AA LAX Catering Issues Late 2017 (Listeria 1 Nov 2017)
#604
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SBA
Programs: UA & AA 1 million miler
Posts: 1,134
Does anybody know if we have normal meal service on LAX-HKG tonight? I asked a phone agent two days ago, but she said possible because no meal choices on the flight, but she wasn't sure...
#605
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Programs: HH Gold, AA Gold
Posts: 10,458
Only Discount Doogie would let this drag on so long... He paid his pilots double after the December scheduling mistake, surely he could have offered to pay a caterer double to prepare food for a few weeks (assuming that the caterer would have to ramp up quickly with overtime costs, higher raw materials cost, etc.) until everything sorted itself out.
#606
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,602
Only Discount Doogie would let this drag on so long... He paid his pilots double after the December scheduling mistake, surely he could have offered to pay a caterer double to prepare food for a few weeks (assuming that the caterer would have to ramp up quickly with overtime costs, higher raw materials cost, etc.) until everything sorted itself out.
#607
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Arizona
Programs: BA Gold, AA Plat, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Explorist, National EE, Hertz PC
Posts: 473
Just got off 193 and catering was 100% including full Casper setup. The menu that was posted up thread was the menu that was served.
#608
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: LAX
Programs: AAdvantage EXPLAT, Hilton Diamond, SPG/Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum, Citi Exec MC, Amex Plat
Posts: 1,443
So tell us, wise one, how would someone change their flight plans, without fee and able to replace it at a similar cost, for a flight they booked prior to the latest entry in DUIDouggie's book of failures?
People are tolerating this because many do not have a choice and their travel plans were already locked. And many more probably made the reasonable assumption that 6+ weeks later it would be resolved, so those booking in early November didn't think they would have to worry about this. Clearly DL showed that it can be done, AA showed that they are not capable of it.
People are tolerating this because many do not have a choice and their travel plans were already locked. And many more probably made the reasonable assumption that 6+ weeks later it would be resolved, so those booking in early November didn't think they would have to worry about this. Clearly DL showed that it can be done, AA showed that they are not capable of it.
#609
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Programs: HH Gold, AA Gold
Posts: 10,458
JonNYC -- I agree that this it is a very complicated problem, but so was the pilot scheduling fiasco -- which was solved within a week. It sounds like someone in management didn't want to spend enough money to resolve the catering issue quickly. IMHO, within two weeks, all of the international flights should have been catered correctly. Then, in another two weeks, all the domestic flights should have been catered properly.
#610
Suspended
Join Date: May 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Diamond, AAdvantage EXP, Hyatt Explorist, HHonors Diamond, Avis First
Posts: 7,344
It’s one fiasco after another with these morons running AA....it certainly isn’t helping employee morale and I am definitely booking all of my LAX business away from AA until this is definitively fixed.
#611
Join Date: Jul 1999
Programs: QF WP, AA EXP
Posts: 3,520
The scheduling problem was relatively easy to fix. They just threw money at it. The only real hurdle was the union. Catering is a totally different deal with so many moving parts that just throwing money at it won't necessarily solve it quickly. Do you think AA enjoys sending people $100/$200/miles each time they screw this up? Additionally outright cancelling hundreds of flights would have an even greater negative impact on AA than having flights go out with substandard catering... I agree that it's a fiasco but you are comparing apples and oranges.
#613
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,602
One thing is certain though, ex-LAX catering costs are a lot less than they were before November.
#615
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: LAX
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 135
I've never received a proactive email; I've just complained through the AA site.