Skift Take

Speaking to Skift, the former British Airways CEO gave his informed perspective on the problems at American Airlines.

Last week saw a mea culpa of colossal proportions at American Airlines. Robert Isom, the carrier’s chief executive, acknowledged that the company had “dug ourselves a hole” through a misguided commercial strategy. 

This culminated in the lowering of its financial outlook for the current quarter and the departure of its chief commercial officer Vasu Raja. 

As we reported last week, there are multiple factors at play — but a key element has been the botched rollout of a new system for selling American Airlines fares. 

At its heart is a technology platform known as New Distribution Capability, or NDC. The plan had been that the airlin