American Airlines News

Despite the radical changes to airline loyalty programs, the branded credit card remains one of the industry's most profitable and productive marketing programs.

American's international Premium Economy is a significant upgrade from standard economy -- and for a while, their best passengers will be able to try it out for free.

Delta, United, and American wanted the U.S. State Department to take unprecedented action against Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Qatar Airways. But the government didn't opt for a brash approach. This may well be the beginning of the end of the complaints.

Fewer upgrades are on the horizon for the 1% as airlines start to shift upgrade processes.

For decades, airlines have followed a predictable boom-and-bust cycle. But have U.S. carriers finally figured out how to change that? American's CEO thinks so. It'll take some time learn if he's right, though.

American's AAdvantage members are NOT happy.

It's only one route, but both American and Delta are trying to do all they can to win the right to fly between Los Angeles and Beijing. Both airlines feel the route is vital to their trans-Pacific ambitions.

How the ranks of AAdvantage members expand or contract after these changes will now largely depend on whether American can compete on product instead of loyalty.

Two decades after the birth of online travel, more than two dozen founders and key players exclusively tell Skift how it all happened. This is a story of a history that changed the future of travel forever. Dig in, this will take a while.

Airlines reinvented their loyalty programs in 2015. They're doing damage control in 2016.