Given peoples preoccupation with traveling via cheap travel optionssuch as cheapairplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, discounttravel deals, cheapdeals, and cheap vacation packages, itmight surprise you to learn that some travelers are willing to pay more, ifnecessary, to avoid traveling on American Airlines.
Not flying on American is not easy given its large number offlights. Currently American is in themiddle of a merger with US Airways which will make it the biggest airline inthe world. With only three legacyairlines remaining in the US (American, Delta, and United), the number ofchoices are dwindling.
Some experienced fliers feel that American Airlines simplydoes not care. One pointed to Americanswebsite which will only allow passengers to use up to 500 characters to send itinformation regarding flight experiences.
Lack of customer service is a complaint shared by many. American scored 66 out of 100 points in themost recent American Customer Service Index, same as 2013. This is five pointsbelow the industry average.
The Department of Transportation received almost 3,100service complaints regarding American Airlines in 2014, an increase of 546 froma year earlier. It is the third mostcomplained about airline, behind United Airlines and Frontier Airlines.
American Airlines says that it can do better and claims to betrying. American had customer relationsteams that worked around the clock through extremely difficult winterweather. It answers every complaint,most within a few days, and each is categorized so that company executives candetermine where the problems are and fix them.
To date, at least some industry experts are not impressed bythe airlines efforts. Customercomplaints are not all weather related. Many are the result of airline policies, a changing corporate culture,and the ongoing merger between US Airways and American.
In March American combined its loyalty programs withoutincident. They are in the process ofaligning company rules and later this year, will combine the two airlinesreservations systems, which is often the most difficult part of any airline merger.
Depending on your point of view, people claiming that theyare avoiding American may be irrelevant. The reality is that plenty of people are flying on American. The airline recently reported a recordquarterly profit of $1.2 billion, triple its prior year net profit. These earnings are the result of lower fuelcosts, higher ticket prices, and cutting capacity after merger. Some wonder if American really needs or wantshappy customers.
Experts believe that long term happy customers will becomeimportant to American because travelers still have options and if an increasingnumber of people decide to avoid American that could become a problem. The fact is that most Americans continue tohave a reasonable number of options when it comes to air travel, thoughadmittedly fewer than they once did.
The following are ways to avoid flying on a particularairline, if that is your desire:
-
Lookinto alternate airport near a hub city. Forexample, in you are in Chicago, instead of limiting yourself to flying out ofOHare check out flights from Midway.
-
Consideralternate transportation options. Trainsare an attractive alternative to East Coast airline shuttles. Buses service is growing at an impressiverate and can often get passengers to their destinations in about the sameamount of time that it takes to check in, go through airport security, wait fora flight, and eventually fly.
-
Be opento moving if you live in certain cities (such as Dallas, Philadelphia) whereAmerican is so dominant that it is near impossible to avoid flying on thatairline, particularly if you are travelling internationally. The same holds true for other airlines flyingout of certain cities. If you aredetermined not to fly a particular airline, depending on where you live, youmay have to relocate.
www.cheapfares.com