American Airlines pilots: We are tired of apologizing for our embarrassing company

[chrisreedrules]

My honest take on what is wrong:

The power to make decisions is being taken out of people's hands. Gate agents don't want to make a bad decision for fear of reprisal from their managers. Ramp managers don't want to say yes or no to things. I sat in the Jumpseat on the ramp for over an hour simply because dispatch was no longer allowed to take the count from the cabin crew as the "final count" if the computers at the gate weren't working. Everyone says, "we aren't allowed to do that anymore". It seems like the bean counters have bean counted their way to horrible service. Give people the ability to make decisions again.

 

[RDoug]

L3 has used AA to fly us recently, really bad customer service, especially when they lost my bags. If they treat customers bad with a valid problem, how do they treat their employee's?

American has the absolute worst service of any airline I fly on a semi-regular basis. Alas, in El Paso there isn't much choice in the way of alternate carriers with overseas routes. They are pathetic.

 

[Mark815]

You clearly haven't worked under United Management .

AA makes United looks incredible! If anyone here has ever experienced the AA regional side at ORD, than you'll know what I'm talking about. I haven't touched an Eagle airplane in almost a year, and that's not by accident. I do everything I can do stay out of that terminal.

3+hrs for deicing, ground handlers swearing and walking off on the job when you ask for a simple request. Ops calls going unanswered, and of course, knowing that there's a nice spot waiting for you in the scenic pad because even though you're running late, your gate is still occupied and nobody in ops gives a damn about it.

Funny though, any time I J\S on AA though the crews are awesome. I've had great experience sitting in the back of mainline AA.

 

[ctab5060X]

L3 has used AA to fly us recently, really bad customer service, especially when they lost my bags. If they treat customers bad with a valid problem, how do they treat their employee's?

You really don't want to know.

 

[ctab5060X]

My honest take on what is wrong at Eagle:

The power to make decisions is being taken out of people's hands. Gate agents don't want to make a bad decision for fear of reprisal from their managers. Ramp managers don't want to say yes or no to things. I sat in the Jumpseat on the ramp for over an hour simply because dispatch was no longer allowed to take the count from the cabin crew as the "final count" if the computers at the gate weren't working. Everyone says, "we aren't allowed to do that anymore". It seems like the bean counters have bean counted their way to horrible service. Give people the ability to make decisions again.

Fixed it.

That might be how it works in the land of Eagle, but you don't find stuff like that at mainline. If you do run into something like that, it is very rare and chances are someone is getting written up or losing their job over it.

 

[ctab5060X]

You can ask the gate agents, and it should take them all of two seconds to give you a list of all the EPs and Keys on a flight. Did it for every flight I ever did at Eagle.

This is the sort if information they should be giving Captains during Captain Leadership Training. Not droning on and on with self-gratifying, back-slapping PowerPoint presentations.

 

[chrisreedrules]

Fixed it.

That might be how it works in the land of Eagle, but you don't find stuff like that at mainline. If you do run into something like that, it is very rare and chances are someone is getting written up or losing their job over it.

Funny, my example above was while I was on a mainline Jumpseat.

 

[ctab5060X]

Funny, my example above was while I was on a mainline Jumpseat.

And like I said. It is rare.

As far as the "not being allowed to do that anymore". The verbal dispatch release includes a section for weight and balance and the load closeout that is communicated verbally in the event of computer outages. A lot of the issues are a direct result of the merger and things changing from what they were to how they are now. A lot of stuff gets overlooked.

Provisions are in place, so I feel fairly certain somebody did a carpet dance over that.

 

[wheelsup]

I spent eight years working in the Express system. On the absolute worst days mainline is still run better than the crap-show that exists in the CLT E concourse, DCA trailer park, and F terminal in Philly. Operationally they are completely different airlines. Which is bad, because customers only see them as one (as they should).

 

[B767]

You clearly haven't worked under United Management .

Having worked both for a number of years I can safely say that the AA operation is FAR worse than UA.

 

[uncreative]

6.3B in profits- they must be doing something right?

 

[Roger Roger]

6.3B in profits- they must be doing something right?

I think they're just lucky with low fuel prices.

 

[Screaming_Emu]

6.3B in profits- they must be doing something right?

To quote a friend of mine at the other non Delta major "we are making money in spite of ourselves."

 

[Gonzo]

This is the sort if information they should be giving Captains during Captain Leadership Training. Not droning on and on with self-gratifying, back-slapping PowerPoint presentations.

Yup I would get the pax load, ask how the non-revs look and ask about jumpseaters, EPs and Keys, and all but the last one I could get off CCI.

 

[TallFlyer]

Parker sticks his head up front to thank us for the ride and says something like "I keep hearing horror stories about the north ramp, but I've never seen it a problem before so I just don't know what to think." Ummm...

Knowing me, I probably would've tried to turn that into an honest conversation.


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[ctab5060X]

Yup I would get the pax load, ask how the non-revs look and ask about jumpseaters, EPs and Keys, and all but the last one I could get off CCI.

We don't get access to CCI until October 1st.

Perhaps we can lobby for access to EPs and Keys after that.

 

[Gonzo]

We don't get access to CCI until October 1st.

Perhaps we can lobby for access to EPs and Keys after that.

CCI is a nice app, as much as I liked to rip on AA IT they hit a homerun with CCI. Do you guys have access to mobileFOS? It is a lot harder but I believe you can get the info from mobileFOS.

 

[BobDDuck]

Knowing me, I probably would've tried to turn that into an honest conversation.


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Parker isn't one to have a "honest conversation" with. Kirby maybe, but not him.

 

[MikeD]

Parker isn't one to have a "honest conversation" with. Kirby maybe, but not him.

Like having an honest conversation with Ornstein?

 

[ctab5060X]

CCI is a nice app, as much as I liked to rip on AA IT they hit a homerun with CCI. Do you guys have access to mobileFOS? It is a lot harder but I believe you can get the info from mobileFOS.

We can access mobile FOS. It's sort of something you just figure out or is spread by word of mouth on the LUS side. Nobody has really come out and said it is there and to use it as an alternative to CCI until we get that.

I've used it a few time, mainly just to get the dispatch information when I don't have paperwork yet, but sounds like I need to dig further next time I'm at work.