As zenexplorer so aptly says: "Rational Approach, If Uncreative and Souless."

While we would all appreciate cleaner cabins and fewer surly personnel, those are basics that any decent airline should offer. There is nothing in the statement that has any real "oomph factor" or a visionary concept that would set AA apart. In fact, this looks like a "catch-up" plan.

As someone who is a fairly recent convert to AA and who has helped write a few corporate documents of a similar nature, I think they missed an opportunity. In addition to something that would set them apart from the crowd, AA should have included an element that builds on a current strength. The FF program might well be that strength. I would never suggest that they give away the farm and make the program drastically more generous, but they should be pitching it as a major reason to fly AA. They should also promise not to devalue it as DL has done by making SkyMiles the Zimbabwe dollar of FF currency.

Getting back to the "oomph factor," I honestly don't know what that should be, and that is the really big bugaboo here. With costs above nearly all their competitors, I don't have a clue as to where AA might come up with the capital to finance a major initiative. Avoiding bankruptcy, while honorable, might not have been the smart thing to do.