American Airlines Turning Away From Business Travel

[gimmethesimplelife]

I read online yesterday that given business travel both domestic and international is at a standstill, AA is seeking to restructure it's business in such a way as to.minimize reliance on high paying last minute business travellers subsidizing the cheap fares in steerage class.

Wow. What is that going to look like? And how high are airfares going to go now for everyday people? Rob

[Tradd]

People who want/need to fly are going to do it regardless. I despise the whole flying experience so I don’t do it. Last time was 2015 and just ORD to CLT.

A lot more people are driving now. Think that more will be doing road trips for a while, but we’ll have to see.

[iris lilies]

I don’t like flying but I’ve got to do it to get to Europe. So if they raise the price is higher give me a whole lot more room in a more pleasant flying experience, I am now in the financial position to pay for that.

[Teacher Terry]

It really depends on how expensive it gets if we feel it’s worthwhile.

[pinkytoe]

I think that like a lot of other things - air travel will get a reset. Perhaps consolidations or mergers. That is the only way I can see that prices might not be too high given the number of people not flying for who knows how long.

[catherine]

I see greatly reduced schedules. I won't see 8 daily flights from Newark to Burlington VT, that's for sure. But I do think air travel will go back to business as usual for the most part--not right away, but eventually.

[JaneV2.0]

Business travel is rarely necessary; it's expensive and bad for the environment. I'd like to think that the pandemic has led to a rethinking of the whole concept.

[bae]

I don’t like flying but I’ve got to do it to get to Europe.

I drive pretty much everywhere in the US when I need to travel, and I've decided to either keep my road-trip sedan (which rarely gets any use on the island) or perhaps sell it and get a very small camper-van for off-island long-distance trip, in a nod to today's Pandemic World.

I still need to fly to get to Europe to visit my daughter, I'm not committed enough to sail there. The cost isn't a particular issue, when I go, I tend to stay for a month or three, so most of the cost is on-the-ground lodgings/food.

Iceland Air still keeps offering me super deals, with increasingly-nice cancel/reschedule policies.

[jp1]

If time were not a concern I would drive to a lot of the places I currently fly to. But it’s simply not realistic for me to drive to Seattle and Portland for a couple of days of work meetings. Not only time wise but my employer would balk if I submitted an expense report for 1600 miles plus food stops along the way.

Of course the above describes my pre-covid life. I haven’t been on a plane or to a face to face business meeting since March. Once covid is behind us American Airlines will likely re-evaluate and potentially pivot to a new plan because people like me will be back on the metaphorical road again for work travel.

[Tradd]

Business travel is rarely necessary; it's expensive and bad for the environment. I'd like to think that the pandemic has led to a rethinking of the whole concept.

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.

[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.
3423

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.