Welcome to Flyertalk,
KentownFlorida.
Since your question is about practices at American Airlines, I'm going to move this post to the
American Airlines forum.
I will suggest, also, that you head over to that forum and click on the "search" link. Try the keywords "employee class" for starters and you'll be able to catch up on lots of discussion.
Best,
Gary
aka gleff
MilesBuzz and Delta moderator