American Airlines has been following misguided principles for years but a change to flight notifications could signal becoming a premium airline.

American Airlines did not inform customers about when it’s time to board

It’s about time.

Per insider @xJonNYC, relief is coming soon to American Airlines passengers:

As was common for those who fly American, you might look at your app, see the plane is boarding soon, and assume you’re good. You head to the gate to find it full of other passengers but no plane is at the gate. And despite the fact that the plane is missing, American’s app still claims the flight is “on time”. Even when it’s not physically possible for it to be on-time, American would be slow to update.

You could go to third-party websites and apps to find out the real status of the inbound plane. And you could use that as a guide on when to show up, but it’s not perfect. You run the risk of the airline deciding to swap planes and actually board without you. So, you stick nearby with everyone else and waste time that could be better spent elsewhere.

Thankfully, it sounds like this experience is going to improve. Changes are first coming to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) before expanding elsewhere.

A company that doesn’t value its customers’ time cannot be premium

As a company, you’re going to have competing priorities. You can’t be everything to every customer, though airlines certainly will try to sell it that way. What has American cared about the most as a travel provider? The airline focused primarily on departing on time. While that sounds like it has your best interest in mind, it comes at the expense of comfort, predictability, and honest messaging.

No one likes waiting in a crowded gate with other frustrated customers. You’d think American would prefer to not to have the negative energy from one passenger feed to another. And by not giving reasonable status updates, you’ll linger at the gate, making sure that the flight can board immediately when it is ready. It creates what feels like a bubbling, tense situation that American gate agents aren’t empowered to resolve.

That brings us to the concept of being ‘premium’. Does this policy–where other qualities are sacrificed for the sake of being on-time–sound like one that aligns with a desire to be premium? I would argue no. American doesn’t value my time as a consumer, which is an important gauge for how much a company cares about me as a human. And, surprise, if I don’t feel cared for, I’m not going to promote it to others and I’m not going to use the product. Premium companies need to value my time as a customer.

Thus, it’s my belief that American can’t begin to think about becoming a premium airline without making a change that de-emphasizes on-time departures. AA can still strive to depart on-time, but it can’t come at such a sacrifice of everything else.

Why is focusing strictly on departing on-time and being premium conflicting goals? A couple of examples:

• AA can introduce a great lounge, which can raise the perception of the airline. But if I have to wait endlessly by the gate, I’m not there enjoying the lounge they worked so hard to make.
• Perhaps AA dedicates itself to a great on-board product. But guess what? Sometimes, AA departs before catering the flight so it can depart on-time.
• On top of that, it sure seems like American is more likely to depart with broken seats. That could be a separate maintenance issue, but it still feels like a misguided priority that emphasizes sending the plane off rather than fixing it. All in the name of on-time departures.

This is honestly part of why my loyalty switch didn’t stick

I used to like traveling on American Airlines. But most of the better memories I have of American are before US Airways management took over. It felt like the airline was attempting to dedicate itself to a premium product at a time when even Delta wasn’t fully onto that concept yet. The launch of the premium transcontinental flights on special A321-T aircraft felt special, especially when they had a true first class cabin (RIP).

But when US Airways management took over, the emphasis for the airline shifted. The focus was less on premium and more on how many seats they could cram on a plane. It was less about valuing my time and more about departing on-time. And with it, my hopeful loyalty switch from Delta didn’t stick.

American just couldn’t get the basics right. So many of my trips during that time had rolling delays–not just a delay, but one that posted updates every 15-20 minutes as we waited on crew that wouldn’t show up. It forced me to go airports that were out of the way with extra stops not originally intended. It’s one thing to provide accurate status on an inbound plane, but without insight into what plane is carrying the crew, it’s hard to figure out. Hopefully the revised update system AA is trialing will resolve this pain point too, but it contributed to why I left American (though not the only reason).

I’ve enjoyed flying oneworld airlines and found oneworld status to be useful–much more useful than SkyTeam status. But it wouldn’t make sense for me to earn status and feel like I need to suffer through the experience. That doesn’t make a happy customer. That’s why I’m personally interested in if this trial actually improves things at American. Perhaps American needed Spirit Airlines to disappear for American to realize it can’t compete with the ultra low-cost carrier model.

Are you hopeful about AA changing how it updates its delays?