Recent "maintenance" related delays, cancellations, & AA responses (Sep-Nov 2012)
Sep 16, 2012, 6:29 pm
#1
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Original Poster
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Recent "maintenance" related delays, cancellations, & AA responses (Sep-Nov 2012)
According to FlightStats, as of now 2.5% of tomorrow's AA's flight (46 out of 1860) have already been cancelled.
And today a whopping 4.5% (86 out of 1904) flights were cancelled, and the so-called "ontime" arrival rate (within 14 minutes of schedule) is at a dismal 61% (source).
It doesn't appear that there are any weather issues at the hubs, and UA and DL seem to be running just fine (2 cancellations at DL, 7 at UA; DL 93% "ontime" and UA 86%).
According to FlightStats, AA's performance in July and August was 1% cancellations (truncated) and 80% "ontime" arrivals.
Is there something wrong with FlightStats data from today or is there something going on with AA's operations?
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MODERATOR'S NOTE
9/22/12 - Reminder: this thread is specifically for discussion of the current disruptions to AA operations and primarily of the effects upon AA passengers. This thread is NOT for discussion of APA pilot union contract issues or for invective against any labor or management groups. After multiple in-thread reminders from the AA moderator team, members are again admonished NOT to post such disruptive comments in this thread.
Those wishing to discuss AA contract negotiations are invited to participate in this thread that was created for that purpose:
Those wishing to discuss the APA pilots' negotiations may also participate in this specific thread on that topic:
In both cases, RESPECTFUL discussion is required and invective, ranting, and personal attacks are prohibited.
Further, in no case is general, non-AA-related discussion of unions, labor-management relations, or labor contracts appropriate for the AA Forum - such discussions are welcome in the forum that was created for them: OMNI P/R.
Members ignoring these guidelines will have their posts removed and may be subject to disciplinary action under the FlyerTalk Rules, including suspension of their posting privileges. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
9/21/12 - AA has sent out emails to elite members in relationship to this situation:
Travel Updates for Our Most Valued Customers
9/20/12 - Some general information on this situation is currently posted on AA.com:
https://www.aa.com/i18n/urls/flightUpdates.jsp
dstan
AA Forum Co-Moderator
And today a whopping 4.5% (86 out of 1904) flights were cancelled, and the so-called "ontime" arrival rate (within 14 minutes of schedule) is at a dismal 61% (source).
It doesn't appear that there are any weather issues at the hubs, and UA and DL seem to be running just fine (2 cancellations at DL, 7 at UA; DL 93% "ontime" and UA 86%).
According to FlightStats, AA's performance in July and August was 1% cancellations (truncated) and 80% "ontime" arrivals.
Is there something wrong with FlightStats data from today or is there something going on with AA's operations?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MODERATOR'S NOTE
9/22/12 - Reminder: this thread is specifically for discussion of the current disruptions to AA operations and primarily of the effects upon AA passengers. This thread is NOT for discussion of APA pilot union contract issues or for invective against any labor or management groups. After multiple in-thread reminders from the AA moderator team, members are again admonished NOT to post such disruptive comments in this thread.
Those wishing to discuss AA contract negotiations are invited to participate in this thread that was created for that purpose:
Those wishing to discuss the APA pilots' negotiations may also participate in this specific thread on that topic:
In both cases, RESPECTFUL discussion is required and invective, ranting, and personal attacks are prohibited.
Further, in no case is general, non-AA-related discussion of unions, labor-management relations, or labor contracts appropriate for the AA Forum - such discussions are welcome in the forum that was created for them: OMNI P/R.
Members ignoring these guidelines will have their posts removed and may be subject to disciplinary action under the FlyerTalk Rules, including suspension of their posting privileges. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
9/21/12 - AA has sent out emails to elite members in relationship to this situation:
Travel Updates for Our Most Valued Customers
This just arrived in my inbox a moment ago (note the bolded portion):
Dear 2Millionquest,
At American, we always do our best to provide our customers with a smooth travel experience. You may have seen recent media reports about American's operational challenges or even experienced a service disruption yourself. Whatever the circumstance, I am truly sorry for any inconvenience to you. I also want to let you know what's going on and assure you that we stand ready to help.
Prior to recent issues, American has been running an extremely good operation, with reliability measures at their best levels in many years. The recent delays are due to the increase in maintenance write-ups by our pilots, many right at the time of departure. Our maintenance teams are responding appropriately to such reports, which may cause interruptions in our schedules. I know you will agree that nothing is more important than running a safe and reliable operation. Ensuring the safety of our customers is always our highest priority.
We are taking several immediate steps to improve our service during this period. We are proactively reducing the rest of our September and October schedule by approximately one to two percent. These schedule adjustments will enable us to provide our customers with more reliable service while minimizing impact to travel plans. Additionally, we are increasing staffing of maintenance, reservations and airport personnel to offer you more flexible travel options.
As always, our goal is to get you to your destination safely and on-time. Because you are a valued elite member, should you find that on your day of departure these issues will cause you to arrive more than one hour late at your final destination, all you have to do is ask and we'll do our best to arrange an alternative. We will seek out the best available reaccommodation, whether that is on American or on another carrier — or if you prefer, we will let you cancel your reservation and receive a refund. Your needs are our primary focus.
Above all, I want to thank you for your business and your support. We do not take your loyalty for granted and are working hard on your behalf.
Sincerely,
Suzanne L. Rubin
President
AAdvantage® Loyalty Program
Dear 2Millionquest,
At American, we always do our best to provide our customers with a smooth travel experience. You may have seen recent media reports about American's operational challenges or even experienced a service disruption yourself. Whatever the circumstance, I am truly sorry for any inconvenience to you. I also want to let you know what's going on and assure you that we stand ready to help.
Prior to recent issues, American has been running an extremely good operation, with reliability measures at their best levels in many years. The recent delays are due to the increase in maintenance write-ups by our pilots, many right at the time of departure. Our maintenance teams are responding appropriately to such reports, which may cause interruptions in our schedules. I know you will agree that nothing is more important than running a safe and reliable operation. Ensuring the safety of our customers is always our highest priority.
We are taking several immediate steps to improve our service during this period. We are proactively reducing the rest of our September and October schedule by approximately one to two percent. These schedule adjustments will enable us to provide our customers with more reliable service while minimizing impact to travel plans. Additionally, we are increasing staffing of maintenance, reservations and airport personnel to offer you more flexible travel options.
As always, our goal is to get you to your destination safely and on-time. Because you are a valued elite member, should you find that on your day of departure these issues will cause you to arrive more than one hour late at your final destination, all you have to do is ask and we'll do our best to arrange an alternative. We will seek out the best available reaccommodation, whether that is on American or on another carrier — or if you prefer, we will let you cancel your reservation and receive a refund. Your needs are our primary focus.
Above all, I want to thank you for your business and your support. We do not take your loyalty for granted and are working hard on your behalf.
Sincerely,
Suzanne L. Rubin
President
AAdvantage® Loyalty Program
https://www.aa.com/i18n/urls/flightUpdates.jsp
Updates On Cancelled Or Delayed Flights
You may be experiencing some cancellations or delays as a result of some of the operational challenges we have been experiencing in recent days. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused. Rest assured that we are doing everything possible to maintain the service levels that you expect.
We also want to thank you for your business and let you know we value you as a customer. If you have been impacted by delays or cancellations, know that we are doing all we can to put you on the next available flight.
In an effort to better serve your needs during this time, we will also:
Increase staffing to better assist you
Increase food available on our flights
Provide the ability to stand by for earlier domestic flights
Offer you one of the following options if your flight has been delayed more than two hours:
Receive a full refund if you decide not to travel, or
Reaccommodate on another carrier if available, or
Change your American flight plans at no charge.
You may check the status of your existing reservations and access flight information in the following ways:
If you booked on AA.com, you can select My Reservations.
If you booked your flight through a travel agency, you should call their office directly.
You can call Automated Flight Information.
1-800-223-5436 for English
1-800-228-8356 for Spanish
If you would like more information, or to contact a specific department, please Contact AA.
Or you can see an agent at the airport.
For more information on Gates and Times or how we manage delayed or cancelled flights please see our Customer Service Plan.
Another quick and easy way to receive updated flight information is to sign up for our mobile notifications.
Know that when a delay or a cancellation does occur, our goal is to get you to your destination safely and as quickly as possible.
You may be experiencing some cancellations or delays as a result of some of the operational challenges we have been experiencing in recent days. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused. Rest assured that we are doing everything possible to maintain the service levels that you expect.
We also want to thank you for your business and let you know we value you as a customer. If you have been impacted by delays or cancellations, know that we are doing all we can to put you on the next available flight.
In an effort to better serve your needs during this time, we will also:
Increase staffing to better assist you
Increase food available on our flights
Provide the ability to stand by for earlier domestic flights
Offer you one of the following options if your flight has been delayed more than two hours:
Receive a full refund if you decide not to travel, or
Reaccommodate on another carrier if available, or
Change your American flight plans at no charge.
You may check the status of your existing reservations and access flight information in the following ways:
If you booked on AA.com, you can select My Reservations.
If you booked your flight through a travel agency, you should call their office directly.
You can call Automated Flight Information.
1-800-223-5436 for English
1-800-228-8356 for Spanish
If you would like more information, or to contact a specific department, please Contact AA.
Or you can see an agent at the airport.
For more information on Gates and Times or how we manage delayed or cancelled flights please see our Customer Service Plan.
Another quick and easy way to receive updated flight information is to sign up for our mobile notifications.
Know that when a delay or a cancellation does occur, our goal is to get you to your destination safely and as quickly as possible.
AA Forum Co-Moderator
Last edited by dstan; Sep 22, 2012 at 1:26 pm
Sep 16, 2012, 6:32 pm
#2
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Downers Grove, IL
Programs: UA Mileage Plus, AA Advantage
Posts: 5,983
Maybe it has to do with a shortage of crews. Earlier this summer AA had to reduce capacity due to Crew Shortages.
Sep 16, 2012, 6:33 pm
#3
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Cheers.
Sep 16, 2012, 6:34 pm
#4
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Location: LAX; AA EXP, MM; HH Gold
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For each of the last 10 days, AA has cancelled many more flights than typical for early September. On September 5, the bankruptcy court approved AA's motion to reject the pilot contract.
There is growing evidence that the pilots are disrupting AA's schedule.
I would not be surprised to see AA file a request for a TRO and prelim injunction this week.
There is growing evidence that the pilots are disrupting AA's schedule.
I would not be surprised to see AA file a request for a TRO and prelim injunction this week.
Sep 16, 2012, 6:47 pm
#5
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: ORD, SJD, VNO, sandy places
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Posts: 451
Just checked FS for an AA flight ORD > ....This was the message at the bottom of the page !?!?
"American Airlines has opted out; their flight options will not be shown."
"American Airlines has opted out; their flight options will not be shown."
Sep 16, 2012, 7:05 pm
#6
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Mostly AUS or rural England
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Is a court going to order pilots to fly aircraft with defects? In the end it has to be the pilots decision so AA's managers are going to have to make darn sure that every aircraft is 100% serviceable in every respect. It's naive to expect business as usual when you railroad unfavorable changes through a court system that seems biased in favor of the incumbent managers.
Sep 16, 2012, 7:25 pm
#7
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Is a court going to order pilots to fly aircraft with defects? In the end it has to be the pilots decision so AA's managers are going to have to make darn sure that every aircraft is 100% serviceable in every respect. It's naive to expect business as usual when you railroad unfavorable changes through a court system that seems biased in favor of the incumbent managers.
If flights are being cancelled because pilots are refusing to fly until the logbook is cleared of every trivial, non-airworthy maintenance issue (like 4E is broken and placarded), AA would have an easy time showing evidence of a slowdown.
Sep 16, 2012, 7:26 pm
#8
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Fort Worth, TX
Programs: AA EXP, Marriott Plat, HH Diamond, National Executive Elite
Posts: 62
My my flights tomorrow DFW>PHL was cancelled, i called the exp desk and asked to be routed through ORD and she mentioned a lot of flights cancelled to ORD as well...
Sep 16, 2012, 7:26 pm
#9
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A bankruptcy judge can't make pilots fly but he can impose stinging penalties for not showing up to work.
Sep 16, 2012, 7:28 pm
#10
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It just doesn't make sense to me why the pilots think that doing this and pissing off passengers, something that they presumably think will hurt the airline, can possibly help the pilots in any way. You'd think that they'd understand that their salaries come from revenue. Maybe I'm giving them too much credit.
Maybe time for UA to do a 1k match
Cheers.
Last edited by brp; Sep 16, 2012 at 7:35 pm
Sep 16, 2012, 7:57 pm
#11
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Mostly AUS or rural England
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Posts: 6,526
It just doesn't make sense to me why the pilots think that doing this and pissing off passengers, something that they presumably think will hurt the airline, can possibly help the pilots in any way. You'd think that they'd understand that their salaries come from revenue. Maybe I'm giving them too much credit.
Last edited by JDiver; Sep 19, 2012 at 7:46 am Reason: Indecent allusion removed
Sep 16, 2012, 8:04 pm
#12
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Mostly AUS or rural England
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Nobody is talking about ordering pilots to fly "aircraft with defects."
If flights are being cancelled because pilots are refusing to fly until the logbook is cleared of every trivial, non-airworthy maintenance issue (like 4E is broken and placarded), AA would have an easy time showing evidence of a slowdown.
If flights are being cancelled because pilots are refusing to fly until the logbook is cleared of every trivial, non-airworthy maintenance issue (like 4E is broken and placarded), AA would have an easy time showing evidence of a slowdown.
And in the end, this is a problem that needs to be resolved by improving the people management in the business, not by continually running and telling tales to the principal. The business has no future unless they get a grip on this relationship issue - it's just going to come back and bite them time after time.
Sep 16, 2012, 8:05 pm
#13
Join Date: May 2012
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Posts: 663
It was raining a bit in Dallas this evening. My understanding from Weather.com while I was planning my weekly jaunt to Philly is they are expecting rain in the NE (including Philly and DC). Not sure who determines the amount of weather that causes a cancellation but just wanted to pass that info along. The DFW -> PHL flight out tonight sat on the ground until about 9pm between delay at the gate and on the ground waiting to take off.
Last edited by Consultette; Sep 16, 2012 at 8:06 pm Reason: Updated because I did not type "evening"
Sep 16, 2012, 8:08 pm
#14
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Cheers.
Last edited by Microwave; Sep 17, 2012 at 12:16 pm Reason: Updated quote of redacted post
Sep 16, 2012, 8:59 pm
#15
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Other courts have entertained actions about pilot slowdowns in the recent past at airlines like US and UA. Slowdowns aren't novel nor are court actions to stop them. The court would not get involved in determining which maintenance issues are legit and which are not - the FAA has already weighed in on that. That's why planes are permitted to fly with myriad maintenance issues provided that those deferred items are properly logged. See Minimum Equipment List.
