American Airlines improving its Los Angeles International Airport terminal despite bankruptcy

Even though it's mired in bankruptcy proceedings, American Airlines is touting a series of improvements to its terminal at Los Angeles International Airport - one of the five hubs the carrier will heavily develop as it restructures financially.

The aim, officials say, is to improve service to travelers as a way to drum up business and drive down costs.

"We're in bankruptcy, but that doesn't mean we're not improving the customer experience," Mary Frances Fagan, director of corporate communications for American Airlines, said while showing off a series of renovations inside LAX's Terminal 4.

"We're proceeding ahead with business as usual and implementing plans we've had on the drawing board for a while," Fagan said. "One of those things was make the facility we have here at LAX bigger, better and more useful for the customers."

Just days before Fort Worth, Texas-based American filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November, the company opened its first Flagship Check-in facility for discerning travelers passing through LAX.

The premium concept - reserved for select travelers or those who pay an extra $125 - is akin to registering at a hotel, complete with a doorman, red carpet and personalized service hidden just past a discrete doorway tucked between Terminals 4 and 5.

After checking in, travelers are whisked up an elevator and moved to the front of the security line.

Two months later, crews literally worked

overnight to transform the entire ticketing lobby inside Terminal 4 to resemble similar concepts adopted at airports in Chicago and Orlando.

After complaints that the space was too small and narrow, American Airlines created additional room by equipping the west end of the terminal with six banks of self-serve kiosks, where coach passengers can retrieve their own tickets.

The east end of the building was refurbished for first-class travelers, complete with tall signs that serve as dividers. Travelers are then able to take an escalator up to a new security station that sits above the check-in desk.

The simple move eliminated paparazzi photographers who had previously gathered on a bridge that led to the terminal's original security checkpoint, which is still used by coach passengers.

"We knew there was an issue at the checkpoints with the paparazzi creating a logjam and disturbing our celebrity passengers," Fagan said. "You just don't see them gathered up there anymore."

As part of its restructuring plan, American will cut flights from smaller airports while bolstering departures from LAX and airports in Dallas, Chicago, Miami and New York by 20 percent over the next five years.

The carrier also is purchasing new fuel-efficient planes that will lead to cost savings over the long run, Fagan said. In the next several months, American also plans to upgrade several airline gates inside LAX's Terminal 4.

Fagan declined to say how much the airline is spending on the terminal renovations, citing it as "proprietary information" while noting that many of the plans were in place before the carrier filed for bankruptcy in November.

"When you spend a little money to improve customer service ... it makes people want to come here and it ultimately saves jobs," Fagan said.

Ever since American filed for bankruptcy, the carrier's flight attendants, mechanics and ground workers have staged demonstrations to protest a plan to eliminate 13,000 jobs while also reducing wages, health benefits and pension contributions.

Last week, American executives asked a bankruptcy judge to break its labor contracts in an attempt to speed up the company's reorganization. A ruling is expected later this month.

"I understand American Airlines has got to sell its product by beautifying its facilities, but they need to show some of that same respect to their employees," said Donny Tyndall, president of Transport Workers Union Local 502, which represents 1,150 maintenance and ground crew workers at airports in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Las Vegas, Tucson and Phoenix.

"Just a small portion of that renovation could save hundreds of jobs for this company, but instead they are rubbing it in our faces," Tyndall said. "It's really sad to see these fine people who have given their adult lives to this company and then treated like they are nothing." 

Source:  http://www.dailybreeze.com