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American Is on the Phone. It's Sorry About Your Summer Travel Delay

Aug. 28, 2019
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3 min read
American Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner
American Is on the Phone. It's Sorry About Your Summer Travel Delay
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American Airlines has had a rough summer, so its been reaching out to customers to apologize.

Delays and cancellations on American spiked this summer as the carrier faced an extended labor dispute with mechanics and had to deal with the unexpected and ongoing grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX jets.

American’s operations appear to have stabilized in recent weeks, but that comes after tens of thousands of passengers suffered long delays or canceled flights during the busy summer travel season.

“Certainly we’ve disappointed people,” Kerry Philipovitch, American’s senior vice president of customer experience, said to CNBC while speaking to reporters at the International Aviation Forecast Summit in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

Related: An MD-80? The Truth Behind This Tiny American Airlines ‘Plane’ Parked at O’Hare

Philipovitch said American is now calling customers who have faced multiple issues while flying with the carrier during the past few months, even if it’s just for “minor inconveniences that they wouldn’t necessarily call us about.”

She added to CNBC that American has offered compensation to some customers, often in the form of frequent-flyer miles.

“We try to find them we try to call and do what we can to retain their loyalty,” she said.

Philipovitch's comments to CNBC echo what American executives have said to other outlets during the company's difficult summer.

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As far back as June, USA Today reported “the airline's frequent-flyer program started pulling daily reports on flight troubles encountered by members, zeroing in on those with repeated problems and reaching out to them by phone.”

Related: American Airlines’ Phoenix Hub is Still Growing; Carrier Adds 3 New Routes

"They're going to, most importantly, apologize and they're also going to talk with the customer. Did they have any out-of-pocket expenses? And offer miles or a voucher for future travel,'' Julie Rath, vice president of customer experience, innovation and delivery, said to the newspaper for a story detailing American’s problems at the time.

Rath made similar comments to The Wall Street Journal in July as American’s problem dragged further into summer.

Beyond compensation or mileage bumps, American also told agents to award elite-qualifying miles to some passengers — even if they ultimately abandoned a delayed or canceled American flight to fly on another carrier.

For now, at least, American customers can hope that the carrier’s operations will keep trending in the right direction as fall approaches.

Stay tuned ...

Related: Choosing the Best Credit Card for American Airlines Flyers

Featured image by NurPhoto via Getty Images

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  • Solid welcome bonus

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  • Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
  • You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
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  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
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  • $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
  • $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
  • Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
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  • Annual Fee is $325.
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