Speaking at an employee event last Thursday, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom acknowledged the operational meltdown AA experienced thanks to Winter Storm Fern, but seemed complacent with the fact that so many flight attendants had to sleep on airport floors and argued that they were still better off than United Airlines employees, despite a dismal profit report.
As that call was unfolding, AA was recovering from an operational meltdown from Winter Storm Fern, which led to the cancellation of over 9,000 flights. As other carriers recovered from the storm, the operational spiral got worse at American, with crew scheduling systems essentially losing track of where flight attendants were.
The result did not only adversely impact passengers, it trapped crew members at airports: away from home and without any hotel availability or ability to reach the crew scheduling desk due to multi-hour hold times, many flights attendants were forced to sleep on floor or chairs at U.S. airports.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on Live and Let's Fly.
