It’s time for a two-fer!
First up, we have a new Cranky Talk episode for the first time in awhile. Dave was so excited to talk about government regulation, that I just couldn’t tell him no.
Listen to Cranky Talk on Apple, Spotify, direct, or wherever you get your podcasts.
On this episode, we look at the two new DOT rules. One focuses on providing refunds when there is a significant flight change — either in advance as a schedule change or during irregular operations at the time of travel. The other tackles new disclosure rules during fare searches, specifically around “critical ancillary services.” The word “critical” sounds terrifying, but it’s really just five points (unless DOT changes its mind in the future):
- Carry-on bag
- First checked bag
- Second checked bag
- Changes
- Cancellations
There is a lot to like in these rules, but there are a couple concerning points buried in here as well. Have a listen and email Dave here to tell him just how much you love or hate this.
Listen to Cranky Talk on Apple, Spotify, direct, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Also, have you heard The Air Show podcast’s latest episode? If not, you clearly haven’t subscribed to our podcast yet, and you really need to do that.
Listen to The Air Show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon, Pocket Casts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
After the prior week’s engine discussion, Jon Ostrower, Brian Sumers, and I turn this week to look at American’s sales and distribution strategy. I am well aware that I write about this often here, but in this episode we really take a step back to look at the strategy overall and how we got here. Oh, and then we look at first quarter results.
Even if you know everything that’s going on, I think you’ll find the half hour well worth it. And if you have thoughts for us, you can reach us at theairshowpodcast.com.
Listen to The Air Show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon, Pocket Casts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Let me guess. You’re saying, “how can I possibly make time for TWO podcasts?” These two combined at 1x speed clock in under an hour. Pump it up to a quicker playback speed and you’re done in no time. You won’t regret it.
1 comment on “Podcasts a Plenty: New DOT Rules and A Broad Look at American’s Sales and Distribution Plans”
I think the team on The Air Show podcast brought up a fair point regarding AA’s competitors’ purposely pitching their management business travel growth to investors. I doubt that the other airlines intentionally colluded/organized, but I’m sure that they knew that their value for that metric was much better than AA’s, and once one airline reveals that metric the others are likely to be forced into revealing it (or asked about it by observant reporters) as well. Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of AA’s competitors dropped a dime to the Bloomberg reporter and encouraged the reporter to ask AA about its performance on the metric… I don’t know the egos in the airline world, but I can DEFINITELY see C-level execs (and their PR/investor relations staff) being competitive/petty enough to do that.
Also, great analysis by the team on the subject regarding how this is a win/win for American’s competitors, regardless of whether American’s efforts succeed, fail, or fall in-between (which I would argue is still a win for American’s competitors, given the distraction that the issue is causing AA management and the ill-will that it is creating with agencies & customers).