This article has been been brewing for a few months. I'm currently in England and could easily have written about London again, and my travails down in Kent playing (or attempting to) play golf. However, I think it's time for a "truth in travel" epistle, and it's not going to be pretty reading.
If you didn't know, there is currently a bitter dispute between ASTA, the US travel advsior advocacy body, and American Airlines. It involves a lot of technical stuff around a new type of fare and booking protocol called NDC (New Distribution Capability). I obviously admit to some bias in this, but I am completely advocating for the consumer with my arguments.
- The sole purpose seems to be to direct all booking through AA directly.
- The tech doesn't work properly yet.
- AA are about to take away the ability to earn both Loyalty Points and air miles if customers book through "non-preferred" agencies.
- AA decline to state what the criteria are to be a Preferred Agency
- If they go the whole hog, and customers MUST book directly, then we as travel advisors will no longer be able to service your bookings. Yes, that means on a tough travel day, when the weather is misbehaving or your flight is mysteriously cancelled, you will be on hold for multiple hours, not us
I am yet to understand if there is any benefit to the consumer or the travel advisor. I'll leave it at that for now. Note my focus on AA is led by the airline controlling our local hub with around 60% of our clients being Charlotte based. It is very possible that United and Delta may also yet go down this merry road.
And now for the Top 5 of AA's multiple personalities...
Top 5 - AA, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
1. The Good - Ice Cream Sundae (above)
Unlike anything else that AA offer, the ice cream sundae that is available in international business class is fully customizable to include whipped cream, nuts and sauces. I rarely turn it down.
2. The Sometimes Good - Award Bookings
AA along with nearly all other major airlines now, have no published award charts any more. Gone are those days of knowing how many miles it would cost you for any route in economy and business class. The "dynamic" pricing now used is a shambles of a replacement and has given airlines the excuse to try to collect all your hard earned award miles in one fell swoop.
However, I will say that AA has at least some preservation of value if you either hunt hard enough or simply get lucky. This is an actual example of mine, but there is a pattern to this price discrepancy:
Back in January I found an award for RDU - LAX - SYD in First Class with AA. Yes, until the end of this year only, AA actually has a true First Class on a few select international routes, LAX to SYD being one of them. I booked this one-way for 102K AA miles + $26 in taxes.
Delta's quote? 410K Sky Miles +$38 in taxes.
3. The Bad - In-flight service (above)
Bear in mind, I am coming at this from the perspective of luxury and business class travel. I also land 100% of the blame for what I see as issues on management, who seem blind to the absolute basics of customer service. I have experienced wonderful attitude and service from many AA flight attendants over the years, but I feel they have been given less and less rein to work with.
If I was a client who had paid the going rate for international business class which now seems to be over $5K for a roundtrip, I would not expect a thimble sized plastic cup for my pre take off drink. I would also expect a wine list, something which has quietly disappeared over the last few months. I have more, but you get my drift.
4. The Bad - Customer Service
AA never has the ability to cope with the disruption of a major storm (above). The domino effect of delays often lasts several days and trying to contact them during this period may take an infuriatingly long number of hours. Weather happens every year, there must be a better way.
5. The Ugly - Seats (above)
Above is a screenshot taken today of an AA non-stop flight to Madrid departing at the end of May. As you can see there are no seats available in economy class that can be reserved without spending a minimum of $79 per person up to a maximum of $167 per person. This is just one-way. This is also on top of the $2,000 per person economy roundtrip fare.
I cannot stand this practice.
Much like resort fees at hotels, I think it's a terrible way of doing business. Among the Big 3 US airlines flying internationally, United usually have the largest selection of "free" seats followed by Delta, with AA bringing up the rear. It is really difficult trying to explain to less-traveled clients that they need to spend another $400+ on top of the fare to be sure to sit next to each other and for families that is obviously worse. Put it in the fare to begin with AA, please! It's a rip-off.
PS. Don't get me started on the work we need to do to get seats reserved on codeshare flights booked with AA. Iberia, I'm talking about you...
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