Last month, the airline’s new management announced that employees could earn monthly bonuses if American Airlines Inc. and US Airways Inc. topped their major rivals — Delta Air Lines Inc., United Air Lines Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. — in three key categories.
Right off the mark, American and US Airways employees did so.
In January, the first month the new program was in effect, American and US Airways finished ahead of those airlines in on-time arrivals and the rate of baggage problems, the U.S. Department of Transportation said in its monthly report on airline performance.
“It’s great to take the top position in two of the three metrics in our very first month reporting as a combined airline,” American Airlines Group chief operating officer Robert Isom told employees in a message. “And it took everyone on the team pulling together to do it. You fought through extremely challenging conditions in January and finally broke Delta’s stronghold on the number one rankings.”
In the third category that could earn $50 bonuses — customer complaints — American-US Airways finished second behind Southwest Airlines and Southwest’s AirTran Airways Inc. unit.