In comments at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference, airline president Robert Isom announced the plan would not come to fruition, while also defending the “reset” within the executive suite.

 

Full Mileage Earning Reinstated Through Corporate Booking Agents and Online Agencies

In February 2024, the Fort Worth-based carrier announced they would make significant changes to how award miles and loyalty points are earned. The original plan, slated to take place on May 1, 2024, was to only allow full award miles and loyalty points granted on flights booked direct through American, their airline partners, and “preferred travel agencies.”

 

After some critical thought, the airline will not move forward with the plan. Speaking at the Bernstein conference, Isom said they decided to take a step back after listening to flyers and other major partners.

 

“For example, next month, we were going to differentiate who earned AAdvantage miles and who didn’t, based on where they booked – that’s off,” Isom said, as quoted in a Seeking Alpha transcript. “We’re not doing that because it would create confusion and disruption for our end customer, we’re going to make sure that we take care.”

 

The man responsible for creating that plan – former executive vice president and chief commercial officer Vasu Raja – is no longer with the airline. On May 28, American issued a brief press release announcing his sudden departure in June 2024. After praising Raja, Isom defended the choice by telling analysts they needed a shakeup on the executive team.

 

“He is a good friend, but sometimes we need to reset. And in this case, we do,” said Isom. “We have to be better at executing those long-range plans. We have to be more attentive to the marketplace. We have to be more detail oriented, and we have to go forward as a team and really make it easy for American to do business with.”

 

The changes come after American announced in a regulatory filing that total revenue per available seat mile in the second quarter of 2024 is expected to drop between five and six percent compared year-over-year. Adjusted operating margin is also expected to drop by 1%.

 

Share your thoughts on American abandoning their mileage earning plans and the dismissal of Raja on the FlyerTalk forums. 

Source: frugal travel guy