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American Airlines has made significant changes to its AAdvantage Business program, a move following the departure of Chief Commercial Officer Vasu Raja. Raja had previously led a strategy aimed at reducing managed business travel by not offering discounts to companies, asserting that filling planes without these discounts would be more profitable and cost-effective.
The airline also had strained relations with travel agencies by limiting support and pulling the lowest fares from agencies that did not use American's preferred booking technology. Furthermore, it announced plans to prevent customers who booked through certain agencies from earning miles.
In an apparent shift in strategy, American Airlines is now reintroducing commissions for travel agencies selling premium fares and attempting to revive some of their business travel initiatives. They have reversed the decision to end mileage-earning for agency tickets after realizing insufficient business was being conducted through 'New Distribution Capability' systems, which were often unreliable.
