Sky Talk

Sued on skycap tips at Boston, AA bars them there

American Airlines says it no longer will allow passengers to tip skycaps at Logan International Airport, The Associated Press reports. The move comes after a jury awarded $325,000 to nine Boston skycaps who said the airline’s $2-per-bag curbside check-in fee deeply cut into their tips and violated the Massachusetts Tips Law.

American said Thursday its decision to end tipping is in light of the jury verdict, as well as a new state law that will make triple damages automatic for violations of the state tips law. The airline said the company it contracts with to provide curbside check-in service will raise the hourly wages of skycaps to $12 to $15 per hour.

A lawyer for the skycaps called the change “retaliatory” and said she will seek an injunction to stop it. American said it will ask the judge to overturn the jury’s verdict.

-- Scott Nishimura

AA tests credit/debit card-only purchases on SFO routes

American Airlines says it's launching a three-week test on flights departing from San Francisco, in which it will "only accept major credit cards or debit cards for onboard purchases, including headsets, snacks, fresh light meals and alcoholic beverages.

"The cashless test will help American determine if passengers in the main cabin prefer to pay for onboard items with plastic," American says. "The test will include more than 700 scheduled flights between Sept. 10 and Sept. 30. American Express Cards and other major credit and debit cards will be accepted. Receipts will be provided to passengers upon request."

-- Scott

AA makes more changes to ease your pain

American Airlines has been stepping up its efforts to ease the pain of air traffic delays, The Wall Street Journal's Middle Seat Column reports:

American has decided to sell fewer seats on key flights in key markets during busy travel periods so more empty seats are available to rebook customers who miss connections because of late or canceled flights. That will start with Thanksgiving, Middle Seat columnist Scott McCartney writes, quoting AA executive Dan Garton.

American has enhanced its planning for diverted flights. American's operations center now tries to make sure diverted flights are spread across many airports so backups and logjams don't occur on the ground. And planners take into account group equipment: Don't send an international flight to a city without U.S. Customs facilities in case passengers need to deplane, or don't send a Boeing 757 to a city that may not have a tow bar for a 757 because it handles only small regional jets. Another problem now factored into flight decisions: Some cities can't service the bathrooms on some types of jets because they don't have the right equipment.

Along with other changes, American is refining procedures like holding back extra seats during high load-factor periods and revising the priority it gives to people on standby lists waiting to be re-accommodated. First-class and business-class passengers get top priority, along with unaccompanied minors and disabled travelers. High-dollar coach passengers and elite-level frequent fliers rank high. Cheap-ticket passengers get the lowest priority -- and American has recently begun showing on its Web site whether certain fares get priority when forced onto the standby list.

American has also improved its reservation system, so that the seat held for a customer with no chance of making a connection will be released for other passengers. In the past, once you had a boarding pass, your seat was blocked. The airline's systems didn't take into account changes like your flight's being diverted to another city, or being delayed so much you had no chance of making a connection.

-- Scott

AA re-opens the Admirals Club at Nashville Airport

The lounge seats 60 customers and is in Concourse C, Mezzanine Level, near gate C12. AA's offering a $100 discount on memberships purchased inside the Nashville club through July 31.

-- Scott

Don't like AA's food? Send a text message

American is testing a text messaging program with 1,000 premium passengers, asking them to send in their complaints (when it's legal to use their electronic devices, of course) when they see something in the airplane cabin they don't like. But that has honked off AA's flight attendants union.

-- Scott

Airline service bad again in May...

And it's not bound to get better as the summer wears on. Here's the full report in Wednesday's paper from the Star-Telegram's Trebor Banstetter and David Wethe.

-- Scott

Share your travel disruption story!

Have a great story to tell about a disruption to your travel plans this summer? Share it! The Star-Telegram invites its readers to vent, or tell us about the great job your travel provider -- airline, hotel, etc. -- did in handling your stressed-out self. Post your comments in this file and read what everybody else said!

-- Scott, Trebor and David

Critic: Big airlines 'fail crisis management 101'

Airline industry commentator/instigator Joe Brancatelli opines that the major hub airlines, including American, have done a terrible job responding to operational problems this year.

.. the bosses of the Big Six just don't care. Have you heard a single word from American chief executive Gerard Arpey about his airline's propensity for warehousing customers? You haven't. In fact, as far as I've been able to deduce, it is Arpey himself who ordered American to cover up its actions in December and then stonewall.

Have you heard from Glenn Tilton, the chief executive of United, about the airline's computer problem last week or the resulting cascade of bad publicity and customer ire? You haven't. You haven't heard from Doug Steenland, Northwest's chief executive, either.

He also dubs Kate Hanni, that stranded American passenger who founded the Coalition for an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights, the "Al Sharpton of travel":

An energetic, photogenic real estate broker (Hanni) stranded by American becomes an instant expert on "passenger's rights." She becomes the Al Sharpton of travel, a reliable go-to cable-TV guest whenever anything goes wrong in the air. And she never misses an opportunity to bash American Airlines, whose reputation as the best-managed of the Big Six is now destroyed.

- Trebor

Little relief in store for frustrated travellers...

Travellers may be frustrated over crowded planes, delays, and lost bags, but experts say incidents like last week' United Airlines system shutdown will likely cost the airlines little business. "Consumers have the attention span of a monkey," one industry consultant tells Reuters. "The next time they go to Fort Lauderdale, they're going to book whatever seat is the cheapest."

-- Scott

Hot Nuts, virginity, and American Airlines...

Don't ask us what the connection is. We couldn't resist this.

-- Scott