AA service at DAL
With Legend gone, airline cuts some perks
06/15/2001
By Terry Maxon / The Dallas Morning News
American Airlines passengers flying out of Love Field may soon feel a bit less pampered.
Starting July 1, the carrier will eliminate the free coffee and soft drinks before boarding, the free newspapers, the hot towels and the first-class glassware and china that customers have come to expect.
It'll make you want to cry in your beer, especially since you'll have to pay for that beer. And wine, too.
American spokesman Al Becker said the Fort Worth-based airline was responding to both the "extreme softness in the economy" and to competition.
"We felt that these are changes that make good business sense and still give our Love Field customers tremendous value for their dollars," Mr. Becker said.
"In the end, they're still going to be enjoying first-class seats, first-class legroom, first-class meals at coach fares, and we can still provide an excellent value for them and yet make these changes that will help us save some money," he said.
American is making the changes seven months after the competitor it was copying parked its airplanes.
The airline launched service at Love Field on May 1, 2000, a month after Legend Airlines Inc. began offering all first-class service at coach fares. Both carriers offered spacious seating, high-quality meals and a series of amenities to attract customers, particularly business travelers willing to pay higher fares for last-minute tickets.
However, Legend ran out of money and parked its airplanes in early December. The carrier is now being liquidated.
Legend offered its employees all the extras that American is now cutting out, although its free drink was champagne.
Marvin Singleton, one of the first Legend Airlines employees and among the last to be let go, said Thursday that he was somewhat surprised that American took so long to cut back on its service.
"When you have reduced competition, the traveling public is left with fewer perks and alternatives," Mr. Singleton said.
Mr. Becker acknowledged that the demise of Legend played a factor in the changes in American's service, "but it's only one factor." He blamed the changes more on the soft economy that has hurt airline revenue.
Donna Johnson, owner of Red Bird Travel Plus in DeSoto, said she often recommends American's Love Field flights to people traveling to New York, Los Angeles or Chicago, the three cities the airline serves out of the Dallas airport.
"It's mostly people who would love to go first class, but they can't pay first-class prices," Ms. Johnson said.
She noted with a laugh that she received literature Wednesday from American extolling its Love Field service. The airline didn't mention the cutbacks, Ms. Johnson said.
For most passengers, "I don't think those changes will make much difference. Those are nice amenities that the customers like if they have them, but it makes no difference to them if they don't have them," she said.
I received an email from WSJ asking for my opinion on AA's actions after I made the original post about them dropping the first class service, but was on vacation basking in the Hawaiian sun and was unable to respond in time (poor me).
If anyone has the story text, I'd really appreciate it if you'd post it or shoot me an email to my address. Thanks.
PS: I am also curious about the foot rests: It's not like they weren't already there or that 56-seat planes were so heavy that they were a burden.
I went ahead and posted it here so others who might've missed it could see it. I believe FT was also most likely the starting point for the Dallas Morning News story. (And, no, I don't work for them.)
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AMERICAN AIRLINES' premium service on flights out of Dallas's Love Field is about to be grounded.
On July 1, American will eliminate all amenities that smack of first-class service on flights out of the airport. Although the airline will still fly F-100 jets with only 56 seats, the remainder of the service is being sharply curtailed.
The upgraded meal and table linens will remain, but the hot towels will be history, as will the complimentary beer, wine and Champagne served in crystal stemware. According to an internal memo, footrests are being removed, newspapers will be eliminated, and magazines will be "provisioned at normal levels." Instead of providing pillows and blankets to every passenger, the plane will stock 20 of each.
American began offering "Executive Class Service" from Love Field in May 2000 to compete with upstart Legend Airlines. Legend, which officially became a legend after it filed for bankruptcy-court protection in December, was famous for its plush seats, gourmet cuisine and fawning flight attendants.
"It was surprising to experience such quality, especially from a major carrier such as American," says disappointed flier Robert Winn.
I don't understand why they would remove them once they went to the expense of installing them.
They are not really installed, they are just sitting on the floor unattached to the seat. Could it be that they can use them on other planes being delivered rather than having to buy new ones? Though I agree it seems like a very marginal saving.
1) fuel savings due to reduced weight; and
2) maintenance and spare parts inventory savings.
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