AA CEO flying Southwest
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AA CEO flying Southwest
The background is enlightening and timely. However, when the AA CEO has to fly Southwest, well....that's either encouraging or not. Delta is spacing passengers and cutting capacity by 50-60%. AA has been in the news frequently due to full aircraft. Does anyone really know what is going on? How can two (or three) large airlines in the same market differ in COVID policies so much?
https://nypost.com/2020/06/02/southw...-airlines-ceo/
https://nypost.com/2020/06/02/southw...-airlines-ceo/
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Interesting read on the AA Newsroom page:
"A message on current events "
Tuesday, June 02, 2020, 12:45 PM
"We thought it would be meaningful to share this note Chairman and CEO Doug Parker sent to American’s team members this past weekend."
.....
"A quick confession — I flew Southwest yesterday. I needed to get to Panama City, FL and all of our seats were sold out! But I’m glad I did, because I had a remarkable encounter."
Full text of Doug Parker's note:
Newsroom - A message on current events - American Airlines Group, Inc.
"A message on current events "
Tuesday, June 02, 2020, 12:45 PM
"We thought it would be meaningful to share this note Chairman and CEO Doug Parker sent to American’s team members this past weekend."
.....
"A quick confession — I flew Southwest yesterday. I needed to get to Panama City, FL and all of our seats were sold out! But I’m glad I did, because I had a remarkable encounter."
Full text of Doug Parker's note:
Newsroom - A message on current events - American Airlines Group, Inc.
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Originally Posted by lomapaseo
So what is his position on an upgrade list at the gate when he shows up?
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Doug Parker comes across as a decent man, both in his interaction with the SouthWest FA and in his policy of not bumping customers on his company's flights. I hope that's "the real Doug Parker" talking. If it is, then I hope his attitude influences the culture of his company. I've no experience of AA, but on this showing I'd rather fly with, or work for, an airline led by Mr Parker than some others I can think of.
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Originally Posted by lomapaseo
So what is his position on an upgrade list at the gate when he shows up?
Parker's not the only executive sitting in coach. They all do. There's a procedure for upgrades and if they get it they take it. If they don't qualify they don't pull rank. I was talking with Robert Isom about a particular row of seats and he knew exactly what I was talking about "I don't sit there. We're trying to fix that."
Originally Posted by Seat4A
Interesting read on the AA Newsroom page:
"A message on current events "
Tuesday, June 02, 2020, 12:45 PM
"We thought it would be meaningful to share this note Chairman and CEO Doug Parker sent to American’s team members this past weekend."
.....
"A quick confession — I flew Southwest yesterday. I needed to get to Panama City, FL and all of our seats were sold out! But I’m glad I did, because I had a remarkable encounter."
Full text of Doug Parker's note:
Newsroom - A message on current events - American Airlines Group, Inc.
"A message on current events "
Tuesday, June 02, 2020, 12:45 PM
"We thought it would be meaningful to share this note Chairman and CEO Doug Parker sent to American’s team members this past weekend."
.....
"A quick confession — I flew Southwest yesterday. I needed to get to Panama City, FL and all of our seats were sold out! But I’m glad I did, because I had a remarkable encounter."
Full text of Doug Parker's note:
Newsroom - A message on current events - American Airlines Group, Inc.
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There have always been managers/directors who offered to go on a jump seat in case there was a commercial passenger. I know the situation was ( is ) different in the U.S., but in Europe it was legal for airline staff to travel on flight deck or cabin jump seat.
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I have flown over a thousand flights but never on AA. Next time they are an option, I will choose them in preference. What a leader. Can you imagine Cruz or Walsh doing that?
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Originally Posted by BEA 71
There have always been managers/directors who offered to go on a jump seat in case there was a commercial passenger. I know the situation was ( is ) different in the U.S., but in Europe it was legal for airline staff to travel on flight deck or cabin jump seat.
.
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I know that, misd-again, commuting pilots are jumpseating, a friend who works as a dispatcher does, but the rules were always more restrictive in the U.S.. I wonder if a airline executive could travel on jump seat, unless he has a pilot or a dispatcher license.
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Jaguar : Maybe this is just staged PR, but it is VERY good PR, especially in the current period. The message is clear, and will get to people in his company . It is not about flying Coach or Southwest , , it is about caring and trying to change .. At least this is how I read it.
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My guess: He was on his way to his weekend home, which is frowned apon during the epidemic. He went with Southwest so his employees, who would surely recognise him, would not find out he is setting a bad example. Of course he could not keep his mouth closed, and had to show off, ending up on twitter. The rest is basically (very effective) damage control.
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Originally Posted by misd-agin
He's listed by his given name. Most people don't know that so he shows up and they don't know it's him until they see him. Obviously that's becoming better known among the agents. Crandall lived in BOS. Guess what, AA put an MD-11 on the DFW-BOS flight that Crandall commuted on.
Parker's not the only executive sitting in coach. They all do. There's a procedure for upgrades and if they get it they take it. If they don't qualify they don't pull rank. I was talking with Robert Isom about a particular row of seats and he knew exactly what I was talking about "I don't sit there. We're trying to fix that."
Parker's not the only executive sitting in coach. They all do. There's a procedure for upgrades and if they get it they take it. If they don't qualify they don't pull rank. I was talking with Robert Isom about a particular row of seats and he knew exactly what I was talking about "I don't sit there. We're trying to fix that."
