Make American Airlines Great Again: A Five-Point Blueprint

American Airlines has finally awakened and realized that it will continue to fall behind Delta Air Lines and United Airlines unless it offers a more premium experience for its passengers. Here’s how it can be done.

5 Ways American Airlines Can Be Great Again

While AA was profitable in 2024, it once again lagged behind Delta and United and that appears to be a systemic problem for the Dallas-based carrier. Costs are high and yet AA is simply not able to squeeze a premium yield from passengers to pay for that high cost.

Now the carrier recognizes that something fundamental must change. Aviation insider JonNYC shared a memo from Steve Johnson, American’s Vice Chair and Chief Strategy Officer, that notes changes that are coming:

Heather Garboden will take on the new role of Chief Customer Officer leading a unified Customer Experience team. It is abundantly clear the competitive battleground in the network airline business has, like never before, shifted sharply to product and customer service. As our ability to outperform in revenue will depend increasingly on embracing that reality and delivering a different and elevated customer experience, especially for our premium and most loyal customers. Heather will help us all embrace this change, bringing a new, thoughtful and holistic approach to designing every aspect of the customer journey, and partner closely with the Operations team to consistently deliver it. Her new team will ensure we put the customer at the center of our strategic thinking and offer products our team members are proud to deliver and our customers are excited to buy.

Opinion followed by Steve Johnson memo pic.twitter.com/M4Kw3SSyRB

— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) February 14, 2025

What does this mean? For the last few months, I’ve flown AA more than any other carrier and I love playing armchair CEO, so here are my thoughts on what AA must do to try to move the needle. There’s nothing revolutionary here. It’s the little things…

1. Clean Planes That Run On Time

For years, AA has said if it can just get the operation right, people will be happy. Yes and no. A smooth operation should be a given. That doesn’t necessarily mean a 100% on-time rate, but when inevitable delays occur, AA needs to do a far better job of communicating (an area where United Airlines shines).

For example, my wife flew American Airlines yesterday. Her inbound aircraft was delayed long before AA delayed her flight; I knew she would be delayed long before any official delay. And when AA did delay her light, it was in 15-minute rolling delays (she ultimately took off 2.5 hours late). This is so common…and so unnecessary.

When a plane takes off late, who realistically thinks it can land, deplane, and be cleaned in 15-20 minutes? Post the delay immediately, communicate why, let passengers track the inbound aircraft, and watch how much happier they are even when there is a delay.

And then there’s the matter of onboard product. AA must maintain what it has. As I recently lamented, it has essentially given up on its Airbus A321T aircraft…the planes are just falling apart. Who would possibly pay a premium for that? Who would go out of their way to fly American Airlines on a plane that is falling apart on a flight that is delayed without adequate communication?

This is such a low-hanging fruit.

2. More Food On More Flights

Being a premium carrier is not limited to premium cabins. AA misses out greatly by not selling “real” food in economy class and offering meal service windows in premium cabins that are narrower than before the pandemic.

Imagine if AA served something, even if just a hot scone or ramekin of warmed mixed nuts, on every single flight in the front cabin? Imagine if AA offered salads and sandwiches for purchase onboard shorter flights to those in economy class, many of whom may not have had a chance to eat before the flight?

What if AA ditched its disgusting Fresh Brew Coffee for a better brand and actually offered espresso in first class on all flights?

I don’t buy that people do not care about stuff like this. I do. My friends do. My colleagues do. People notice and people are willing to pay a premium for a premium product.

Introducing small elements like single-origin coffee or fresh-squeezed orange juice would lead to far higher customer satisfaction scores…try it.

3. Free Wi-Fi

The Wi-Fi internet situation on AA is incredibly uncompetitive right now, with high prices and speeds that no longer beat Delta or United. Wi-Fi is free on Delta and soon-to-be free (currently $8) on United. But a domestic flight pass on AA can run over $35. It’s ridiculous…this is 2025 and AA needs to offer fast, free gate-to-gate wi-fi onboard to all passengers.

4. Flight Attendants Who Actually Care

I haven’t shared about my latest AA flight yet, but the service was so comically bad, not in a hostile way, but just in the laidback and unprofessional attitude of the flight attendants.

While AA has some amazing, wonderful flight attendants, it also has many who are just going through the motions. It shows! People notice.

Why are we so willing to accept that service on East Asian carriers will always be better? Certainly you’ve had a flight on US carrier where the service was outstanding…that must be replicated and I refuse to accept that there is no room for improvement or that the service culture is too ingrained.

5. A Differentiated Loyalty Program

Of the big three legacy carriers, American Airlines has the best loyalty program right now. It must build up on that and resist the urge to devalue like Delta and United have done.

I think the days of complimentary elite upgrades are over in any practical sense, but offering an award chart with meaningful redemptions for those who are loyal (as AA does now), will bring business and will build loyalty.

It’s often said that AA makes money with AAdvantage and loses money flying. It’s true…and all the more reason not to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

CONCLUSION

You have to spend money to make money…and AA will need to spend for a premium product before it earns premium revenue. Ironically, the good news is that AA currently doesn’t do the little things right, so it can adjust aircraft maintenance and communication in fairly short order. But I don’t think AA has to start from scratch to start competing with Delta and United. Instead, it must demonstrate incremental progress while continuing to build its route map and keep its loyalty program strong.