Corporate travel is about to get harder: lower fares to be removed from legacy GDS
Feb 20, 2024, 12:55 pm
#271
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: SEA, ATL (wish it was still ORD)
Programs: AA EXP; DL Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist (marriage perk)
Posts: 523
Here: https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-p...NNOUNCEMENT_US
Ineligible travel:
So not all travel but a lot of travel will need to be booked via AA
Ineligible travel:
- Any trip booked through non-preferred travel agencies, unless youre registered with the AAdvantage Business program or have a contracted corporate agreement with American
So not all travel but a lot of travel will need to be booked via AA
Feb 20, 2024, 1:02 pm
#272
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: AA Executive Platinum/Million Miler, Marriott Titanium Elite-Lifetime, Hilton Gold
Posts: 3,296
I generally defend AA, but putting out an announcement like this without the list of preferred agencies is absurd. Now corporate travelers will stew over this over the next two months until this magical list is published. Talk about poor corporate communications.
Feb 20, 2024, 2:01 pm
#273
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 2,352
I'm guessing DL and UA will watch and quickly match the policy if they see it possible to do so without losing too much cash
As it says on VFTW in their comments about this development: "Since we don’t know which travel agency bookings will no longer earn miles, we cannot yet assess the scope or impact of this change. For instance, if Expedia Group bookings no longer earn miles that’s huge and would be simultaneously doing two contradictory things.
- American has been driving to reduce its sales costs, pushing people to book direct and especially online. They believe they can earn as much or more revenue at lower cost, filling planes for instance without selling tickets at a corporate discount in most cases. This leverages the AAdvantage program to encourage people to book direct.
- However American has increasingly positioned the AAdvantage program to be appealing to occasional travelers, converting those passengers into regular and loyal customers who then take the credit card. It’s the already-loyal who book direct, while the occasional and new traveler discovers American Airlines through online travel agencies and can be converted – if they’re able to earn miles."
Feb 20, 2024, 3:31 pm
#275
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: NYC/LA
Programs: DL Plat, AA Plat Pro, Marriott Titanium, IHG Diamond Amb
Posts: 7,602
Unfortunately its not as cut and dry as some would hope.
Feb 20, 2024, 5:03 pm
#276
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 2,352
the whole point of frequent flier miles is to get people to spend more money loyally with the airline giving them miles, or their partners who give the airline money for the "referral" or customer acquisition,
AA doesn't care or prefer if you travel for work or for pleasure; they want your business, your money...and they make more profit on you if you're not even flying on their planes, but instead spending with their partners, so they CERTAINLY don't prefer business travel over all the other ways they make money from their loyalty program.
Feb 20, 2024, 7:27 pm
#277
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2010
Location: TPA
Programs: All The Programs
Posts: 2,215
Well ... obviously ... but business travel can have higher margins because companies are less price sensitive than individual consumers. The GS / CK / 360s out there don't generally have such status because of frequent girls weekends in Cancun. FFPs exist to influence business travel purchasing decisions. Leisure travel loyalty comes in a distant second.
Feb 20, 2024, 7:31 pm
#278
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: NYC/LA
Programs: DL Plat, AA Plat Pro, Marriott Titanium, IHG Diamond Amb
Posts: 7,602
(1) hub captives
(2) those living in mid-sized cities which are not hubs for any airline and generally need to connect
Remember, the schedule is the product now
Feb 20, 2024, 8:25 pm
#279
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 2,352
Well ... obviously ... but business travel can have higher margins because companies are less price sensitive than individual consumers. The GS / CK / 360s out there don't generally have such status because of frequent girls weekends in Cancun. FFPs exist to influence business travel purchasing decisions. Leisure travel loyalty comes in a distant second.
NOT FLYING IN THEIR PLANES.
Not flying in their planes on biz travel.
Not flying in their planes on girls' weekend or guys' trip.
Their ONLY profits are from everything Not related to airline tickets. They lose less money from the GS/CK/360 types but they lose money.
So speaking of "coming in a distant second," it's ALL the TRAVEL on AA. People who fly on biz trips and less price sensitive may think of themselves as more important, but that's for a different thread.
They earn profit from AAdvantage, and that's it. Pretty well established from their financial reporting, but I can find it if you don't believe me.
Remember: It's a bank with a fleet of airplanes.
Feb 20, 2024, 9:11 pm
#280
Join Date: Sep 2005
Programs: Mileageplus
Posts: 253
Here: https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-p...NNOUNCEMENT_US
Ineligible travel:
So not all travel but a lot of travel will need to be booked via AA
Ineligible travel:
- Any trip booked through non-preferred travel agencies, unless youre registered with the AAdvantage Business program or have a contracted corporate agreement with American
So not all travel but a lot of travel will need to be booked via AA
Well, I have to hand it to their communications team for boldness when they make that statement in their notice that "booking with us provides a better travel experience. You can manage your trip online...."
I have to laugh at that given all the times I have to call an AA agent as their online system can't handle the simplest of changes.
Feb 20, 2024, 10:12 pm
#282
Ambassador, Hong Kong and Macau
Join Date: May 2009
Location: HKG
Programs: Non-top tier Asia Miles member
Posts: 19,912
Well, I have to hand it to their communications team for boldness when they make that statement in their notice that "booking with us provides a better travel experience. You can manage your trip online...."
I have to laugh at that given all the times I have to call an AA agent as their online system can't handle the simplest of changes.
I have to laugh at that given all the times I have to call an AA agent as their online system can't handle the simplest of changes.
Feb 21, 2024, 12:10 am
#283
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,717
You know nothing about NDC strategy, implementation, and how it works, do you???
It sounds to me like American is trying to replace an outdated legacy system with a modern system, and the GDS are dragging their feet. American is incentivized to do it because they think it will be more profitable for them. The giant GDS companies see it as a huge cost with little or no upside, so they are dragging their feet. Seems like one of three things will happen: 1) the gds will get off their asses and implement it because they need the business 2) the gds will be replaced by new, hungry competitors who dont have to deal with the legacy business or 3) American will find that it needs the gds more then they need AA, and will backtrack.
This is the reason the ancient IT in the video that was posted exists. Replacing legacy systems is hard and expensive, and inertia is a powerful force. Things dont usually change until some huge player decides it will be profitable to do so.
This is the reason the ancient IT in the video that was posted exists. Replacing legacy systems is hard and expensive, and inertia is a powerful force. Things dont usually change until some huge player decides it will be profitable to do so.
Feb 21, 2024, 12:14 am
#284
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,717
The agency gave u bad information. There is NDC, but there are still edifact booking.
I was talking to our corporate travel agency about all of this. They have a feeling AA is either going to add the fares back to the traditional GDS soon, or accelerate the changes necessary for them to better integrate on the new system. Apparently there has been a greater than expected impact to AA's bottom line by removing these fares and corporate clients booking away from them.
Feb 21, 2024, 12:18 am
#285
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,717
While I generally agree with what I said, you missed an important part of the the requirements to be a preferred agency. See the details in the link. Not all agencies qualify at this point and those/others have a date certain to implement booking flow changes. So a list today would not ve as effective and by leaving off age cues that are in the process could get AA in done for water.