ATXflyer

I would wager they are. I took an EXP challenge last year in July after making 1K for 2014 and have not looked back. I don't miss the spending 4 hours on an RJ (if it runs on time) and I don't miss the wonderful F meals of Rondele and crackers. I don't miss the ratty united club either.

So far AA gets it for HVFs. UA just gives away status and continues to dilute it while at the same time flushing services in a stopped up RJ145 commode.

Submitted while on an AA flight in F with working wifi.

cerealmarketer

Ha well McK has had a long history with UA.

Not sure if there was an additional engagement added, but not much new there. My bet is they are running 'project quality.' Bain was handling integration.

AA decided to go with McKinsey for their integration work. UA and DL used Bain for that. I don't hear fears AA is about to launch a sub-carrier.

And of course it was the CO situation in the 90s that gave Bain its name in the aviation practice.

In other words, consultants are messing around with all the big airlines, and have been for decades.

CO_Nonrev_elite

Most people do not realize how many of the GS are actually comped. It's large number. United is basically throwing everyone else under the bus, and trying to take care of the GS who as said who have ZERO loyalty to them in the first place.

boycruz

Bingo !
this is my biggest issue

entropy

I'm actually not sure since I don't work for ua... but it does seem that UA is comping a great deal of people GS, and 1K/Plat who don't generally qualify for the status.

Presumably this is to keep the corporate ranks somewhat happy.. but it won't help them, as they cannot provide the experience that status ought to engender.

(at the same time, making it harder for people to qualify the 'real' way)

raehl311

That's a little revisionist history.... Delta's merger with NW was neither smooth nor seamless.

But it was still a lot better (operationally) than this.

AAExPlat

This. Big time.

You do realize the irony of your last statement given that McKinsey and BCG have both been brought in, right?

And I think it is naive to think that customers won't see the impact of cost cutting measures devised by McKinsey. We certainly will notice. And that is if McK will truly only deal with internal matters, which I don't think they will at all.

While you are right, there is a growing number of us long time EXPs who are highly concerned about recent decisions and actions by AA and there os no doubt EXP and the entire airline is no longer even nearly as good as it was as little as 2 years ago. Doug has joined the race to the bottom. It is clearly visible to anyone who is willing to really look...meal windows, seat comfort, AAdvantage changes to redemption and availability, YQ surcharges, call center issues during IRROPs that make UA look stellar, increasingly terrible EXP desk staff, and the list goes on. There is very little good news and if AA spins it as such, it is usually double speak of the finest kind (like when they devalued AAnytime awards and tooted that the pricing is now lower).

If you are thinking of changing allegiances, it is definitely caveat emptor....

CO_Nonrev_elite

You won't see anything at all now for 6-9 months as every policy, decision, change will be frozen until these companies get to have a good look at everything.

NiceLanding

I share your concern with creeping cuts at AA, but do believe you're exaggerating the impact (at least so far). I also realize that as an AA loyalist, you're particularly sensitive to negative changes, just as I was at UA. All that said, AA has a very long way to go to get down to UA's level and there's no reason to assume that they will go that far. In fact, it's likely that some of the apparent cutbacks in EXP service levels are simply the result of AA's success in winning over former UA elites.

By the way, the recent jump in mileage requirements for AAnytime awards were certainly painful for many (though not yet as bad as UA's), but I did just find myself booking a bunch of 45k AAnytime awards in Y to Europe for a family trip that I believe would previously have cost 60k miles each. I checked UA as well, where they were going for 65k each, so it's not all bad news.

cerealmarketer

Indeed, that merger has already seen deterioration on the AA side. And if you take shareholder biases out of the arguments on this board, as a passenger there is a lot to be worried about.

Delta is the 'known' quantity right now, so I split my allegiance between UA and DL.

If Parker and AA take the high road, great, in 2016 I will have a great alternative to Delta, which is much needed. But for 2015 it's UA/DL for me.

Others may differ.

Boraxo

There is no question AA will devalue under new US management, no different than COdbaUA. Then you will be faced with the choice: Do you fly UA for the better mileage redemption program, or do you fly DL for the better product? AA may have been tops in both but no longer so it won't be the obvious choice anymore.

bocastephen

These consulting companies are nothing more than snake oil salesmen - nothing but a big scam. I can understand a small or medium size business, privately held, and with management that lacks a broad view of business or their industry asking for outside help from more experienced peers or advisors to introduce fresh ideas, but when a large, publicly traded company with highly paid executives touting extensive academic and professional experience starts bringing in outside consultants to help them run the business, that act alone should be grounds for their dismissal for incompetence.

Does the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff hire the Department of Labor to come into the Pentagon and analyze their use of paperclips so they can hit mandated budget targets?

cerealmarketer

Not a fan of consultant recos myself, but the reality is a significant portion of publicly traded companies uses at least one of the larger ones, much like they use the investment banks.

And in the airlines they all do.

So by that logic all management teams should dismissed.

It's a reality, not unique to United.

And yes the joint chief of staff does use consulting firms!

http://www.boozallen.com/consultants...fense-agencies

JBord

I think you'll notice from my previous posts, I'm in full agreement. But I have to say I got a pretty good laugh reading your example. You had me at the part about a government department worrying about their budget...

entropy

There's still a question of how much. UA has been seriously devaluing the customer experience for years. We shall see what AA actually does, but judging from UA's comments, they're not done yet. I know that as of now, AA offers a better value proposition than UA does. And DL seems to be superior, which on one hand is counter-intuitive to the mileage junkies here, but DL offers a better product (onboard, ontime), better service; and for people shelling out the bucks, they're not going to be hunting for saver award space on an oddball flight anyways.