American Airlines introduces new premium class services

American Airlines, which has been receiving poor ratings in customer satisfaction, will add new check-in and boarding services for premium-class passengers, the airline announced on Monday.

The largest carrier in the U.S. has said that it will provide priority check-in for its top customers, and at a number of the nation’s larger airports, will provide priority security screening as well. Starting on September 30, there will also be one boarding lane designated for premium class passengers.

The new service features, called PriorityAAccess, will be available to passengers traveling business class and first class, and also for those paying full fare in coach and for top levels members of the AAdvantage and oneworld Alliance programs.

American’s managing director of the customer experience, Mark Mitchell, noted that the airline is introducing services its customers have said they want. “PriorityAAccess benefits provide a differentiated experience for our top customers at the ticket counter, at security checkpoints, and at the gate,” he added.

By the end of October, the carrier expects that the rollout of PriorityAAccess will be complete.

In a recent J.D. Power and Associates survey, American Airlines was came in fifth of eight carriers based in North America in regard to customer satisfaction, ranking behind Alaska and Continental, which tied for the top stop, and also behind Delta and Air Canada, which came in third and fourth. US Airways was ranked sixth and Northwest and United were tied for last place.

www.aa.com