Saturday, February 2, 2013

American Airlines Should Be Ashamed

Five days ago, I was on Tweeter and one of the groups that I was following sent out a tweet bragging about the new Boeing 777-300ER that would start inaugural service between DFWairport and Sao Paulo,Brazil on January 31,2013.
The fact of the matter is that it isn't inaugural service at all. American has been flying that route for more than a few years. It is, however, the first flight in their new 777-300ER  livery with the new logo and paint job. Already, my dislike of the paint job has been expressed as many others have done,as well. The creator of American's old logo even went public that he didn't like the logo and paint job either.

So, when I read the tweet on the 29th, I replied to @dfwairport and ask two questions. You can't ask much in 140 characters per tweet but you can get the point across. My question was: is the plane at DFW or will it be flown in beforehand for the event. The second question was: what time will it push back from the gate?This is information that Logistics knows days in advance generally, especially with a big Public Relations Brew Ha planned. @DFWairport sent me the "fools" reply and  attached a link. Upon opening the link I knew immediately that I was getting the 'blow off". A day later, @DFWairport sent out a tweet to their followers that they had a new instantgram account that had taken flight and wanted every one to submit their photos!. I simply replied "NO" and that was that. Later that day I got an e-mail notice that @DFWairport had responded to my tweet. It said that the plane would leave on January 31. No kidding was my thought in as much as that  was the press release date  the media had been promoting. I replied simply with a" Yes, Thursday is January 31,2013. Bless your Heart."

Today, I had been working with my contacts and was planning on going out to DFW Airport. DFWairport for being a media source to build interest for American was sure shooting people in the tweets today left and right. One guy said he was concerned with the answers he was getting. Other tweeters chimed in on various topics and  some were not happy with @DFWairport's replies. I tweeted that they seemed to be in their own little zone today. That got me a tweet from American. Not wanting to rain on their parade, especially today, I replied with an e-mail address that I if they sent me an e-mail, I would be glad to explain my displeasure with @DFWairport. Quickly, came a reply that it was their mistake that they could not share contact emails with customers and staff.

Since I have never been a customer with American, that pissed me off like a slap in the face. I replied in three tweets numbered 1/3 of 3/3. I Never heard from American again.
In the mean while, my contact came through with some information that would have answered my original questions. On Friday,February 1, American, who had others that had been just as upset with American's sarcastic attitudes showed off their media and communications operation on the 5th floor of the AA headquarters. Also, Southwest opened their media center to the media and I must say that Southwest is so far ahead of American it was almost sad.

What I found out about the 777-300ER
If you know anything about the airline business, you learn quickly that #1, airlines don't usually own their own planes in their fleets and #2 tail numbers are like a birth certificate of an aircraft. A plane without a tail is legally, not an airplane. But when an aircraft gets its tail, the tail number ids that plane forever. Or, at least until the bank sells it to someone else for registration changes or it hits the desert grave yards where the tail is lost/separates when it is scrapped.

I learned that N718AN, a 777-300ER was dispatched from Southern California Logistics (KVCV) Victorville, Ca. as American Flight AAL9708 on January 27,2013 for DFW Airport Dallas (KDFW) and that Wells Fargo Bank Northwest NA Trustee, Salt Lake City, UT owned the craft . It also appears that the plane was flown in under cover of night arriving DFW at 11:24 PM CST on Sunday. Push back time is at 8:35pm tonight at Terminal D,gate D23 with departure as AAL Flight #963. The last I heard the flight was at climbout at 5700 feet and 281 knots headed toward Miami. I'd love to go back to Brazil but it won't be on an American flight 777-300-ER or  anything else American  liveries.

Below, is a link that American Airlines tweeted to me. The airport is the Southern Cal Logistics (KVCV) mentioned above. And, this is the aircraft that was landed at DFW International just before midnight on January 27,2013.

Victorville is in the socal desert just a bit southeast of Edwards Air Force Base, but because this is a Texas blog, its about 5 miles from the Roy Rogers Museum!  And as Roy Rogers and Dale Evans would sing:

Happy Trails to You! 

Credit the link image,below, to American Airline as they sent this to me in a tweet after I had ask them not to insult me further. In the photo, the aircraft appears to be on the ground at KVCV. They have a 150 foot by 15,050 foot runway at Victorville. The military uses it at times for training. You could land almost anything on that runway. If the truth be know, there probably has been some strange landings and sitings there over the years.

The live image that you see (Air Force One)  is owned and copyrighted by dallaspaparasso and is dedicated in the Nota Bene below the image.

http://twitter.com/AmericanAir/status/297088669909647360/photo/1



Air Force One Arriving Love Field  copyright dallaspaparazzo.com

 Nota Bene: The image, Air Force One was inspired by a man that made the documentary," Air Force One: The Planes and the Presidents" that opened at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in 1984. I meet him that same year while attending a pot luck dinner in his home. I still recall the pride and the gleam in his eyes as he talked about a wall in his home filled with pictures,letters and articles about the successful documentary. His wife, had a hand in planning the inaugural of President Richard M. Nixon and had served as the receptionist to Vice-President Spiro T. Agnew. That man was Elliot D. Sluhan and his wife was Maryann Benes Sluhan. Sadly, Mary Ann passed away February,2012; four years to the day of Elliott's passing.
It is, therefore, an honor to dedicate my image, "Air Force One arriving Love FIeld" August,2011, to the memory of Elliott and Maryann Sluhan.


O blest communion, fellowship devine!
We feebly stuggle; they in glory shine,
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
-----William W. How, 1864
For All the Saints, a British Hymn with music by Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906.


edited and corrected from original post.
 

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