The Virtues of Gerard Arpey

By Robert Wilonsky Tue., Sep. 7 2010 at 9:14 AM

Categories: Probably Insignificant Aviation News

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Back in May, you may recall, JP Morgan analyst Jamie Baker kinda gave it to American Airlines CEO Gerard Arpey during a first-quarter earnings conference call. Said Baker to Arpey, following a discussion of dwindling earnings and a vague "flight plan" for the future, "I guess you just don't sound all that fired up." Nevertheless, reminds The Street this morning in a glowing profile of Arpey, Baker still recommended American stock. Why? Because, deep down, Arpey -- like Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding -- is a very moral man.

An excerpt:

In an interview in his Dallas office, Arpey's commitment to principle came through even more plainly than on the calls. "This company stands for something, more than just any old company," he declared. "Gradually, it will emerge as a successful company that honored its commitments and its pension obligations and that was guided by principles of doing what's right.

"The path we have taken has created cost challenges for us," Arpey acknowledged. "But I believe there is something misguided about how we measure success, if success is bankruptcy, giving pension obligations to taxpayers and not paying back creditors. By that measure, we have failed."

Which is nice and all. But, remind me, when does Virgin America start flying out of DFW? Oh, right.

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AA consistently gets the lowest marks for customer satisfaction, flight delays, and lost baggage. Facts are facts. I'll fly SW and you take your worldly sophisticated ass on that old, worn out super 80. And when that flying dumpster airline goes belly up, you can go Greyhound.
I cannot wait for all these airlines to go bankrupt and let all the foreign low cost carriers move in.
@The Big Guy - I'll go ahead and speak for most of us peons when I say we don't expect to "have our asses kissed because we shelled out $400 for a plane ticket." . We just simply expect airlines to treat their customers like we have to treat ours, and for the their employees not to act like, well, you know, you....
Let me try and recap 1) The planes are dirty 2) The fares are confusing 3) The fees are high 4) The front line people are mean wahh wahhh wahhh wahhh wahh If you don't like it, drive. Or move to a city that costs 50% more to live in, but you can get Virgin or Jet Blue. Because those of us who fly a lot on AA have made peace with the system, and guess what - we don't care about you. We don't pay fees becuase we don't have to - we all have "status" We laugh at you waiting in line for a gate agent after a flight canceled while we changed our flights from our phone while on the plane. We laugh at you arguing with the TSA about your hair gel. We laugh at your overstuffed 60 lb luggage. We look on in disgust as you berate gate agents and flight attendants over things clearly not in their control. We don't care about the food on the flight. We eat before we get on the plane, or bring our own. We don't care if the front line folks are nice. The system is almost completely automated, so one really never has to interact with a human (hurray!). I have dozens of clients who fly millions of miles a year, from all over the country,and none of the other domestic carriers are any better, and in many cases worse. You Klampets are buying a bus ticket, not a room at the Ritz. To expect to have your asses kissed becuase you shelled out $400 for a plane ticket is ludicrous.
I swore off AA in the early 80's, I fly SW and DL. It's the sheer arrogance, still there when I have no choice but to use AA; you oughta be thrilled we let a low-life like you on our fine airline.' And, feels like I've just walked into the house of a couple that's had a slug-fest. From my last flights, MD80's are ancient planes, they stink like a diesel. Which they are. AA is a predator, I'm hoping the day is fast arriving when it gets a payback. Maybe Virgin America is it. Reading these, it's not just me who feels this way. You'd think AA might convene a focus group to try to learn why, develop a plan to remedy. They won't. It's the arrogance.
Like it or not, airlines are a service industry. The simple fact that AA has a stranglehold on Dallas-area air travel does not exempt them from the need to provide halfway decent customer service. For the most part, the gate agents, flight attendants, and other customer service staff are just doing their jobs, and are as polite as they can be under the circumstances. However, one negative impression undermines all the work that everyone else has done. When we do run across the employee who's acting like an ass, it ruins the experience and creates a negative reputation for the airline as a whole. Anon way up above is right. AA would be well-served to generate much more of a culture of customer service. If you make your customers happy, they'll come back. If you make them hate you, they'll leave.
Driving by the former Legend terminal always makes me more than a little sad. Sick too. Best. Airline. Ever. Though friends who've flown Virgin say it's the second coming of.
Not just the Wright amendment, but Legend airlines as well. I liked Legend and think the concept could have been successful if not run over by AA.
@Bob - my customers don't feel the need to walk on eggshells or kiss my ass. I'm not doing them a favor by bringing my product to them. The airline industry might be wise to consider that. . To paraphrase any small business owner on the planet - stop treating your customers like they're not important to you, or you may not have any left.
I wouldn't consider AA's conduct during their campaign to keep the Wright Amendment monopoly protection in place exactly "moral": - pseudo grassroots campaign featuring made up f "facts" - pressuring recipients of inflated no-bid contracts at DFW to do AA's bidding - falsely threatening to turn Love Field into a more hellish version of JFK if restrictions were loosened - etc., etc.
It doesn't cost any more for an employee to not be a complete asshole. That's a corporate culture problem, not a cost problem.
I don't think it is fair to paint all AA employees as providing, "shitty and rude service," Rooster. It just isn't true. Many passengers do not treat these hardworking folks with respect, and it pains me because it clearly pains them. AS Patrick Swayze said in the movie "Roadhouse," rule #1 is "be nice" to those serving you. And to paraphrase Paul Westerberg, stop treating them like Waitresses in the Sky. They will return what you give them.
Think Bob has come most close to the truth. I fly every other week and have experience with most carriers. Other than Southwest, AA on average is better than the rest. I've experienced equipment failures, flight delays, less than clean aircraft, etc, with them all. Since AA has the most flights out of DFW it's the carrier most loacals have experience with.
@Sotiredofitall - No, AA is loathed because they give shitty, rude service, combined with a fare structure more confusing than trying to transcribe the Dead Sea scrolls. . I personally don't give two shits about how they do v. their competitors.
Big Guy - I will stop loathing AA the company when they do a better job of buying oil futures, turning around airplanes and managing operating expenses. All of these things have contributed to dirty seats and the nickle and diming. Also, the management/union model is not pretty at any of the airlines, but it has been particularly acrimonious since the Crandall days. Gerald, can you be more proactive with incentives? Unions, can you pretend that you are really not a subcontractor disguised as AA employees? And can you remember that margins for airlines are horrendous? That said, my good experiences with AA employees (not the dirty and late planes) have far outweighed my bad experiences. Of course, I am extremely nice to these people who have very tough and stressful jobs. Maybe it pays off?
@Sotiredofitall They are loathed for the very reason of which you speak. They are a large company and many people have been affected by them, and by affected, I mean kicked in the crotch.
AA is loathed for the same reason IBM, the Yankees, Jerry Jones, and the USA are loathed. They're more successful that their competitors. Could some of this be nothing more than base jealousy?
I guess if I understood the business I could overlook dirty planes, poor service across the board, and charges out the yangfoo. I'll keep my head in the sand and fly out of Love field. Thanks anyway.
@The Big Guy - which makes up 99.9999% of thier customer base?
American is a helluva lot better than Frontier, on which I had the misfortune to fly to Chicago via Denver. Never again on those rickety planes with stewardesses that were on the first Wright Bros flight and thought growling was a pleasantry. I'm not too sure about the morality of this guy though.
Only customers who do not understand the airline business could loath AA
I wonder if this guy knows his company is loathed by both its customers and employees?