American Airlines Reviews in Chicago, IL Area

Pros

you work with great people.

Cons

working each day dealing with the elements.

Advice to Senior Management

I"m not for giving advice.

Pros

great benefits, including flight benefits, long term employer, great advancement opportunitys, matching 401k plan, possibility to trasnsfer any where in the world

Cons

hard work, low pay, crazy schedules, crazy, angry customers, but you always need to remain nice, politeand profeesional at all times

Advice to Senior Management

poss start out pay higher than 9.00 bucks an hour, job is very hard, startout employess at full time, not just part time

Pros

The people that I work with are from all over the world so it makes the job interesting..
The travel benefits are the best in the industry.
The flexibilty of schedule is favorable.

Cons

The compensation plan is not favorable to the union work groups.
It has been a struggling industry since 2001.
The travel industry has changed since I began my career.

Advice to Senior Management

Remember that the union work groups made alot of concessions during the tough years, compensation should be make accordingly.

Pros

Travel benefits are great, but better for spur of the moment. If you want to make sure you get there, buy a ticket because the flights are so full. The airline business is interesting and there's never a dull moment.

Cons

The business of running an airline seems ancillary to providing operational statistics that can be analyzed. Promotions, particularly in the field locations, seem to be handed out based on "high school" attributes as opposed to actual knowledge or even ability to manage people. There are too many managers that don't "help" or "hurt" the company. They might as well be on vacation. The same can be said for people that don't work there at all. What's the point? As you might imagine, accountability is lacking.

Advice to Senior Management

While I think Mr. Arpey is OK and certainly knowledgeable, there is a vast void of leadership at the next level. Many Sr. VP/VPs of today would be eaten for breakfast by the old CEO, Robert Crandall. It's time to clean house.

Pros

Great if you want to travel. Great job while attending college or just as part time gig for the flight benefits and insurance. There is great flexibility.

Cons

Management is picked based on who you know and not what you know. If you have logic you are working at the wrong company. No appreciation from managers. They are s
Always out to get you. Too many politics and too many small minded people with egos incharge which in turns screws up the operation.

Advice to Senior Management

Get rid of all the middle management. Stop hiring people not because you know them but because of their capabilities

Pros

The benefits, for now, are great. If you can use them. Healthcare costs are raising through the roof and IF you can actually get on an aircraft (flights are ALWAYS full) then it's okay.

Cons

Everything right now. If Our top 1000 management would not take HUGE multimillion dollar bonuses every year while claiming we don't make any money, it would be better company morale.

Advice to Senior Management

Top management needs to be replaced.

Pros

The employee travel program is a major benefit to working for the airline. The people can be very friendly, depending on who's flying that day.

Cons

Job Security is not always there. The airlines are volatile. It's a constant struggle between management and union, especially during contract negotiation time.

Pros

great people to work with. the people that work for AA are friendly and fun. the company culture is not so competitive compared to other corporations.

Cons

advancement is difficult and pay is marginal. i remember that there are so much politics that they always hire their friends . very hard to advance.

Advice to Senior Management

Better incentive. More training and interaction within co-workers is important. Labor groups within the company have low morale it is unfortunate.

Pros

Promotes very diverse workforce. I'm proud to work along side some of the best employees in my field.

Cons

I have zero job security. During the past nine years I've been laid-off three times totaling four years and seven months of lost wages and advancement while at the same time management is rewarding themselves outrageous bonus year after year as the rest of us suffer financially. There's a deep-rooted culture of disrespect and non-communication between management and workers. Management gives select information pertaining to each department on a need-to-know basis without sharing the "big picture," as if we are too ignorant to understand. This often pits department against department resulting in the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing and why. Management will publicly praise our work as needed to gain customers and assist with public relations (PR), but will never reward us financially.

Advice to Senior Management

Invest in your employees first. Treat us as an asset, not as a liability. Descend from your ivory tower and once again become the regular, ethical "common man" you once were when you wore our shoes. We are all very smart. Don't condescend our knowledge and abilities.

Pros

They certainly give you the ability to fly airplanes. Flexible schedules, average travel benefits, average health insurance. Visit lots of different cities.

Cons

Where to begin. Low pay (starts at 23k /yr). Long working hours. Only lipservice in the name of safety. Daily routine of reduced rest overnights followed by long intensive days with little concern over safety and preparedness of its pilots. Accrual of sick time covers roughly one sick trip every 7 -8 months. Expect to get less than 8 hours of rest on some nights.

Advice to Senior Management

Wake up and actually do something to ensure passenger safety, and well rested crews. Stop punishing crew members by docking pay when they inform management they are too fatigued to perform a flight safely. And stop telling us we cost too much when most of us first officers can't even afford an apartment.