Originally Posted by
HaleiwaFlyer
Corporate Sentiments of AA's about face on NDC Strategy
From the Travel Weekly Article:"AA was told by myself and by many of my peers that its strategy was flawed from day 1. Vasu was the architect, but Robert Isom agreed to it and fully supported it despite being told by industry leaders it was going to fail.
Vasu and his disciples insisted that our corporate travelers were AA's customers. Myself and many of my peers begged to differ with Vasu. Managed corporate travel programs manage their respective traveler groups, not the airlines. AA needs to realize that the corporate travel programs are their customers, not our travelers. Cater to the managed travel program's needs, don't try and fracture our programs by trying to push travelers into booking direct."
Here's another great quote from the same article:
"AA was told that Vasu's narrative of business travel will not recover and the ridiculous creation of "bleisure" were nonsense, and that based on decades of cyclical travel patterns, corporate travel would return and the leisure bubble would burst. American and Robert Isom refused to listen and arrogantly pushed ahead."