American Airlines will now pay you for travel mishaps
Most flyers have been inconvenienced by an airline, but few have anything to show for it. Now one carrier is offering to pay up for its mistakes.
Effective immediately, American Airlines (AAL) employees will be able to offer on-the-spot compensation to travelers for small inconveniences at airports. It will be available in-flight later this year. The compensation will come in the form of miles, and can only be distributed to customers enrolled in the AAdvantage loyalty program.
Lindsey Marcin, a spokeswoman for American Airlines, says the initiative has been put into place to keep small issues from escalating.
“It goes back to giving team members the tools they need to do their jobs and solve problems on the spot,” Martin told Yahoo Finance. “It allows us to provide a better customer service experience for customers.”
The smartphones of American Airlines customer service employees will be equipped with software called iSolve, which allows them to instantly award compensation. Some inconveniences that could earn you miles include missing a connection because your plane arrived late or getting downgraded to a lower seat class.
Flight attendants will have iSolve installed on their tablets later this year, allowing them to offer in-flight compensation for things like broken seats, meal shortages or malfunctioning entertainment systems.
United Airlines also uses iSolve to compensate travelers.
The ability to compensate travelers is just the latest development in American Airlines’ efforts to keep customers happy. Earlier this month, the airline announced that all flight attendants will be required to take de-escalation training to better deal with conflict. This comes after the April suspension of a flight attendant for fighting with a passenger over a stroller.
In total, 65,000 American Airlines employees will take the training, including all workers who interact directly with passengers.
Brittany is a reporter at Yahoo Finance.
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