American to Further Preferred Agency Program Without Loyalty Restrictions

American Airlines may have nixed its plans to limit how AAdvantage loyalty program members can earn miles or points based on booking channels, but the carrier still intends to move forward with its plans to reward agencies it designates as “preferred,” according to copies of emails the carrier sent to corporate clients and travel agencies that BTN reviewed.

The memos, signed by American SVP of partnerships and retailing Scott Laurence, do not provide any specifics about the program, but noted that agencies would “soon receive additional information about our preferred agency program and upcoming incentives to reward agencies who continue to promote and book travel through New Distribution Capability technology.” 

Corporate clients were told they also would “soon receive additional information about our preferred agency program, and our sales and distribution strategy.”

The preferred agency program was announced in February, with plans first to begin May 1 but postponed to July 11, and would have required agencies to book at least 30 percent of their American volume through NDC channels by April 21 to qualify as preferred. That figure would increase to 50 percent by Oct. 31 and 70 percent by April 30, 2025. It was unclear how those percentages would be measured. 

The emails also reiterated comments made by American CEO Robert Isom on Wednesday during an investor conference that the carrier no longer planned to change how AAdvantage members earned miles or points. Isom also noted that the carrier had moved “faster than we should have” in terms of its NDC strategy, and it “didn’t execute well.” 

That mea culpa came one day after American announced that chief commercial officer Vasu Raja, a key architect of the carrier’s distribution strategy, would leave the company in June.  

Each memo noted Isom’s comments that the carrier was “revisiting our policies” to give corporate travelers and agencies’ mutual customers “the best experience on American, and to ensure we’re easy to do business with.”

Additionally, Laurence noted that American is “holistically adapting our approach to prioritize that no matter where travelers book, they shouldn’t be negatively impacted by our policy changes in the future. The decisions we make are with our mutual customers in mind, and making our agency and corporate partners’ experience the best it can be.”

American did not provide any further information about the preferred agency program.