American Airlines Creates New Customer Experience Advisory Board

American Airlines (AA) has formed a new Customer Experience Advisory Board with a broad range of experience to guide AA’s continued efforts to ensure all its flyers have the best experience in the sky.

According to the company, the new panel members will be Craig Reid of the Four Seasons, Carol Campbell of The Walt Disney Company, and Lauren Chewning of Marriott. They will join Bill Fitzgerald and Chris Sultemeier to advise Chief Operating Officer David Seymour, Chief Strategy Officer Steve Johnson, and Garboden.

A Record-Breaking Year To Come

American Airlines stated its intention to concentrate on reinventing its customer experience when it recruited its first Chief Customer Officer earlier this year. The airline has since made a number of changes that experts believe are moving American closer to being a luxury brand, as the Dallas Business Journal wrote.

As this author wrote in a previous Simple Flying report, American Airlines is getting ready for what is anticipated to be its most ambitious summer travel season in its almost century-long history. The airline is preparing for a significant spike in traffic by upgrading everything from the check-in desk to the skies.

From May 16 to September 2, American will fly almost 715,000 flights, which means there will be roughly five flights per minute during the peak travel period. David Seymour, American’s Chief Operating Officer, said that:

“American is once again ready for the summer travel season thanks to the more than 130,000 American team members who make our airline safely move every day. We’re set to operate the largest schedules ever at many of our hub airports and have been hard at work for months to ensure our people, aircraft, facilities and technology will deliver for our customers.”

Fresh Eyes In 2025 At American Airlines

One Mile At A Time reported the airline benefits from the new members’ more than 90 years of experience in hospitality and customer insights. As SVP of Data and Intelligence at Marriott, Lauren Chewning is dedicated to leveraging data and insights to increase revenue and customer loyalty across the company’s more than 30 hotel brands and other travel-related products.

Craig Reid spent thirty years in executive positions at Four Seasons before becoming the CEO of Auberge Resorts Collection, where he expanded the luxury portfolio from six to twenty-eight resorts. After more than two decades at Walt Disney, Carol Campbell is currently SVP and Chief Experience Officer at Ascension, where she helped the company reach NPS ratings that are rare in the healthcare sector.

Heather Garboden, American’s Chief Customer Officer, said in the summer travel press release:

“Caring for our customers is at the heart of everything we do, and we know expectations are high when customers are traveling for their hard-earned summer vacations. Whether it’s our redesigned app, improvements to our boarding process or other new technology across the operation we are excited for customers to have a new and improved experience traveling with us this summer.”

More Customer Focused Than Ever Before

American Airlines is testing new technology to optimize departing flights for connecting flyers who might miss their trip at its Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) hub. The airline plans to tailor flight times to get connecting customers on board if it can postpone a departure without affecting its schedule. The goal is for more customers to connect and reach their final destinations, and to automate some current procedures.

American intends to extend the tests to its hub in Charlotte, North Carolina, and then to additional hubs during the summer. The airline has already revamped its app, extended the boarding time on domestic flights, and started a first-of-its-kind program that speeds up international transit. With the opening of a new Flagship Lounge at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and the Flagship Suite on board its newest Boeing 787-9 aircraft.