Skift Take
Deep down, American Airlines President Robert Isom is an operations guy. We've rarely seen someone get so excited while talking about what it takes to make sure an airplane departs on time.
At American Airlines, some airport employees call Robert Isom Capt. D0, an homage to his obsession with on-time departures.
It's a nickname Isom likes, he told me last month at Skift Global Forum, because he believes D0 — that's airline speak for flights that leave on time — is the most important metric for operations. He became animated speaking about the "choreography" required for punctual departures, from what happens at ticketing counters to fueling, catering, and cleaning.
"If you depart on time, guess what?" said Isom, American's president. "You have a really good chance of arriving on time. It's a surprising correlation between the two, right?"
American is not perfect. For the first seven months of this year, it ranked seventh among 10 U.S. carriers in arrival performance, according to U.S. Department of Transportation data. Its on-time arrival performance, including codeshare partners, was more than five points worse than Delta Air Lines.
The rigidity can also cause drama at the airport, where it can produce uneven customer service, as agents may close out flights before connecting passengers arrive. Isom said he understands the criticism, but said in many cases keeping operational integrity helps more customers. American has 6,700 daily flights, and somet
