THE FLYING GORILLA

Last week, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an article, “NAACP cautions fliers on American”. http://www.philly.com/philly/business/naacp-issues-travel-advisory-cautioning-african-americans-to-not-fly-american-airlines-20171025.html. The NAACP has issued a national alert, cautioning African Americans about booking on American Airlines because of what they see as a pattern of incidents which reek  of “disrespectful, discriminatory, or unsafe conditions” for African American passengers on American Airlines flights. With deference to the NAACP, as a Caucasian, I can’t speak to the African American experience other than to sympathize and to follow the story as it unfolds. However, since the moment when American and US Airlines merged to form American Airlines, the largest airline in the world, I’ve viewed them as an equal opportunity passenger abuser. I don’t think that they care about passengers at all—it’s all about making money. Making money isn’t a bad thing, as long as it’s done legitimately and with respect for the customer. But American Airlines doesn’t make money respectfully—the customers are the cash cow, and the corporation is so interested in their bottom line that they forget that the passengers are the means by which they make their billions in profit. The result—passenger abuse.

American Airlines is not only the largest airline in the world, in Philadelphia, they are the dominant carrier. On some routes, there is virtually no competition. American has recognized this and took quick steps to let customers know that they are the 2000 pound gorilla who can bully their way into anything that they want to do. Examples:

* Airfares went up very quickly after the merger with US Airways. For Howard and me, our most frequent route is Philadelphia to LA. There are no alternate options for direct flights. While I know that prices vary based on many factors, our trips fall within specific parameters. The former airfare at around $400 for a round trip ticket quickly rose to around $500. Cory, who lives in LA, booked a round trip flight from LA to NY, taking advantage of the fact that he has more options that way. On a competing airline, the round trip fare is around $300, a very significant cost difference.

* There is an American Airlines Advantage credit card that offers several perks. However, they took away some perks that were available on the former US Airways card, including the once per year $99 companion fare and the yearly pass to their lounge. The companion fare was a significant benefit loss. But what were they thinking when they deleted the once a year use of the lounge? Sitting in a more comfortable space than the airport gates, with some amenities, was a nice but not so significant perk. What does it say when American deletes that minor benefit? It says “Passenger, we don’t care. You’re just a commodity.” How much could this small nicety cost in the bigger picture with their billions of dollars in profits?

* Seat and aisle space. While I am aware that this is an issue across carriers,  our experience with American has changed dramatically from the former US Airways space. The leg room, seat width and aisle width have become inordinately skimpy. I’m small, and the leg room and seat width are even tight for me.The space between rows is so small that I have to get into my seat sideways. I find it physically painful to get into the seat and to sit for five plus hours, stuffed into that small space.Two people cannot pass in the aisle. On our last flight, when a beverage cart was about to go through the plane, the captain made an announcement asking passengers in aisle seats to be careful of elbows and heads in order to avoid being banged by the cart. Flyer’s Rights, an advocacy group, had filed an action against the airlines regarding space because of safety concerns if there would be a need to evacuate. This past July, the US Court of Appeals found in favor of Flyer's Rights.  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-28/u-s-court-rebukes-faa-over-incredible-shrinking-airline-seat  I’m not sure what impact this will have, but it underscores the point. Although this action went beyond just American, I’m hearing that for their upcoming new Boeing 737 MAX jets, American is considering having even less space between seats. They also intend to shrink the size of the already tiny airline bathrooms. On a flight to LA this past Spring, a very nice flight attendant smilingly told me that a colleague had told her that MAX 737 bathrooms would be about half the size of the current bathrooms. Even a Wizard of Oz Munchkin would have trouble getting into a smaller airline bathroom! I anticipate discrimination lawsuits from advocates for people with disabilities and oversized individuals. What does this do for American with such a minimal space gain for them, and such a major insult to consumers? When I was a child, there was a radio jingle for a store, Robert Hall, that touted lower prices because of “low overhead”. We never went to Robert Hall, but in my child’s mind, I envisioned low ceilings, and thought that the store must have saved money by having shorter walls so that they could pass the savings on to the shopper. Is American Airlines the Robert Hall of the airways?

* Although I understand that some airlines have staff flying from one city to another to man their planes, we’ve had three occasions over the course of only a few months, where a staff member was delayed on an incoming flight. This staff juggling caused our flights to be delayed for one to two hours. Staff gave an insincere apology each time. I checked with Jonah, who travels frequently for work. He says that he has experienced occasional delays on other airlines, but nothing significant. On our flights, there was complete indifference to the passenger experience here, too. Passengers are never compensated for the impact of this business practice. Yet there are all kinds of penalties if a passenger errs—baggage weight surcharges, significant fees for flight changes, etc. Once again,the 2000 pound gorilla.

A few weeks ago, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an article about Olympia Colasante, the first woman in charge of the American Airlines hub in Philadelphia. “Ahah”, I thought. Let me talk to the woman in charge of American Airlines' business in their captive city, and see if I can have any impact. By calling the Philadelphia Airport Public Affairs office, I got her number. She and I traded voice mail messages, and I did finally speak with the Director of Customer Care. She was very nice, listened to me respectfully, and said that she would investigate my issues and get back to me and that Ms. Colasante would probably speak with me, as well. That was several weeks ago. Have I heard from either of them? No. Will I follow up? Yes.

Taking on the 2000 pound gorilla isn’t an easy task, nor is there a quick fix. But I wonder if there could be some change if enough people speak up—or file suit. Apparently there are meetings scheduled between the NAACP and American Airlines executives. Why not more of us speaking up? We can all reach out to American Airlines Executive contacts,  offices of US congressmen and senators, and to advocacy groups.

I don’t want to fly for five plus hours, scrunched into a tiny, painful space, and soon, not even able to pee for that length of time. All for high charges and no consideration that I’m a person—I’m only their cash cow. 

The 2000 pound gorilla sits wherever he wants to sit. But I’ll bet it’s not in an American Airlines coach seat.

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