You know, a lot of complaining goes on when it comes to the airlines, and I guess I can understand some of it. However, the public should be made aware, that as an airline employee, I personally have subsidized the high cost of oil with a big percentage of my salary being cut. Sorry, but airlines can’t afford to have airplanes sitting around for hours to make sure they are on time even when the weather goes down and delays begin. As long as the public still wants to fly for cheap (ticket prices have remained flat the past years even though oil has more than tripled) then they will only get the kind of service that they are willing to pay for. The airline industry is a business. If they don’t make enough money to fuel their airplanes, then nobody goes anywhere. I think the public needs a bit of a wakeup call when it comes to the airlines. And nobody told me thanks for my patience, they just cut my pay in half.

I’m a 30 year Pilot Veteran of American Airlines. I appreciate comments like yours; keep them coming. The airline really does listen (to customer complaints) and in small ways over time sometimes things get fixed. The reason I know this is because I have my friends write all the time with complaints and suggestions. It’s sad that the company doesn’t listen with the same interest to suggestions made by employees. Thanks again for speaking up. I’ll look for you on one of my airplanes.

Great blog. It brings into stark contrast the issues at American Airlines.
Your problems getting out of San Francisco are due to management’s failings. They are the ones who need to make sure the people and procedures are in place to make the operation run smoothly. Yet they have rewarded their incompetence with lavish bonuses – total compensation for the CEO is up over 800% from 1992.
Meanwhile front line employees, like Bobbi, who take pride in their work and try to do the best they can have seen their pay cut. And in many cases they have been let go – the ultimate pay cut. The pilots (of which I am one) have seen their pay rates cut slightly from 1992 levels.
AA management needs to take a lesson from Southwest Airlines. Unless they do I’m afraid the Bobbis of the airline will either lose their motivation or take their talents to where they are appreciated.

what a loser nerd! … yeah like the airlines have extra aircraft just hangin around doing nothing … and im sure that the weather is bad only over the American airlines terminal … whatever!

Waaaahhh, Waaaahhhh, Waaaahhhh! My airline runs like a business, not my personal valet. How dare AA use their aircraft for high productivity. And double how dare they not plan for weather and service dogs biological functions.
Get a life or get a charter where your demands are at least semi-valid.

Marshall from NYC embodies an entire group of people who read blogs everyday — really angry and looking for a place to plop it. So thanks, Marshall. Y’all come back now, hear?

Marshall, I hope you put your wallet where your mouth is! Fractional Jet is a must for you! I have enough trouble already with uruly passengers on my flights. And… good luck in a 30 year old Lear Jet; I flew them 30 years ago and they were unreliable! Remember the scary steep dives in Lears years ago? I wave when I pass by you on the way to the West Coast!

It’s all about morale! Airline employees and Air Traffic Controllers enthusiasm is at an all time low. While the managers laugh all the way to the bank. The delays are know as “Job Action,” and will only get worse.

Service dog?

I might have seen you on the redeye out of SFO last week, except I was over at Continental. We got in on time, to Newark, granted, but it was on time.

Your experience at SFO is not isolated. Several times I have witnessed the same scenario play out there as well; routine operations not happening. Does staff think the a/c is going to service itself? Meanwhile the departing passengers are entertained by staff barking and yelling at each other. There is a management problem at that location and AA needs to fix it!!!!

“God forbid they should actually have a plane on the ground ready and waiting for people to board…”

Airlines don’t make any money when planes are sitting on the ground.

If you want personalized service, charter your own damn plane.

I think employees do their best. That is the best they can do with what they are given to work with and, yes, more often than not, if we stop screaming and just plain ask (or beg, depends), they will be our little angels. About the Dallas situation, I have had the same concerns a few years back when I moved from up North to Austin TX. That winter it snowed a full 1/2 inch one day. Administration, airports, schools, everything shut down. My friends even warned me no to go outsite to get the mail. I might break my legs. I regarded them as nuts. Then again, how many people in Montana can sustain 100+ temperature for 2 months straight without even noticing? I guess, it is cultural.

AMERICAN DOES HAVE SOME PROBLEMS, AS DO THE OTHER AIRLINES. I MIGHT SUGGEST YOU TAKE THE BUS OR TRAIN. IT WOULD COST MORE AND IT WOULD TAKE A FEW DAYS LONGER, AND YOU WOULD STILL BE LATE. YOUR COMMENTS DO HELP IF DIRECTED TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE. SEE THE MAN WITH YOUR MONEY AT THE TOP, AND PLEASE NO CRYING, IT’S UNBECOMMING.

As a 20 year flight attendant with AA who used to work flight 18 (the redeye from SFO to JFK) on a regular basis, I understand your continued frustration with American’s many shortcomings. In fact, according to DOT statistics, AA 18 arrives in New York on time (within 15 minutes of scheduled arrival time) less than 40% of the time — totally unacceptable. What your whining tirade fails to acknowledge, however, is that most of your complaints stem from AA cutting costs to stay afloat, without declaring bankruptcy, to satisfy the flying public’s desire for cheap(er) fares while costs beyond the airline’s control are at all-time highs. But what I find truly staggering is your lack of comprehension at what this cost cutting has done to the front line employees at AA. In addition to the mere pay cuts, vacation and sick time cuts, nasty changes in work rules and an overall demoralizing work environment, these cuts have impacted many employees in profound ways.

I do not expect you to feel sorry for me, but I spent my first ten years at AA working my ass off to save for my first house (I found a tear-down in my home town) and then next five years designing and building my new home (while still working my ass off to pay for it — no predatory/sub-prime loans for me – I had a 30 year fixed at 5.75%!). Three-quarters of the way through construction, we took our 35% plus pay cuts and while my payments would have been easily managable prior to the “restructuring agreement” at AA, I now had to struggle to make the my payments. Ultimately, selling the home I spent 15 years of my life saving for and working on was the only option (additionally, due to the beginning of the real estate downturn, I didn’t even make a profit). I am now back to being a renter with an uncertain future. So please forgive me if I don’t exactly ooze with sympathy at how AA’s cost cutting has so negatively impacted your life — boo hoo.

The real kicker for me, though, is the irony that although the front line employees have suffered (as have our passengers), our senior management has been rewarded handsomely with bonuses in the hundreds of millions of dollars — a scenario that your employer, Fortune magazine most certainly laudes. It is clear from the last decade or more that big business is primarily about massive personal wealth for it’s “corporate kings”. They don’t care about you – as customer, and they don’t care about me – as employee. They have enormous egos to feed and Hummers to fill up and that’s all that really matters to them. You should really have a better understanding of that.

Everyone keeps trying to say, “Airline is a business” but the issue with that argument is that technically EVERYTHING is a business. Because of competition they’re trying to squeeze more butts into the same amount of available air time with minimum amount of resources (planes, staffs, pay etc). Which means there are very little room for any unforeseen events, such as say.. WEATHER! The only reason as an industry they are able to get away with it is so far is lack of true alternative transportation. Air travel is still cent for time the best bargain you can get in the US.

But like you’ve said, airline is a business, and if they want to stay in business I hope they get their kinks out before the next technological advancement wipes them out. Like air travel did for the passenger train travel.

American Airlines I find the worse of all carriers, but writer you keep flying them ( way to go )

CS, you say you work at American but they don’t listen, I had a flight out of Little Rock and had an overweight passenger next to me or should I say taking up 2/3 my seat and I am 6ft 180 guy, It was a full flight and told it is only 50 min flight. So I dealt with it as I needed to make my connection, when I emailed your airline the response I got was I should have switched seats, your customer service folks are a joke as is the management at American. I even have sen people on South West taken off and told to pay extra, instead of $25 a bag that I am sure AA will soon charge how about and extra $5 a pound for those over a height and weight chart that the AMA uses. Lack of attention to detail too takes place as if they read my letter and checked the load it would have shown that the plane was full, should I have been offered a Jump Seat up front? All I was looking for is maybe an apology that tells me they are looking into a new policy and a few extra miles or some gift certificate would have been good, but not even that offer was extended, so I have to let you know you wont see me on an AA flight in a long time. You have been added to my list with Continental they are on the list cause out of Seattle a kid puked and the cleaning crew and FA’s did nothing and they did not spray anything or have any bio-hazard gear to ensure the safety of passengers so they are off my list too. I guess if I win the lottery I will then move to a fractional and not have to worry, but when serving the public you are in the business for safety and comfort and both of you have failed me…

I agree with you Jim. Regarding management salaries, take a look at what people are comparatively paid in other industries and you will realize just how underpaid people are at AA. Stock options mostly worthless since they are awarded during good times and falls when they become vested. Try calculating the cost of driving to your destination including the cost of your time and then compare ticket prices before you complain.

I’m an AA Employee, and trust me, I want nothing but the best service for all of our customers. If we fail anywhere consistently, we definitely need our customers to speak up loud and clear as you have! Maybe the powers that be will eventually recognize that our performance has been suffering and action is needed to make things better. I want them to think long-term and make our customer service industry-leading, as it once was! Our customers should not hesitate to log on to aa.com and complain when it’s called for. Thank you again for speaking out, sir.

I’m a little confused. If you know that the AA flight is always going to have a problem, why do you still book that flight? Either book differently or don’t complain. Take a little more responsibility for your own actions. The last time I checked there was more than one airline at San Francisco.

What a great story and comment. I think it is typical of most airlines today. The thing that makes me laugh, is people like Bobbi get cuts in pay, lose pensions, vacation time, all sorts of perks and benefits, but the CEO’ of these airlines make tens of billions every year on “their performance”. Got to love the industry and wall street. Maybe if Bobbi is lucky, Gerald Arpey will send her a “computer generated” note of thanks. Ironically, I feel anyway, Bobbi would say she was just doing her job.

pure greed on part of management,was employed with them for 34 years,pay was cut at a large sum,and first sign of a profit they rewarded themselves with every one elses money.employees go out there way to help passengers,but they are only abused by this management

American seems to have too many problems these days. Flight attendants can be hot or cold – don’t mention TWA or you will have your head bitten off. Pilots have figured out a late-night version of passive aggressiveness with doing very loud announcements every few minutes (last night we heard how much gas was being used per person, broken down into mile increments, and how much the temperature changed outside the plane every 10 minutes, among other announcements while people were trying to sleep). I’m Platinum and missed a flight – the Platinum help desk literally said they “didn’t know what to do” and told me to go find a gate agent before hanging up on me.

My first letter to American had a boiler-plate response to issues that I didn’t even have. A second letter to Arpy (AMR head) didn’t even have an “I’m sorry, we’ll do better next time” — just “Sorry we didn’t live up to your expectations, blah, blah, blah”. I fly between 15,000 and 20,000 miles per month and American was my airline of choice up until my Arpy response letter. Now I don’t know where I’ll take my business.

I will tell you that as an employee of Americna Airlines I agree with you. I see what you are saying alot where I work and I really wished that the company would change these things. I do appreciate you flying with us and keep writing your comments and letting Dallas know what you think.

Yet another self-styled “passenger” who loves to have airline staff under their thumb. You can do that with the lady in DFW so you like her. Do you really expect an airline to have airplanes sitting around doing nothing? Get a new airline, try CO or UA for instance. Stop being such a crybaby. It is complainers like you that make me glad I retired from Northwest, I realized that as long as I stayed there I would be taking care of helpless selfish whiners so I got out. No it’s my turn to tell you to get out.

Overall, American does a very fine job. That being said, now lets us focus on those cabin cleaners. They are simply the best and work so hard for so long for so little.
American needs to hire more of them to operate more smoothly. A couple of years ago, a brilliant manager thought they could save some money by letting a lot of them go. Now, no one will wants to admit that it is a big mistake.
So, if you guys are listening, please hire the wonderfull cabin cleaners back again! Tnanks.

This story is rather common. AA can not even
find people to open the cabin door when they finally do arrive at a destination. Examples abound: 500 cancelations in one day when the other airlines are running along and coping well! No spare parts, no mechanics
and no one caring! Trips canceled for low passenger count! No management! ! ! And it will get worse before it gets even a little bit better.

As a twenty year employee of American Airlines I would like to add the following comment: You are dealing with corporation who’s senior managers are incapable of taking care of their own employees. Than being said, do you really think that they truely care about you, the traveling public? I think not.

If flying is such a hassle, you can always walk.

Bing,

Try Southwest. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Back in the ’80’s, after Reagan’s deregulation of the airline, EAL’s pilots went on strike. And stayed on strike. And when everybody realized that if they didn’t compromise soon, then all of the investors would lose all of their investment and all of the employees, including pilots and non-pilots, would be out of work, they cut a deal.

Other airlines followed suit. Union jobs were traded for non-union. Skilled positions went to less skilled. Flight crews were made to fly more hours. Ticket prices got significantly lower. People like Frank Lorenzo and Carl Icahn became the idols of the Wall Street and the consumers, although they were running their organizations into the ground.

In short, it was a race to the bottom. Slash your operating costs, pass the savings along to the consumer. More people will fly.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the tarmac. All of the “guaranteed” profit that came with deregulation dried up. Suddenly, there was a ton of competition — too much competition — which meant a lot of cost cutting, except for the dumasses who played the ostrich strategy. Everybody was trying to undercut each other because, as it turns out, most people don’t give a damn who they fly with as long as they can save a few bucks. Note that most people could care the less about safety records as long as they are getting a good value. As Eastern was starting to emerge into its brave, new world, Martin Shugrue (I believe it was him and not that bozo Frank Lorenzo) said something to the effect of “As long as you have the lowest cost, People will buy a ticket on your planes even if the wings are falling off.” (not an exact quote).

Consider, for instance, Southwest. How many people are still buying tickets for Southwest? Sure, management had to say that those planes were never in any danger because, well, what fool of a manager is going to say that their bread-and-butter is a health-hazard?

Regulation allowed the airlines to NOT operate at capacity and still turn a buck. They could seriously address issues like turnaround time and maintenance schedules without a big threat to the bottom line. Employees, especially the ones that need to be paying attention in the cockpit, could earn a decent wage. It also allowed them to compete based on frills instead of lack of frills. Sure, airline travel doesn’t need to become an elegant means of travel but it does need to be less like a crosstown bus. We need 60’s and 70’s style regulation once more so that your seating call isn’t just another cattle call.

When service is bad, change carriers. Thre are other red-eyes from SFO-JFK/Newark. Since you fly so frequently, you are probably a slave to their frequent flyer program. You can quit AA cold turkey…try it next week. I had a similar experience with US Airways a few years ago. (US Airways makes AA look like the Queen Mary). I was stranded at a connecting airport four flights in a row. Now I will not fly US Airways at all, even if they offer the only nonstop in the market. After having my head crapped upon four times, I eventually GOT THE MESSAGE and took my business elsewhere. And you would be wise to take your business elsewhere, too. If you don’t, you can’t complain.

I read this article and the comments, and one thing confuses me about both the passenger comments and the employee comments. If you don’t like American Airlines, either flying on them or working for them, why are you there? There are other airlines to fly, maybe better, maybe worse. I personally fly American because I think it’s better than United, but if Continental had better schedules where I fly, I might give both of them the boot. Someone out there is gonna say Continental is the worst, so it really comes down to…. personal preference. My point is, if you always fly American, and it’s always a disatter, why do you do it??
As far as employees go, I sympathise more with them, they were abandoned, in most cases, by management and left to deal with the raw emotions and anger of the passengers that also got screwed. But there is hope. You can move on, the is no law that says you have to stay in a job you hate. Sure, it’s hard to change, to leave your seniority, pension, etc, but if it’s killing you and you see no light at the end of the tunnel, then why are you there contributing to the unhappiness? The airline industry will change, one way or another. You can be a part of the problem, or a part of the solution, employee or passenger. Vote with your feet.

Bing, my dear, you have hit a hot nerve here (viz. comments). Airlines are in terrible condition all over this great land. I fly Delta, Continental, United, AA, TWA, et al. — whoever is going my way at the best price. And you know what? They’re all in trouble.

The flights are packed, the planes are dirty, passengers herded like cattle, baggage get broken or lost, staff are overworked, underpaid and stressed to the breaking point. Apparently some commenters here are too young to have ever experienced prompt flights, comfortable seating, and staff who were pretty much *all* like the young woman you describe at Reagan.

But thanks to deregulation, wacky Wall Street hijinks and psychotic fuel prices, those days are gone forever.

You remember the old days when the only way to go to Moscow was on Aeroflot? It was famous for surly service and bad food on junky planes. If fear that’s what we’re becoming in many aspects of which air travel is a most obvious example — the old Soviet Union, stuck together with baling wire and threats.

You know what is a great flying experience, even in coach? Singapore Air. Time to go East, young man. And learn Mandarin.

As long as Senior Management gets their bonus money, you will have to suffer like eveyone else. They don’t care about their employees, so why should they care about their passengers other than they supply the money for their bonuses.

Are these serious criticisms of American Airlines? As a very frequent traveler, I identify with the frustration of arriving late, missing connections, etc., but (in your New York example) you need to redirect the blame to our country’s ageing air traffic system.

If AA always had a “plane on the ground ready and waiting for people to board” that would mean less time in the air for the aircraft and less earnings in an already cash-strapped industry with rising costs. As it is, AA is turning those planes plane in very little time. It is not to an airline’s benefit to be late.

It sounds like you lose your patience easily.

Gone are the days that an Airline can have extra airplanes sitting around to replace one coming in that’s late. The weather delays are mostly due to a non functional FAA. Their equipment is old, there are not enough air traffic contolers and although the system is based on IFR (instument rules) departures and arrivals, schedules in reality are planned on VFR (non instrunent/visual rules)daily. When weather comes, the system is over taxed and falls flat. Agents are over worked and there are too few of them, pilots have to fly max FAA Allowable hours and are dog tired and flight attendants are over worked and there are too few of them also. Bring back regulation!

Deregulation happened under President Carter, not Reagan, in 1978, by an Act of a lopsided Democratic Congress.

Nostalgia for regulation is nostalgia for half empty planes hauling around a privileged few at “cost plus” pricing. Oh, and perhaps there might be a few “midnight special” flights for the rest of us, of course…

A modern-day CAB would likely have taken the politically expedient route and imposed across the board capacity cuts after 9/11, instead of what reality dictated– heavier ones for US Airways and lighter ones for Southwest. Not that there would be a Southwest, of course…

It’s reality, what you get is what you pay. You cannot have your cake and eat it too, that’s the economic truth.
Poor Bobbi, it’s a bit of a shock to know that there are still undercompensated harworking people like her in America, the land of the free where we in this part of world know the land pays world class wages to its workers. But it’s not the end of the world for people like her, she can always work her way up to the top through for example, further education and acquire more knowledge and then earn the big fat bonuses like her bosses.

After many many years with AA I am sorry our management has forgotten they are in a SERVICE business. The next time you go to a business/press conference put on by our management take one of our pilot union officers along. We would be glad to highlight the dichotomy in how we believe passengers need to be treated and how they ACTUALLY ARE treated and what specifically NEEDS to be changed. Maybe with enough articles and press we can change this company around. For the betterment of all ESPECIALLY our customers.

I am sorry to not share the same sentiment and sympathies as some of the employees who have commented here. It is difficult to go to work everyday and feel that you are undervalued and unappreciated, but it is equally if not more of a challenge to be at the head of the table and have to keep a business afloat, viable, and competitive, especially in such a turbulent industry as that of the airlines. And to those that feel bonuses are unfair, welcome to the real world. In order to keep top people in any industry, they must be paid to stay. If I am not mistaken, these managers are the same people who kept the airline out of bankruptcy and have returned AA to the black.

For all you AA employees that are reading this article I think it is time that we let the company know where we stand and that should be together. We work when we are tired and give and no says thank you. I understand why we are so grumpy and angry. Let STAND TOGETHER AND FIGHT. Not only for us but for the passangers and our love ones that travel with us.

Apparently, AMR’s BODs don’t agree with the sentiments of this author as they’ve awarded executives and mangers with 100’s of millions of dollars in bonus “performance” payouts the last couple of years. They’re to receive another one in April. So; sorry; You’re wrong!! American Airlines must be doing things right!

To Katherine is Washington, D.C.: I’m afraid you are mistaken. It was not the shear genius of our senior management that kept AA out of bankruptcy, it was in very large part due to the enormous sacrifices of the front line employees. I understand the real world and I know that executive compensation is very often tied to bonuses. It was the formula used and the preposterous amounts awarded that is so unsavory (to put it mildly). Senior management at Continental had the forsight to tie front line employee bonuses with senior executive bonuses. They understood the demoralizing effects such a lopsided pay scenario would have on front line employees. Most of us understand that senior executives make much more money and that sometimes they actually earn it, but I think few (with the exception of the executives themselves) would argue that very few in senior management are overworked and underpaid. And by the way, these “top people” in the industry have embarked on just as many costly boondoggles as they have ventures that have turned profitable.

I suppose you could always have your own jet wauting for you in SFO. That way you would leave on the red-eye in well enough time to miss traffic in NYC the next morning. However i am sure that is out of the question. You, as 75% of the business folks, whine and complain and DO NOT know when to SHUT UP!! Leave the agents alone. Your meager fare paid in inflation adjusted dollars from 1965-1970 leave you with NO authority to whine. Get your own Jet, or SHUT UP!!!!