In February of this year, American Airlines announced an unpopular change. The airline (or its frequent flyer program, AAdvantage) intended to limit mileage credit to certain booking channels. According to this change, bookings made through most (online) travel agencies would neither earn award miles nor status points.
The announcement caused quite a stir at the time, as it was the first known restriction of this kind. We wondered whether other airlines would follow suit to encourage direct bookings with the airline.
It seems this issue has now been resolved, as American Airlines is backtracking. The announced restrictions were initially postponed to July and will not be implemented after all. This was announced yesterday by the airline’s CEO, Robert Isom. Additionally, the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) will be leaving the company. Thus, the new strategy has proven to be a complete flop.
Sources: Brett Snyder on Twitter and Skift
Cover Picture: Ditmar Lange