American Airlines' full page ads in the UK launching their new livery and exciting innovations such as personal in-seat entertainment ( ever heard of that before?) and raid the larder snack stalls in First and Business (ever hear of those before?) proclaim "We're putting the wonder back into air travel, one innovation at a time." and "The new American is arriving".
If new American is indeed arriving that's very good news and not before time. It looks though as if much of the newness isn't very novel to many, especially to anyone who has travelled east of the UK and Europe these last ten or twenty years. (Singapore might say forty).
The new paint job looks good and is fresh and smart but despite the belief of some marketeers that it's not what in the tin but what's on it that counts, paint certainly isn't enough. Following the USA's recent mergers, American is one of just three major US airlines. Under the skin and despite some changes, all are essentially heavily unionised and predominantly domestic legacy carriers with uninspiring service styles and standards. Head to head with many Oriental and Gulf competitors they would not be in the running. Within the USA the battle between the big three is predominantly between the market-distorting frequent flyer programmes rather than innovation and real service.
Launching a "new" American is an excellent idea. The self service snack areas are welcome especially as service on board from any other quarter has not been one of the airline's key selling points. The wifi and entertainment systems enhancements are good but are generally now taken for granted amongst global travellers. There's a lot more needed to really be a new,reborn, rejuvenated or even re-invented airline. A lot more rethinking and real delivery is essential before "new" is really new.
Footnote: American's cancellation yesterday of over 800 flights due to a reservations computer outage reminds us that fewer and fewer airlines now have the skills and ability to revert to manual for even a core of key flights on such occasions. Many no longer have a simple process to check in and dispatch a flight or people with the ability to do a simple manual one sector load sheet or flight plan. Just as calculators have replaced mental arithmetic in schools, most newcomers to the airline industry are no longer taught the basic essentials of the job and can be forgiven for not even understanding them.
If new American is indeed arriving that's very good news and not before time. It looks though as if much of the newness isn't very novel to many, especially to anyone who has travelled east of the UK and Europe these last ten or twenty years. (Singapore might say forty).
The new paint job looks good and is fresh and smart but despite the belief of some marketeers that it's not what in the tin but what's on it that counts, paint certainly isn't enough. Following the USA's recent mergers, American is one of just three major US airlines. Under the skin and despite some changes, all are essentially heavily unionised and predominantly domestic legacy carriers with uninspiring service styles and standards. Head to head with many Oriental and Gulf competitors they would not be in the running. Within the USA the battle between the big three is predominantly between the market-distorting frequent flyer programmes rather than innovation and real service.
Launching a "new" American is an excellent idea. The self service snack areas are welcome especially as service on board from any other quarter has not been one of the airline's key selling points. The wifi and entertainment systems enhancements are good but are generally now taken for granted amongst global travellers. There's a lot more needed to really be a new,reborn, rejuvenated or even re-invented airline. A lot more rethinking and real delivery is essential before "new" is really new.
Footnote: American's cancellation yesterday of over 800 flights due to a reservations computer outage reminds us that fewer and fewer airlines now have the skills and ability to revert to manual for even a core of key flights on such occasions. Many no longer have a simple process to check in and dispatch a flight or people with the ability to do a simple manual one sector load sheet or flight plan. Just as calculators have replaced mental arithmetic in schools, most newcomers to the airline industry are no longer taught the basic essentials of the job and can be forgiven for not even understanding them.
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