Dear American Airlines. One simple change to your service would signal a break from the past and a bright premium future. Change the coffee, and I have a specific suggestion for how you do this.
When United Airlines CEO Jeff Smisek was forced to step down over corruption charges, he was quickly replaced by legacy Continental Airlines board member Oscar Munoz. Munoz set to turn the airline around. While current CEO Scott Kirby is credited with much of the work elevating United as a premium airline and turning around its fortunes, a lot of the heavy lift was done by Munoz.
- He traveled the system talking to employees, giving them hope for the future and motivating them to become a part of the airline’s turnaround. He spent tremendous time connecting with the front line.
- He reversed Smisek-era cost cuts. While Smisek’s face was known to United flyers as the one promising ‘changes you’re going to like’ from the United-Continental merger, he was relentless in cheapening the product. His effort to cut $2 billion in costs was given the Orwellian name Project Quality.
The Polaris business class seat was green lit under Smisek, but it was Munoz who signed off on all of the service elements. This makes sense because Polaris is, above all else, the most efficient way to squeeze seats into a business class cabin while maintaining lie flat direct aisle access.
But Munoz didn’t start the turnaround with business class. The first thing he did – a real symbolic break from the past – was focus on two things in economy.
- Coffee. The onboard coffee was much-hated Fresh Brew, still used by American Airlines. Flyers derided it as ‘fresh poo’. They didn’t just get rid of that coffee, the introduced a genuine premium brand in Illy.
- Snacks. They brought out the Stroopwafel, beloved by flyers, and which pairs well with the coffee – demonstrating a real thoughtfulness in the product that had been lacking
I tell this story because American Airlines (1) says they want to be premium now (since competing at the low-end of the marketplace hasn’t worked out well, indeed with their high costs they need to earn a revenue premium) and (2) has focused on premium passengers exclusively so far – talking up the new business class suites that are coming, a new business class lounge in Philadelphia, and more first class seats that will trade off with coach legroom.
If American Airlines wants to be a premium carrier, it is important to remember that most passengers fly economy. They may see first class, and eventually buy up there – which is why seeing a beautiful cabin is important for sales, and seeing passengers enjoying themselves with an elevated service underscores how important simple things like predeparture beverages can be.
But they aren’t going to want to fly American if there aren’t little touches that make the experience just a bit more human. And why not start with the coffee, like United did?
Plus, if Eurowings can pull this off in Europe surely American Airlines can manage it:
European value airline Eurowings is taking in-flight coffee to new heights with the trial of this innovative self-contained coffee cart!
Cappuccinos, macchiatos, and espressos are no longer just for premium cabins—this game-changing cart prepares barista-style coffee and hot chocolate at the touch of a button, right at passengers’ seats. The fully autonomous cart comes equipped with its own battery, water, and milk supply, allowing cabin crew to serve fresh coffee on demand during the service in the cabin.
Today, coffee on American Airlines serves just one purpose: covering up smells in the lavatory.
But come on, wouldn’t you prefer an airline offering this for your next trip in economy, provided that price, schedule and legroom were constant?
And I actually think that flight attendants would love providing this service – it would give them something to be proud of. And if you give them the tools, and pride, they’ll be excited and provide excellent service.
That needs to be paired, of course, with the first Oscar Munoz lesson of getting out and spending time with the front line, motivating them and describing the bright future that they can be part of, that you need them to be part of.
Former American Airlines Chief Executive Doug Parker once said that flight attendants shouldn’t receive profit sharing because they don’t affect profit. That attitude is part and parcel of why service on American Airlines suffers. Employees don’t think it matters. They’ve also been told for years that they are chasing Spirit and Frontier, and so that’s the level of service they naturally target. But – and now that they have the same profit sharing formula as Delta – explaining to them how they do matter for profit is another great place to start.