’s aight by me, dawg.)
I just think it’s so crazy that both AA and UA ripped TVs out only to need to put them back in because screens were always the right answer. Glad someone is finally recognizing that to be premium you need premium features
"American needs to stop just making all of these little, incremental announcements..." could not agree more. I'd argue AA's biggest PR issue right now is that people aren't aware of the positive changes, or that they're even trying.
Agreed. I flew AA recently long-haul (GRU-MIA) for the first time since 2019, and I was dreading the flight going in because of past experiences. However, I noticed a lot of improvements, and it was actually a very good flight with a competitive and not-so-dreadfull Economy product. Same thing with my domestic AA flights over the past year. The small improvements have been adding up.
Aside from select members of his immediate family, who does Isom have respect from?
spoiler alert: they hate him too!
Chicago-based travelers demand more international options, but American Airlines’ strategy of routing its own and partner flights through Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) has pushed customers into the Star Alliance network. There is no reason why Qatar Airways and Cathay Pacific shouldn't operate twice-daily flights from O'Hare (ORD), or why carriers like Starlux and Qantas lack a presence there entirely. Chicago generates more than enough local and connecting traffic to sustain these routes.
Chicago-based travelers demand more international options, but American Airlines’ strategy of routing its own and partner flights through Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) has pushed customers into the Star Alliance network. There is no reason why Qatar Airways and Cathay Pacific shouldn't operate twice-daily flights from O'Hare (ORD), or why carriers like Starlux and Qantas lack a presence there entirely. Chicago generates more than enough local and connecting traffic to sustain these routes.
In general, DFW is such an unappealing hub for people not in Texas. It's too far out of the way to connect through and way, way too sensitive to weather
“I’d love to see the executives at Delta and United have to humble themselves a bit.” Preach. Healthy competition makes everyone better. Captured markets make ‘em all worse.
TEAM. TOGETHER EVERYONE ACHIEVE MORE.
Oh brother... eye roll.