AA backpedals on cheapened domestic first class meals

[737823]

And others are doing what I'm doing: quitting flying American Airlines because the product has become garbage.
 
But I'm watching closely how AA is responding and I'd love to return to AA in the future. This is a positive step, but not there yet.

You have said that before, and while VX has a solid product they have a very limited network. Even from Logan B6 serves a good array of destinations nonstop but lacks widespread wi-if, useful FFP, and FC product. As bad as the new AA is shaping upto be from my perspective in many ways it's much better than DL or UA.

Josh

 

[jcw]

I would leave AA immediately - it's just horrible the way this product is going - it will save you alot of key strokes complaining

 

[WorldTraveler]

the credit has to go to UA.

Since they are demonstrating that they have fixed their operational issues and have a considerable headstart on AA in placing large regional jets in their network, UA has the potential to pull back a lot of the passengers that defected to AA over the past several years.

Meals might make a difference or maybe they won't but the chances are real high that the sledding will get a lot tougher for AA compared to UA in the next few years -and AA mgmt. realizes it.

No one has yet to tell us where the money will come from to pay for this; the meal service was cheapened to save money so reversing the decision will require money from somewhere.

 

[737823]

I would leave AA immediately - it's just horrible the way this product is going - it will save you alot of key strokes complaining

Well I am not going anywhere. Know too many people both at HDQ and at the airports I frequent. I am comfortable at AA and know I will be taken care of in IRROPS even as PM on DL it's not the same.

Josh

 

[WorldTraveler]

absolute hogwash.

DL not only doesn't have anywhere near as many IROPS - they have a far more reliable operation than AA - but they have far better technology to minimize the inconvenience when it does happen.

 

[737823]

absolute hogwash.DL not only doesn't have anywhere near as many IROPS - they have a far more reliable operation than AA - but they have far better technology to minimize the inconvenience when it does happen.

Hasn't been my experience as a revenue passenger on DL. While the PM agents at DL are very nice and all but they aren't empowered to overbook flights or book on OALs like AA Exec Plat agents. I am far more connected with people on all different levels at AA so if anything happens I know whom to contact. Not so much at DL.

Josh

 

[WorldTraveler]

And yet DL gets higher average fares and has had higher corporate revenue growth than AA has had.

I would expect you to be more connected - you are AA's client.

Don't think for a minute that DL has customers who have the same perspective - as do WN's most loyal customers.

Tell us about customer loyalty at JP Morgan since they have decided they won't inform their customers of their data breach.

 

[JFK Fleet Service]

absolute hogwash.DL not only doesn't have anywhere near as many IROPS.

Because even the weather bends to the will of Delta...

 

[MAH4546]

You have said that before, and while VX has a solid product they have a very limited network. Even from Logan B6 serves a good array of destinations nonstop but lacks widespread wi-if, useful FFP, and FC product. As bad as the new AA is shaping upto be from my perspective in many ways it's much better than DL or UA.

Josh

 
Virgin has an excellent network if you live in Los Angeles or San Francisco and your travel is primarily to major cities, like me. JetBlue has an F product - currently only on JFK-LAX/SFO, but I have a ticket on it at the end of the month. Usually that would have been a paid J seat on AA from me, but not anymore.
 

the credit has to go to UA.

 

 
Yup, entirely because of United, AA is adding meals on MIA-DCA, MIA-IAD (UA doesn't fly this route), ORD-AUS (UA doesn't serve meals on this route) and DFW-MEX. Totally right. 

 

[jcw]

WT is correct DL has better on time baggage handling etc stats -AA has a long way to go on performance

 

[LD3]

I just want to watch Dumb and Dumber duke it out..... For a second there I thought 700 took control over WT..

 

[WorldTraveler]

Virgin has an excellent network if you live in Los Angeles or San Francisco and your travel is primarily to major cities, like me. JetBlue has an F product - currently only on JFK-LAX/SFO, but I have a ticket on it at the end of the month. Usually that would have been a paid J seat on AA from me, but not anymore.
 
 
Yup, entirely because of United, AA is adding meals on MIA-DCA, MIA-IAD (UA doesn't fly this route), ORD-AUS (UA doesn't serve meals on this route) and DFW-MEX. Totally right.

and yet Virgin made no changes to its meal policies right after AA.

AA was forced to match UA and no one else.


as for the routes you list, all of them are well within the possibility of routes that UA or other airlines could have started if they got enough support from companies who wanted something besides AA.

We have already been told that there are companies that tell AA they have to provide a certain level of meal service or lose the contract.

this whole thing shows the lack of competitive rollplaying that AA did; it was always the possibility this could have happened or that AA's passengers got fed up enough.

Also doesn't change that AA now has to come up with more money which wasn't in the budget.

 

[La Li Lu Le Lo]

I just want to watch Dumb and Dumber duke it out..... For a second there I thought 700 took control over WT..

LoL.

 

[La Li Lu Le Lo]

"We need to lower cost let's get rid of inefficiencies".
 
"We need to lower cost. The employees will have to subsidize the business".
 
"We need to lower cost. The employees will have to subsidize the business".
 
"We need to lower cost. The employees will have to subsidize the business".
 
"We need to lower cost. The employees will have to subsidize the business".
 
"We need to lower cost. The employees will have to subsidize the business".
 
"We need to lower cost. The employees will have to subsidize the business".
 
"We need to lower cost. The employees will have to subsidize the business".
 
"We need to lower cost. The employees will have to subsidize the business".
 
"We need to lower cost. We are in danger of losing out puppet UNION the TWU and can't hit the employees right now.   Let's lower our standards of service and see if the customer puts up with it." 
 
"They did not put up with it..... We will have to have the employees subsidize the business after the association goes through"
 
"You did a great job Mr. Parker here is a 20 million dollar bonus for cutting cost."
 
Rinse and repeat.
 

 

 

[jimntx]

At least management is listening to and responding to our customers complaints as well as watching the competition. That's what they are paid to do.

AMEN!  I want to split a hair with the OP on his thread title.  The cheapening of the meals--lower quality, less attention to detail--has been going on for some time.   The reduction in the  offering of tray service meals from 2+ hour flights to 2 hours 45+ minutes is the recent mistake that seems to be the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back.  (An interesting anomaly...in several cases i've noticed that though we are serving less frequent tray meals, the quality of the entrees and salads on the meals we do serve has improved somewhat overall.  And, God knows, the snack basket is a HUGE improvement over our "gourmet snack"--says so right on the package--that was in reality, 90-95% low quality pretzels with an almond, a rice cake piece, and a poppy seed stick thrown in for contrast. )
 
I fly #1 most of the time, and for the past couple of years I've been on a tear writing up the catering on almost every flight.  Not just the meals themselves--though having catering papers say that you have 10 chicken entrees and you take the foil off of them right before serving and discover that you have 10 meals of mystery meat that sorta kinda looks like beef is a problem--but also, broken glasses in the inserts when there is no piece of glass in the insert or in the cart which means they put it in the insert already broken.  Or, one insert of ice for a 3 hour flight.  Or, 8 full-size bottles of wine taking up space in a double-catered turn flight where both legs have breakfast snack baskets!
 
Another thing a "world-class" airline does not do is present a breakfast snack basket to frequent flyers that contains bananas greener than some of the limes we are receiving in the drink garnish cups.  I remove them from the basket, then present the basket.  Before landing I go out with the green bananas on a tray and ask if anyone wants a banana that will be ready to eat in a few days.  The passengers seem to enjoy the joke, and some of them will actually take one of the green bananas.  The other side of the coin is the catering that can not be corrected with a joke--the bananas that are BLACK they are so overripe or bruised.  I take those in to Operations to share with Flight Service management.
 
And now, kudos to our world-class frequent flyers...if my experience is the norm then they are not taking the service/food reductions out on the flight attendants.  They seem to know that this is not our doing and that the company doesn't seem to listen to the employees who spend the most time with their customers.  All I can do is check frequently and make sure their drinks are full and the trash (particularly from the snack basket items) is removed from their immediate area.  That and keep on writing up the sloppy catering.
 
You know, it's not like we are new to this airline business thing.  We should be able to do this in our sleep, or certainly without a lot of forethought.  But, the same catering mistakes keep happening over and over again.  I've made the observation (when asked) to more than one Flight Service manager...catering (particularly at DFW) keeps doing a sloppy job and using substandard product because they know there are no consequences.  AA keeps right on paying the bills whether the catering is correct or not.