Oh yeah, it’s worth noting that American Airlines has had a really tough past couple of years.
» Quick thought on the matter: Anyone see shades of AT&T and Verizon in this whole mess, in that (like AA) both companies sold unlimited service for something — in this case, mobile data access — only to change their minds after they decided it was costing too much, in the process treating their customers like jerks? The lesson: Unlimited has limits, apparently.
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Alec Baldwin apologizes to himself (in character) on “SNL”: This is a brilliant response on the part of Baldwin to the whole American Airlines/Words With Friends incident earlier this week. Actual quote from Baldwin, playing an American Airlines pilot: “Mr. Baldwin is an American treasure, and I am ashamed at the way he was treated.” Magic.
‘Words With Friends’ DEFENDS Alec Baldwin — We’ll Spell It Out for You | TMZ.com
This, friends, is why Alec Baldwin is awesome.
Alec Baldwin kicked off American Airlines flight at LAX for playing Words With Friends.
Also: FAA chief says he will resign following drunken driving arrest
Today in soft news with a little of the serious stuff at the end.
basicallyenhanced asks: As a son of an AA employee who went through the fear of mass layoffs during the post 9/11 airline bankruptcy days (He made it thankfully). Do you guys think AA'll be laying off any employees as per renegotiations with the unions? Or do you think it'll be purely restructuring.
» SFB says: To put it simply, layoffs are probably on the menu. From this CNNMoney article on the matter: “American pilots fly fewer hours than their counterparts at other carriers, and receive similar pay and benefits for less work time. And because the maximum number of hours an American pilot can work in a month equals the minimum at Southwest, American is required to hire more people to work in the cockpit for the same amount of flying.” Even though American pays less than most of the other airlines, the union-enforced disparity of hours is hitting the airline hard, costing them roughly $200 million each year. Benefits are also very costly for the airline. Ultimately, if the forthcoming labor talks go AA’s way, expect layoffs. Even if they don’t, expect service cuts that could lead to labor cuts anyway. — Ernie @ SFB
They were the only major airline to avoid bankruptcy in the past decade: In 2003, American Airlines parent AMR, which also operates the American Eagle airline, managed to stave off bankruptcy by scoring an agreement from its unions. The country’s third-largest airline, however, wasn’t able to get past it this time around. With the company’s stocks in freefall (down 45 percent since September) and a recent wave of pilot retirements playing harbinger, it seemed like signs were pointing towards bankruptcy. Here’s what their financials look like, according to their Chapter 11 filing, which they submitted to a New York court today:
» What this means for consumers: The company says it plans to honor its reservations, keep its normal schedules, continue its frequent-flyer program, maintain its Admirals Club lounges and pay employees their normal wages and health benefits. So outwardly, there should be no obvious signs that the company is trying to reorganize itself. (photo by Clara S. on Flickr)
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It appears American Airlines is burning online travel bridges. In recent weeks, both Orbitz (who couldn’t reach a contract with the airline) and Expedia (who voluntary took them out) have ditched the airline. Is it possible that these sites have been so successful at their mission that they’ve actually forced airlines to make their flights cheaper? Well, to test this theory, we looked online at American Airlines’ site for travel deals to from DC to Dublin (where we’re taking our girlfriend in the next few months). The average cost at a site like Orbitz was roughly $650 per person for a flight and hotel. The lowest price at AAvacations.com? $1260 per person. It’d be way harder to figure out that was an awful deal if we had to go to every airline to compare prices. AA’s efforts to strongarm online travel sites are simply bad for consumers and should not be supported. Who else has good deals to Dublin? (photo by lrargerich) source
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