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Tag: American Airlines

  • Google Cloud & Sabre Partner ‘To Build The Future Of Travel’

    Google Cloud & Sabre Partner ‘To Build The Future Of Travel’

    Google Cloud and Sabre announced a 10-year partnership that will see Sabre move to Google Cloud and the two companies work “to build the future of travel,” according to a press release.

    Sabre is a travel company that was originally created by American Airlines in 1960. In 1996, Sabre launched Travelocity before ultimately selling it to Expedia in 2015, giving the company an established track record of disrupting the travel industry.

    The goal of the 10-year Google Cloud deal is “to improve operational agility while developing new services and creating a new marketplace for its airline, hospitality and travel agency customers.” This will include using Google Cloud’s data analytics “to enhance the capabilities of current and future products,” as well as “create and optimize travel options.”

    Beyond improving Sabre’s existing business, however, the deal is also about further innovation in the travel industry.

    “We are thrilled to work with Sabre through this important initiative to bring together the strengths of both our companies and accelerate innovation in the travel industry,” said Thomas Kurian, Google Cloud CEO. “We believe our partnership will deliver more personalized experiences for travelers, saving time and providing greater convenience that will ultimately raise the standard for the travel industry overall.”

    Those statements were echoed by Sabre CEO Sean Menke:

    “Today, we embark on a new transformational journey with Google. As our preferred cloud provider and broader strategic partner, Google Cloud will help to accelerate our digital transformation and ability to create a new marketplace and critical products and systems focused on our customer needs for decades to come.”

    Google has been making inroads in the travel industry for some time, and has drawn a fair amount of criticism and regulatory scrutiny. Some companies, such as Yelp and Expedia, have accused the search giant—that they depend on for their business—of not always playing fair. Companies like that will no doubt view this partnership with a great deal of concern.

  • American Airlines Pilots “Tired Of  Apologizing To Our Customers”

    American Airlines Pilots “Tired Of Apologizing To Our Customers”

    American Airlines has had difficulty in recent history that stems from the merger with US Airways.

    If you’ve flown American Airlines recently, you might have experienced or heard tales of delayed and cancelled flights and other frustrating circumstances.

    Travelers’ word of mouth has quickly given rise to a new and terrible reputation for American Airlines. I was in an airport twice over the last 12 months, both times announcements for cancelled American Airlines flights came over the speaker.

    American Airlines pilots, for another group, are fed up with management.

    It seems, despite the merger, management is clinging to their old ways and public relations are not improving.

    American Airlines pilots of the Allied Pilots Association wrote a brutal letter to Doug Parker, the Chairman and CEO of the airline.

    In the letter, American Airlines pilots wrote, “The pilots of American Airlines will not remain silent as we witness the rebirth of the toxic culture we fought so hard to eradicate.”

    The union went on to call out American Airlines management of using “old school, rules-based management” and “cut-throat and heartless operating methods.”

    The pilots of American Airlines call thier company’s operations “embarrassing” and say they are “tired of apologizing to passengers.”

    At the conclusion, American Airlines pilots make some demands from Parker.

    They include “stopping the contractual/legal abuses by the company, effective implementation of contractual provisions agreed to in the joint collective bargaining agreement and effecting/facilitating lasting and durable cultural change.”

    What do you think of the outrage expressed by American Airlines pilots?

    Has your travel suffered at the hands of American Airlines?

  • Unruly Passenger Starts A Fight On American Airlines Flight 1284, Troublemaker Identified

    An American Airlines flight from Miami to Chicago made an emergency landing in Indianapolis on Monday after an unruly passenger hit two officers on the plane, reports said.

    Daniela Velez-Reyes, 25, has been identified by the police as the unruly passenger who caused commotion in American Airlines Flight 1284, Monday evening. She has been detained at the Marion County Jail in Indianapolis. The woman is charged with battery resulting in physical injury, battery without injury, criminal recklessness, disorderly conduct, battery of a public safety officer, and disrupting the operation of an aircraft.

    Based on the online flight log, the incident occurred at around 5:30 pm EST. According to one passenger, Velez-Reyes exhibited weird behavior.

    “She was disoriented through the entire flight, not being able to find her seat, walking back and forth,” said fellow passenger Marian Frendt, “And when she came to the back, she was sweating profusely.”

    The woman kicked the seat of the passenger in front of her but when the man turned to ask her, she hit him.

    A flight attendant came to settle the commotion but Velez-Reyes, according to a witness, “grabbed the flight attendant by the face and kissed her, then punched her in the face.”

    The pilot decided to make an emergency landing in Indianapolis at around 5:45 p.m. according to Jeff Dutton, Indianapolis International Airport communications manager. The unruly passenger kicked the police officer who escorted her off the plane.

    The victims were a 52-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman. Reports said they suffered minor injuries.

    The flight interruption caused the passengers to arrive in Chicago 90 minutes late.

    It is still not clear whether the U.S. Department of Justice will make federal charges against the unruly passenger, according to ABC News.

  • Jamaica Crash Landing Caused by Pilot Error

    The investigation of a Jamaican plane crash that occurred almost five years ago has cited a botched landing coupled with pilot fatigue as being the cause of the incident which seriously injured fourteen passengers.

    On Dec. 22, 2009, an American Airlines Boeing 737-829 overshot a rain-soaked landing strip at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica, and split into segments. The plane crashed through the seaside airport’s perimeter fence, skidded across a road and came to a stop in sand dunes on the shore of the Caribbean Sea.

    Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson Ava Marie Ingram commented on the slow process of compiling the final report on the crash of flight AA331, explaining that “the investigation involved a number of very involved processes.” Ingram said a copy of the report was forwarded to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.

    The report concludes that aside from the experienced crew being fatigued, “after being on duty for nearly 12 hours, and awake for more than 14 hours,” the pilot decided to land in heavy rain, and was unaware of a standing water warning on the runways which was included in manuals at the time. There was also a tail wind close to the landing limit.

    The report added that the crew did not do an adequate landing distance calculation and crossed the runway threshold 20 feet above the ideal height, touching down farther along the runway than what would have been safe. The plane landed “4,100 feet down the runway or 1,130 feet beyond the touchdown zone, as defined by the AA flight manual.” The 737 bounced once, before crashing down another 200 feet further down the runway. The crew slammed on the brakes but was unable to stop the plane before it slid off the end of the runway.

    The fuselage of the 737 broke into three segments and the right wing’s tanks spilled jet fuel. All 154 people aboard survived, though 92 people were taken to the hospital, and no life-threatening injuries reported. American Airlines provided each passenger $5,000 to compensate for the lengthy quarantine of baggage.

    Image via YouTube

  • American Airlines Terror Threat: Dutch Teen Arrested

    There has been a new twist in the story of a 14-year-old who tweeted a terroristic threat to American Airlines on Sunday.

    It has been reported that the teen responsible has been arrested and taken into custody.

    In a statement to Business Insider, Dutch police spokesman Wessel Stole said that law enforcement officials were not able to “communicate any state of charges at this point.”

    Stole said that the reason for revealing that an arrest had been made was largely due to “a great deal of interest on the Internet.”

    At the heart of the viral controversy is a teenage girl named Sarah or as she’s known on Twitter @QueenDemetriax_. Sarah thought it would be funny to tweet a terroristic threat to American Airlines:

    Once American Airlines responded that it takes such threats seriously and intended to report her to the FBI, the teenager seemed to both panic and bask in her new found fame at the same time.

    Sarah was taken into custody on Monday by Dutch police officials in Rotterdam, a city in the Netherlands.

    Dutch police have since revealed that they did not take the teenager into custody on behalf of or at the request of American law enforcement officials.

    The explanation seems to suggest that Sarah will be tried for at least one violation of Dutch laws.

    While some may roll their eyes at a stupid prank resulting in an arrest and subsequent charges, it’s important to remember that what is obviously a joke to you is not a laughing matter to government authorities.

    It’s not unusual for persons to create Twitter accounts that do not reflect their genuine identity. Such a person could be a threat; it’s up to officials to perform a thorough investigation to disprove this.

    It’s also important to remember that depending on where you live, feigning a terroristic threat could be a punishable offense.

    Parents, please talk to your kids about why it’s not advisable to threaten terrorist actions at all, but most especially against airline companies that have been victimized by terrorists in the past.

    Failure to do so many result in the police knocking on your door in the near future.

    Once again: Good luck, Sarah!

    Image via YouTube

  • American Airlines Reports Teen’s Terroristic Tweet

    There are few things in this world that are quite as annoying as spoiled teenagers attempting to troll about non-laughing matters.

    No matter how hard these clueless youngsters try, the reality of terrorism in a post-9/11 world is never going to be funny to anyone with any kind of sense. Especially when the company you choose to send your threat to is none other than American Airlines.

    Today’s fail comes courtesy of a teenage girl named Sarah aka @QueenDemetriax_.

    For reasons that are still hard to fathom, young Sarah thought it was a good idea to tweet the following threat to the American Airlines Twitter account on Sunday morning:

    Being a 14-year-old sometimes means being unable to fully appreciate the serious nature of one’s disturbing actions:

    Of course things could stop being funny immediately depending on where this person lives. Terrorist threats, even if fake, can get you in serious trouble. She may find herself in jail or facing a heavy fine.

    There’s also the fact that this person will go viral for all the wrong reasons: Making a terrorist threat against American Airlines and being reported to the FBI.

    Her tweet and the consequences are absolutely documented. Forever.

    Gone are the days you could do something stupid as a kid and no one would find out.

    When she applies to a college and they do a thorough background check, this will most likely pop up during their search.

    When she applies for a job in ten years and competition is particularly fierce this could be what costs her.

    While we can all sit back and shake our heads at the folly of youth, it is a sad reminder how clueless a generation of kids are about the permanent nature of information on social media. I suspect this teen is in for a rather rude awakening.

    Speaking of which, I’m sure her parents are going to be very amused when they get wind of this.

    …Good luck, Sarah!

    Image via samir mezrahi, Twitter

  • Galaxy Note Chosen for American Airlines Flight Attendants

    Apple may have won the fight for the cockpit, but Samsung has gotten its devices into the hands of flight attendants.

    American Airlines this week announced that their flight attendants will begin using the Samsung Galaxy Note later this year to keep tabs on passengers. Using the devices, flight attendants will be able to access a customer’s name, seat number, and loyalty program status. The Galaxy Note will also be used to record the meal preferences of premium class flyers, and identify “high-value” passengers or those who need special assistance. Pending U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval, the devices will also provide information on flight connections, delays, and weather.

    “This is a huge step towards a new, modern American Airlines, as our tablet program is the first of its kind in the airline industry, where our flight attendants will have the most up-to-date customer information in the palms of their hands, allowing them to better serve our customers from boarding to deplaning,” said Lauri Curtis, vice president of flight service for American. “By giving a device to all of our active flight attendants we are better enabling our people to deliver an exceptional customer experience.”

    American also intends to use the Galaxy Note for in-flight purchases, pending FAA approval. American cited the device’s enterprise-ready features and security as the reason for its choice.

    This announcement comes just one week after American announced that it had received approval from the FAA to use Apple iPads during all phases of flights. The company hopes to use the tablets to replace the heavy, bulky paper kitbag manuals that pilots carry onto their flights. It estimates the move will save $1.2 million on fuel costs annually.

  • Glenn Beck Boycott: American Airlines In The Hotseat

    Glenn Beck isn’t known for keeping his opinions to himself, so when he’s unhappy with a service, the people in charge are going to know about it.

    Beck says he was treated rudely on an American Airlines flight recently just because of who he is, and that the flight attendant refused to open his drink for him or speak politely even though that courtesy was given to every other passenger.

    “My flight attendant nearly ?? merely barked the word “breakfast” when he came to me,” he said on his show. “When others were politely asked if they cared for anything to eat and given the choices, I was just barked at. When he delivered a soda, he slammed it down so hard, I hesitated to even open the can for fear that it would spray all over other passengers in the cabin. By the way, the other passengers, nobody else had to open their can. He opened it and poured it for them. Never once did he look me in the eye. Never once did he offer a kind or even a neutral word to me. I had service unlike I have never had ever before in my life, and I have had rude service before. I lived in New York City. I have never had service that was specifically designed to make me feel subhuman. Oh, I had it. He put on quite a show as he fawned over the other passengers proudly and loudly performing his life story about being a former Israeli soldier and how he was so proud of the very liberal cities in America.”

    Apparently the flight attendant wasn’t the first person to give Beck grief during that trip; he was also treated rudely in two different restaurants, and feels he didn’t do anything to invite those actions other than be himself. That conclusion was driven home when he realized the attendant hadn’t treated Beck’s family the same way.

    “While he treated me as a subhuman, he treated my children nicely. So as I was deplaning, as he was standing next to the pilot, I said to him, “I want to sincerely thank you for not treating my children the way you treated me.” His response? “It was my pleasure. You deserved it.”

    American Airlines has reached out to Beck via Twitter and says they are taking his experience very seriously, but Beck says he won’t be back.

    “My family will never choose American Airlines again … if this is the kind of people that American Airlines likes to hire,” Beck said.

    (image)

  • American Airlines Attendant Has Premonition

    An American Airlines flight attendant had to be subdued and removed from a plane at Dallas Fort/worth airport as the flight attempted to depart for Chicago earlier today. Reports are not exactly clear about what happened, but it appears she was determined to get out a message about the plane crashing due to to a malfunction or terrorism or something related to the September 11th attacks.

    The flight was delayed by almost an hour as members of the crew and passengers subdued the women. Authorities were contacted and the attendant was taken into custody and transported to a local hospital. Several passengers commented on their experience aboard the flight.

    Bethany Christakos of Plano, Texas recalls what she heard on the flight:

    “I will never get that sound of her screaming out of my head,”

    “It took a good 10 minutes, it felt like, to get her off of the plane.”

    Elmhurst resident Greg Lozano explains that the situation made everyone very uncomfortable:

    “We were pretty frightened,”

    “I was glad we weren’t in the air. That was the primary thing I was thinking.”

    The flight was scheduled to leave at 8:25 am, but was delayed until well after 9:30 am. The flight scheduled to arrive at Chicago by 10:40 am didn’t arrive until almost noon. Did this flight attendant avert disaster? Did she know something we aren’t seeing here? It’s a bit of a mystery what happened here.

    Let’s see what people on Twitter have to say about the events:

    DFW? Try WTF. American attendant disrupts flight from DFW to ORD, shouts about crashing, bankruptcy. http://t.co/FIVkpYJR(image) 3 hours ago via TweetDeck ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    American attendant disrupts flight from DFW to O’Hare, saying flight was going to crash & ranting about bankruptcy http://t.co/HEpMFQpr(image) 4 hours ago via TweetDeck ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    https://twitter.com/#!/elinespencer/status/178214959510077440

    Two women gone crazy. AA flight attendant announcing the plane would crash, tackled by passengers; CA car chase 80 miles. Full moon.(image) 3 hours ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    ” Then she was tackled by first-class passengers, who threw her against the wall.”” http://t.co/Ahx6geiZ(image) 3 hours ago via Tweetie for Mac ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    When your flight attendant announces you’re going to crash and is tackled by 1st class passengers, that’s a bad flight. http://t.co/kHhIg02h(image) 3 hours ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    https://twitter.com/#!/natjacs/status/178183179914592256

    AA Flight Attendant goes bat shi* crazy: http://t.co/uRK95Pi1(image) 36 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    see now this is why i hate flying..even the attendants are getting crazy..Murphy’s Law applies when I think of flying. http://t.co/l6uuoLxz(image) 1 hour ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    WTF indeed! I don’t know what was going on here. Like most of this crazy stuff we’ll probably never hear another word about it. I’ll keep searching for information about what happened. Check back for updates.

  • Alec Baldwin, American Airlines, & Words With Friends-gate

    If you’ve ever sampled the wonderful nectar that is Words With Friends you are likely aware of how addicting the game can be. Actor and Very Public Tweeter Alec Baldin has experienced this. In fact, so compelling was the need to play Words With Friends that Baldwin defied American Airlines yesterday and refused to stop playing during his flight’s take-off.

    To wit:

    Flight attendant on American reamed me out 4 playing WORDS W FRIENDS while we sat at the gate, not moving.
    #nowonderamericaairisbankrupt 15 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    Consequently, Baldwin was then booted off the flight for his refusal to comply with the rules. To wit:

    Then…

    Now on the 3 o’clock American flight.
    The flight attendants already look…..smarter. 15 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    And THEN…

    Now, as I was kicked off this flight, the word I was playing was UNITED 14 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    And THEN

    United shud hav app onboard where u can play WWF w other passengers. American shud have app where u read the new testament w flt attendants 14 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    You get the the picture. American Airlines got wind of Baldwin’s Twitterstorm and tweeted this at the beleaguered celebrity:

    @AlecBaldwin Mr. Baldwin, we are looking into this. Please DM us contact information. 15 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Of course, this being the age of the auto-refresh news cycle, word had already spread across the Internet and so people obeyed their duty and chimed in:

    Alec Baldwin thrown off plane for playing Words w/Friends; Stephen Baldwin seen on bus playing Silent Glares w/Strangers. 14 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @AlecBaldwin She was probably just doing her job and didn’t know you were Alec Baldwin, like the Barista last time. 15 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Poor @AlecBaldwin! As if it wasn’t bad enough that he has to fly commercial in the first place! 15 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Alec Baldwin versus American Airlines: Twitter wins, hands down http://t.co/dVb435h0 #alecbaldwin @alecbaldwin #aa 14 hours ago via Echofon · powered by @socialditto

    How much did Zynga pay Alec Baldwin for having himself removed from an airplane for playing Words With Friends a few days prior to the IPO? 1 hour ago via Twitter for Mac · powered by @socialditto

    Fly American – the 100% Alec Baldwin-Free Airline! #BankruptcyRecoveryPlan 10 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    On an AA flight at LAX. Alec Baldwin removed from the plane We had to go back to the gate. Terrible that everyone had to wait 17 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    Alec did that on purpose….like his commercials 2 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Today Show is spending 2 hrs covering the Alec Baldwin “Words With Friends” incident. I mean, it’s not like there’s anything else going on. 1 hour ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    I’m on alex baldwin’s side, a lot of airport people are assholes, some tsa’s think they’re cops, and old Stewardis have bad old attitudes. 1 hour ago via Echofon · powered by @socialditto

    Zynga, the developer of Words With Friends, must have been feeling some pressure over the dispute so they released some official Tweetments addressing the ordeal:

    Our official statement about @AlecBaldwin’s WWF-gate is available here: http://t.co/ntiQlI8P Alec 1. @AmericanAir 0 #letAlecPlay 14 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Hey @AmericanAir, don’t ground @AlecBaldwin for playing. A.B.S.U.R.D. is worth *at least* 11 points in @WordsWFriends #LetAlecPlay 15 hours ago via CoTweet · powered by @socialditto

  • American Launches Mobile Sweepstakes To Promote Android App

    American Airlines said today it is launching the “Mobile Million Sweepstakes” to promote the recent release of its Android application.

    The sweepstakes will give one grand-prize winner a million American Airlines AAdvantage miles. In addition American will give away one Barnes & Noble Nook Color for 30 days to 30 people, for downloading the free app.


    The sweepstakes runs through April 28 and users can install the app on their Android devices, watch the video and register through the pop-up that appears. People who have the American Airlines Android app can enter the sweepstakes by updating the app, and non-Android users can enter via an online entry form.

    “Mobile technology is of growing importance to our customers, and can improve a customer’s travel experience by putting control of the flow of information right in the customer’s hands,” said Rick Elieson, Managing Director – American Airlines Interactive Marketing.

    “We know our customers rely heavily on their mobile devices when they travel, and beyond checking in or getting gate information, it is increasingly the way in which customers connect with American Airlines.”

  • American Airlines Launches Android App

    American Airlines Launches Android App

    American Airlines has launched a mobile app for Android user aimed at improving its customers travel experience.

    The American Airlines Android app allows users to check in for flights; receive gate, seat and flight status information; view terminal maps; and provides a number of other functions, including the ability to:

    *Access Mobile Boarding Pass – the application saves the boarding pass

    *Enter log in and password only once – allowing the application to push upcoming flight details to the home screen automatically

    *Set a parking reminder

    *Monitor the standby list

    “With the popularity of American’s first app for iPhone, many customers have asked for an American app for Android. In fact, one in four smartphone owners are now using an Android device," said Rick Elieson, Managing Director – American Airlines Interactive Marketing.

    "Not only does this meet the needs of many of our customers while they’re on the move, it also paves the way for innovation on other devices that use the Android platform."