It’s not every day a major corporation takes public accountability for its mistakes, even less often in front a room full of the very people it alienated. But that’s exactly what happened Wednesday in Montego Bay as American Airlines Scott Laurence, Senior Vice President of Partnership Strategy addressed the crowd during Sandals Jamaica Love Showcase.
“I want to talk to the travel advisors that are in the room and say American is back. We turned our back on our most important customers with a strategy that did not work well. We’re back, we’re present and we’re the same. We’re doing a bit of an apology tour to let you know we listened to you.”
The mistake Laurence is referring to is of course the controversial move to bypass travel agents via its NDC. As TravelPulse reported in May, The NDC technology was touted as a richer airline shopping experience for buyers and American Airlines had set a deadline for distribution channels to be able to connect to it. Several agencies had protested the deadline issued by American, but the airline continued to plod forward with its proposed changes. The airline’s new system also angered travel agencies that were not able to access all of the carrier’s fares as they had previously. The changes made it harder to sell tickets on American flights.
What’s more, in February, American Airlines had said it would limit some travel agency bookings from being eligible for AAdvantage frequent flyer miles.
Laurence says the correction includes bringing back content that was incredibly important to agents and bringing back its sales support team, of which they’ve increased by about 25% by hiring over 100 people.
“My commitment to you is that you're eager and continue to move forward and take steps toward you. I promise you we'll take 10 steps toward you and hope that you'll take one toward us.
We're very appreciative of the patience that we've gotten from everyone. We will continue to move forward in terms of the agency community and making sure that we sign the kind of agreements that create the right sense that people travel.”
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