American Airlines has announced it is changing aspects of the AAdvantage members program because of the Coronavirus outbreak. The changes are as follows:
- Elite status has been extended for AAdvantage members until January 31, 2022
- Elite status qualifications have been reduced for 2020
- Admiral Club memberships purchased from American Airlines have been extended for 6 months
- Introducing up to $400 special credits for future travel on American Airlines Vacations packages for elite members
- Each dollar spent on eligible AAdvantage co-branded credit cards through the end of 2020 will count for one mile toward your Million Miler status
- Award reinstatement fees have been waived for travel through September 2020
“We are grateful to our AAdvantage members and want to show them that loyalty is a two-way street,” said Bridget Blaise-Shamai, Vice President of Customer Loyalty & Insights and President of the AAdvantage program, in a press release. “When people are ready to fly again, we will be there to help them reconnect with loved ones, friends and colleagues.”
American Airlines has not only shown it is catering to their loyal customers, but also to those in need. American Airlines is donating over 81,000 pounds of food to different food banks across the country thanks to the company’s partnership with Feeding America.
“We saw this as an opportunity to care for the communities where our team members and customers live and work,” said Ron DeFeo, Senior Vice President – Global Engagement for American, on American Airlines’ website. “The challenges facing local food banks and the growing need for families to utilize the resources these organizations offer have been well documented. Once we learned of the surplus, we knew exactly what we were going to do with it.”
Much of this donation came from the surplus of food the airline company didn’t need from its inflight services and Admiral Club lounges. The company has also donated breakfast items as well as fresh produce.
At the time of writing the article on its website, American Airlines had already donated meals to the following food banks:
- 63,000 meals to the Greater Chicago Food Depository
- 26,000 meals to St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix, Arizona
- 4,000 pounds of fresh produce to Equal Heart in Dallas
- 1,100 pounds of milk to Minnie’s Food Pantry in Dallas
- 10,000 food items to the Tarrant Area Food Bank in Fort Worth, Texas