I know many travelers have a love-hate relationship with the airlines and it couldn’t be any more true for American Airlines (AA) customers. I’ve been one of their top tier elites for years since I fly them so much and love all the perks, including free upgrades (when space is available), a dedicated phone line so I can usually get right through to an agent, free checked bags, twice the amount of points and more.
However, it really ticks me off when AA or any airline schedules more than what they can fly, overwork their employees, pay their executives way more than the workers who really get the planes off the ground and cut corners regarding safety.
I never thought I would write a post like this but after watching a recent CNBC interview with the head of American Airlines pilot union, the Allied Pilots Association, I’m now wondering. Dennis Tajer, who is also a 737 pilot with American Airlines, had this to say on CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box.’
Dennis blames the recent delays and cancellations as “a failure to plan by management.” Dennis says management received $13 billion from the U.S. government in payroll support but they didn’t train the pilots. “And now what we’re seeing is a failure to utilize the pilots that you do have and their backlog and training is epic. And now here’s the real problem. They’re trying to fly airplanes without the pilots available. They are pilot pushing and they are narrowing the margin of safety. Our fatigue calls have gone up tenfold, and this has just got to stop. It’s a very serious issue right now and I’m out on a trip right now and I had very little time yesterday to spare. Otherwise, I would’ve gone illegal and been unable to fly the rest of the sequence.”
Dennis goes on to say, “this is a failure of management to utilize the money that was given to them by the American taxpayer to have us ready for recovery and we’re not. They just did not have a plan. And now we’re starting to see them trying to cut corners in training. For instance, Guatemala City, which is a high terrain, very challenging airport. They used to have an experienced instructor go with us on our first flight there. Now they’re telling us, hey, why don’t you just take a look at this iPad course and you will be good to go. I think Boeing learned that’s not the way to train pilots.”
You should watch the whole interview as it’s only three minutes long but Dennis ends it with this: “You know, you gotta wonder why American Airlines right now, the US government, that books travel for our military members and federal employees has said do not book American Airlines because of the cancelation rate and the inability to rebook your flight. That’s stunning. The federal government is saying don’t book on American Airlines. They sold tickets that they know they were not going to be able to fulfill this summer. And today we have 82 of the 84 flight that have canceled for American are all coded because they could not connect the pilot to the airplane. That’s just not doing business. That’s just selling something that you don’t have.”
I have multiple flights booked on American Airlines and now I’m second guessing them. This is really disturbing to have the captain of their pilot’s union raise these red flags.
On top of this, Captain Sully Sullenberger, the hero commercial pilot who safely landed a US Airways (now American Airlines) Airbus A320 on New York’s Hudson River in 2009, announced yesterday that he would step down as U.S. envoy to an international aviation group on July 1. Reuters reports: “Sullenberger was confirmed in December as U.S ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization based in Montreal. He said in a statement that “relinquishing my role” was not an easy decision but did not offer a reason for his departure after just over six months. Last month, a pilots union distributed a statement from Sullenberger raising concerns about efforts by regional airlines to reduce new pilot requirements, quoting him saying they were “trying to weaken critically important pilot experience standards that are needed to keep passengers and crews safe.”
I’m not sure if I’m reading between the lines correctly but it sounds to me like Captain Sully doesn’t want to be around when things really hit the ground fan.
What has your experience been like flying American Airlines the last couple of months? Have you had an AA flight delayed or canceled? How do you feel about flying American Airlines after hearing from one of their lead pilots sound the alarm? Please share your experiences below so others can discuss.
The problem is not only with American.My sister just flew to Vegas on the brand new, incredibly convenient Breeze Airway. Direct flight, non stop. The plane was late, on the ground in Syracuse for over an hour and had to stop in Omaha for fuel. Does Syracuse not have jet fuel. Meanwhile, my 88 year old mother, my daughter, and I were supposed to fly up to Vegas on Allegient. Again 10 minutes from the house. Our flight was canceled. Had to rebook out of Phoenix on Southwest. Coming home, Breeze canceled the flight to Syracuse. I’m sure because of lack of crew. Got my sister and mom, both in wheelchairs, flights on American. They flew to DFW where they changed gates 8 times and were delayed 4 times. Meanwhile both in wheelchairs. What the hell is happening. Don’t accept reservations if you don’t have the manpower to handle them. And don’t tout new routes for the same reason. Additionally my daughter and I got to the airport and our flights were also canceled. No advance warning. Rebooked on Southwest and finally made it home. I do have to say we were compensated pretty well on Allegiant.
We did four flights from Fort Lauderdale to Maui and returned in early May. All flights were on time. Just sayin’.
Aweful. delayed flight. Nearly missed connection. Bags arrived at destination on the night before we were leaving to go home. Long lines at airport moving very slowly because not enough workers.
Friends had flight DAL to STL cancelled, 5 hour layover, luggage lost for four days.
I actually booked a trip to Jamaica in May, departing September. Since May, AA have changed my flight 3 times. Initially when I booked my trip, my friend and I was supposed to be on the same connecting flying going and coming. Now, were departing different times and they changed our upgraded seats we paid for to the back of the plane. I can’t imagine how many additional changes will take place. Hoping it gets better after the summer season.
An union head has no credibility with me.
I fly AA to Guatemala often and have not had any issues
…and I am really a big Delta fan
Seems there is a lot of misinformation here. Since Covid first started and flying was hit hard, most airlines were giving incentives for early retirement both main line and the commuter airlines. Somewhere about 20 to 30% took the deal. When the flying picked back up there were not enough Capts to fly all the flights that were added back. So the Fo’s got promoted for main line and the Fo’s were being replaced by the Capt’s from the commuter airlines. So now you have low time Capt’s for main line and the commuter airlines and a lack of Fo’s for the commuter’s. Do a search for pilot contract and look to see what kind of bonuses have been negotiated. Everyone has an opinion, does not make it right or wrong but get all the info first. All the airlines are going through this issue now so don’t try to say one is worse than another. There are some passengers that have also not helped with the situation and also weather has a lot to do with delays and cancellations.
Have disliked flying since the late 80s I avoid it when I can. Definitely wouldn’t check bags now days. Take the train or drive.
I take probably 100 individual flights a year on AA and this year they are really struggling. At least 80% of my flights since March have been delayed to the extent that I missed connections. The admirals club agents are amazing at getting me where I need to be and at times have booked me on other airlines if necessary. So yes, they’re clearly having problems and their decision to lay off so many of there experienced staff-(not just pilots, also gate agents and ground staff) was clearly short sighted. But for me personally, they have bent over backwards to get me where I need to be.
AA has screwed up all day today. KSAV to KPWM with a stop at KCLT. TSA sent me back to the ticket counter because something was wrong. I didn’t get the window seat I’d carefully arranged and paid for. The second flight was delayed several hours for lack of a first officer. The plane landed at Portland and sat on the taxiway for a long time for lack of ground crew. I despise American Airlines. Never again.
American Airlines failed to get me to Boston over memorial weekend. I laid $400+ for the round trip flight and got to LaGuardia 3 hours late and after 9 more hours of delays had my flight canceled. I missed an event with my son. I was left stranded in New York and told they could not get me a flight until 24 hours later. I ended up having to pay another $270 for a train to Boston and $110 for a hotel. I was not given flight credits. I finally got to Boston 26 hours after I was supposed to. But my luggage somehow miraculously made it to Boston???!!! On the return trip my flight was delayed at my connection in DC by 90 minutes because there was no crew. They had to fly a crew in. I will never book a flight with American again.
I purchased a ticket for my daughter she had to be to work at 3:00 p.m. on June 13th. She received a canceled notification of her flight at 9:25 p.m. on June 12th. She and I both called and was placed on hold for hours on the June 12th and 13th. I drove to the airport to get another flight.One of your workers said the counter closed at 9 pm and that they didn’t reopen until 2am. I had my 2 and 4 yr old granddaughters with me.She ended up catching a greyhound bus back to Louisville 12:15 am June 13th. I want a refund back. The flight was canceled after she checked in.I tried to get a refund online but your website said it was ineligible.I finally spoke to someone this morning.She said another flight was rescheduled for her. My daughter didn’t get new flight information. American airlines robbed me and STOLE MY MONEY. All flights from any other airline were sold out to be able to get on flight AA4654. I demanded a refund. AA only credited me half the amount back towards a future flight.
This is outrageous. If they don’t refund you in full email me. Try contacting them via twitter. You will have better luck