American offers less to stranded travelers By Alison Maxwell, Dan Reed and Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY In a move it says will save millions, American Airlines has quietly cut=20 back on free meals and lodging for stranded passengers. The nation's largest airline also has capped the amount of compensation it= =20 will offer to entice passengers into voluntarily surrendering their seats=20 on overbooked flights. American officials acknowledge the move likely will= =20 increase the number of passengers who are involuntarily bumped. American=20 recognizes the cutbacks "will cause some initial discomfort for both=20 front-line staff and customers," states an internal memo on the issue=20 obtained by USA TODAY. Passenger advocates say the move raises questions=20 about whether airlines will roll back customer-friendly policies enacted=20 three years ago. "Travelers are getting numb to all of" the cutbacks and=20 fee increases, says Kevin Mitchell of the Business Travel Coalition. The=20 other major airlines say they have made no changes in their policies. What American enacted on Sept. 9: =B7 Meals. Meal vouchers are no longer offered to customers on= domestic=20 flights when a delay or cancellation occurs during the day and customers=20 won't be required to stay overnight. The policy applies regardless of=20 whether the delay or cancellation was American's fault. International=20 passengers are offered a meal for delays longer than four hours that are=20 caused by an issue within American's control. The amount of meal vouchers= =20 has been standardized. All passengers will receive $10 for breakfast or=20 lunch, $20 for dinner. In the past, coach customers received less than=20 first- or business-class passengers and top frequent fliers. =B7 Hotels. The airline is tightening policies when it comes to giving= =20 stranded passengers free hotel rooms. Rooms are now given only for delays=20 or cancellations within the airline's control. =B7 Bumping. Passengers who voluntarily give up seats will be offered= =20 no more than $300 credit for domestic flights, $500 for transcontinental=20 and $800 for Hawaiian, Alaskan or international flights. In the past,=20 flight attendants offered up to $1,000 credit for a future flight to=20 recruit volunteers. Involuntarily bumped passengers will still get up to $200 and a seat on the= =20 next flight. The amount doubles if there is no alternative available.=20 Government rankings show that among major airlines, American and its Eagle= =20 commuter affiliate had the fewest involuntary bumps during the first six=20 months of 2002. American is willing to "accept a few more involuntary=20 denied boardings" given the financial reality, spokesman Marty Heires says.= =20 American lost $495 million in the second quarter. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (ReadyMix) http://www.readymix.co.tt/ (ReadyMix Cement Ltd) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************