American Airlines Turning Away From Business Travel

[JaneV2.0]

I've seen instances where my old employer, Megacorp , spent thousands on distant meetings that could have been obviated by a printed handout.

[SteveinMN]

Agreed. When I’d see people arrive from overseas for meetings at my old job, the long expensive travel seemed worthless for a few meetings.

isurvived.jpg

Got ribbons like this for DW when she was in the middle of things at work. Truer words were never spoken.

I don't anticipate that the "economy" flight experience is going to get any better for American's turning to leisure passengers for profits. Last-minute business tickets were not inexpensive and they funded a lot of the loss-leader fares us casual travelers got to use. Flight schedules likely will be reduced (particularly since most leisure travelers have some flexibility in how long they sit in an airport) but expenses per flight are not going to be hugely different. If fewer seats are filled, that will require more revenue per passenger. Without many buying the expensive seats, that will fall to those who are flying. We can only hope that they return a little of the price increases in the form of a better experience.

[Tradd]

Haha, Steve , that's a good one!

[catherine]

Steve, I LOVE that ribbon. A Merck client once asked if I would consider applying for a job there, and I told her "as long as I wouldn't have to go to any meetings." And she laughed and stopped asking.