American Airlines: Tell its pilots your travel horror stories

by Jeffrey White on

American Airlines customers: Are you angry at the company? Well, AA pilots want to hear from you.

Following a week that saw the carrier cancel more than 3,000 flights, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded, a group of AA pilots has just launched a Web site — Tell Your AA Story — where they want you to air your frustrations about the airline’s recent and future performance. The site has already generated more than 56,000 hits.

Check out this welcome message, taken directly from the site (the caps are not mine):

Had your travel plans destroyed by the actions of AA lately? Even if they’re not listening–we are. Whether you were traveling on business, for pleasure, or for an emergency, we realize that the mismanagement of American Airlines has cost you dearly. It doesn’t matter if you lost a day at Disney with your family, a day of work for your business, or a major family event, the unfortunate truth is that your life has been disrupted, your plans destroyed, your business derailed–all for one bad reason: THE PROFIT OF A FEW AMR EXECUTIVES.

AA’s 12,000 pilots are in the middle of contract negotiations, so the site’s launch seems as much a collective bargaining move as a response to last week’s cancellations, even as the Allied Pilots Association, the pilots’ union, says it is neither.

If you’re flying out of Boston, New York, Miami, San Francisco and a handful of other cities today, you are likely to encounter a few dozen AA pilots outside protesting the company’s recent performance. At key hubs, 30-50 AA pilots will be passing out literature promoting their new Web site between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

This just as American says it is back up and running at a full schedule (the pilots say their actions will not translate into flight delays). AA clearly has more than just frustrated customers to be concerned about. I’m reminded of Grant’s post earlier this month about an AA flight attendant who used an awards ceremony as a forum to take AA management to the woodshed over a whole host of consumer and safety issues.

GADLING TAKE 5: Week of 4-11-2008

by Catherine Bodry on

This week can be summed up in one word: delayed. If you had somewhere important to be this week that required a domestic flight, you have my sympathies. Now, let’s focus on the fun stuff:

That’s five! Happy Friday.

Can’t get enough of that jetset lifestyle? Buy an airplane cabin!

by Grant Martin on

I seriously thought this was a joke until I looked at the auction. Apparently, someone on Ebay Germany is selling an actual internal section of an Airbus aircraft, complete with seats, rails, overhead compartments and even OVENS.

What on earth would you do with something like that? I know I’m a bit of an airplane nerd and I like to stare out the window and fly around the country in circles, but I can think of very few uses for this. So I’ll put it to you guys: What would you do with a replica airplane interior? Here are my few (lame) ideas:

  • Set it up in my boss’ office while she’s out on assignment
  • Throw a pilots and flight attendants party and get drunk in it
  • Buy it (in Germany) and try to check it in on your flight home — “I brought my own overhead compartment”
  • Put it in my basement, drink whiskey out of four once bottles and bite my thumb at the TSA to my heart’s content

What would you do with an airplane cabin? I’m interested to see how much this auction goes for.

[Via Gizmodo]

Canceled flights can get you some luxury

by Jamie Rhein on

If you happen to be one of those unfortunate people who come up with a dud on what seems to be a new roulette style airline game called “Will My Flight be Canceled?” or even worse, “Will my Airline Shut Down Overnight?,” you can head to certain Kimpton Hotels for a gift designed especially for you–the stranded traveler.

As a way to coax stranded travelers to a Kimpton Hotel, the “Stranded in Style” promotion allows guests with a canceled flight to choose from the following options they show a canceled boarding pass or ticket:

  • Bath salts or eye mask
  • Bottle of wine or in-room movie
  • KN Karen Neuburger zebra chenille lounge socks
  • Cocktail or appetizer at adjacent restaurant

    Participating hotels include: 70 park avenue and The Muse in New York, Hotel Argonaut in San Francisco and Hotel Monaco in Denver.

    This may not be enough to turn lemons into lemonade, but it’s an interesting idea. I wonder what budget motels could come up with? Maybe you could get real Half-and-Half instead of non-dairy creamer with that complimentary cup of coffee.

    • US pilots jump ship; love Emirates

    by Iva Skoch on

    I had no idea US pilots were leaving the country in droves. I guess it makes sense. All the bankruptcies in the US airline business, pay cuts, frozen pensions, eroded job security and increases in monthly flight hours are not exactly benefits of the job.

    This Time article, titled International Departures, describes the mood among pilots working in the US as not exactly filled with motivation. Many US pilots have already switched to working for international carriers, where they can still be treated like “upper-level managers, with something they feel has long been missing in the US: respect.”

    Dubai-based Emirates, for example, expects to hire 540 pilots this year. Half the applicants are Americans, compared with just 7% of its current pilots. Over the past four years, over 100 US pilots have been lured by Emirates and their generous benefits package, including over 40 days of vacation and guaranteed annual raises.

    I wonder what Kent will say about this trend. Any insights?