Got a call from AA asking why I haven't flown them lately
 

My travel patterns are always changing, and I haven't flown AA much for the past few months. I don't think I ever really flew them a lot anyway (had Gold status).

All the same, I got a call today from someone at AA wanting to find out if there's a reason why my travel with AA declined (service issues, lack of routes I need, etc). She was very friendly and said they really value my business etc and if there's anything they can do to get me to choose them more often to please let them know.

It was a nice personal touch - good marketing effort from AA!

Did they offer you bonus miles? ;)

never heard of them doing that before..anyone else ever get a call like that?

it seems odd that AA would call wanting to know why you aren't flying when they claim to "know why you fly". I guess the department that knows why you fly should hook up with the department that wants to know why you don't fly.:rolleyes:

Awesome! Perhaps a corporate retreat is in order... the two departments could figure everything out following a rousing game of volleyball or a three-legged race!

Just be careful when they say that they are going to give you a credit for free travel, and that all they need to do is verify your name, DOB, and social security number ;).

My theory is that they have a computer that knows why each of their several hundred thousand passengers fly, but it spit out one exception and said there's this ONE guy, and we just can't figure out why the hell he flies.

So they just picked up the phone and gave him a call. I think they had to do this one other time in the late 1990's when they couldn't figure out why Bill Allison of Wilmette, IL, flew. He had to fill them in.

Funny, a couple of years ago I went from EXP (almost all F or Int'l C) to NS because of change in travel patterns--no call from AA, I assumed they didn't care. Good for you!

Yes, in the fall or winter of 2000, when I was about to drop to PLT.

My SO got a call about two years back, when she was PLT and stopped flying with them much.

This is definitely the most likely explanation. ^ ^ ^ :)

Yes, I received that call a few years ago. I have been platinum but never EXP every year for a while and then partway through the year I hadn't flown much on AA. I have a preference for AA but who I fly is dictated by where I am flying and that is dictated by which clients I am working for. Sometimes clients have a good deal with a carrier and so I will try to honor that as most of my flying is business class or first class international travel. I told them upgrades to first when I was flying coach would make a difference.

This past year, a big client had a deal with BA and I wanted to see whether I could get Gold on BA (I did in December). AA hasn't called.

I got a call like this about 4 months ago. I went from an EXP to one flight from SJC-LAX the following year. They asked what would make me fly more so I asked them to extend my VIP's a year. They told me they extended two VIP's, and then I later realized that they GAVE me two courtesy VIP's...I was still able to book older VIP's in February before they expired!

Oh, and in my EXP year I was almost 100% paid F and J, not sure if that motivated their call.

I got a similar call right before I dropped from EXP to PLT. They made me an offer to get status back and it's pretty much a done deal... also included the full batch of VIPs for the year.

This, combined with the arrogance/incompetence of US have locked me into AA.... even if it makes ORD a second home for me.

Shhhh.... we can't have credible posters debunking the spin that this "never happens". ;)