DISQUS

JOHNb · 1 month ago

Okay - so a guy got fired. He violated an NDA, and he did so WHILE USING HIS CORPORATE EMAIL ACCOUNT. 'nuff said on that.

For all you apologists saying "well things just work different in a big company - you can't expect good design or rapid change from a big company..." or even "It's really hard to effect change in a big company," may I offer the following viewpoint:

Then that company is a bloated calcified remnant of the 20th-century industrial age, and unless it manages to completely change that corporate culture and mindset it is doomed to failure. Period. No ifs, ands or buts. (Gov't bailouts can only extend so far and for so long...)

This is the 21st Century - the information age. The era when technology, culture, and economic shifts are measured in months and years instead of generations. The transition to corporate structures that are modular and agile in order to adapt to and meet the needs of the organization and all its customers is truly an evolutionary shift in how businesses are run. New companies are born every day with this structure. Other companies are currently making, or have already made that transition. A few more of the old guard may clue in and follow along. But any large company that doesn't get that the rules have fundamentally changed in the last 5-10 years is dead. They might lumber along for another decade or two - there's a lot of momentum stored up in these mega-corporations... but they will eventually die unless they evolve, and I think that's the lesson of this whole exchange with AA. It's a company that has no interest at all (from the top level) in trying to truly change and adapt.

Adelas · 1 month ago

This comment is right on the money. They need to change, or they will die.

However, I wanted to point out that Mr. Curtis' tone toward the CEO is inflammatory and his comments about said CEO's level of personal responsibility for every decision are unrealistic. Decisions at big corporations like this are not made (finalized, at least) by a single individual. Even if that individual was a trailblazing customerlover (which I am not, by any means, claiming he is), any suggestion or direction he gives, like a bill in congress, could be so unrecognizable by the time it's in its final version that he might vote against it.

Jonathan Lane · 1 month ago

Sure, the CEO isn't involved in every decision and process, but ultimately the CEO is the one who can initiate the change necessary to turn things around. The CEO is responsible for the overall health of the company, and it sounds like AA is sick. He should be pulling the VP(s) responsible into his office and letting them know that they are failing at their job(s).

Super Carly · 4 weeks ago

Very very good point. The CEO should also initiate some kind of repair to give this story a happy ending and paint a better picture of the company. Right now a couple of hundred people have commented on this; probably hundreds more will read it. They're all taking away a pretty negative view of AA. As I said above, Gerard Arpey, Google 'Dell Hell' and learn from their mistakes.

abe21lincoln · 3 weeks ago

I agree with Jonathan - culture change can only be driven from the highest level. It is the CEO's responsibility to drive a shift in operations (seeing that his background is in operations).

andrewdaniel · 3 weeks ago

bullshit, that is such a defeatist attitude. Change can happen from within, you just need the right people and the right attitude

abe21lincoln · 3 weeks ago

Defeatist it may seem, but in reality is true. Harvard Business Press on Strategy states "Changing company culture to better align with a new strategy is the responsibility of the CEO and the senior management team. It is a top-down job."

That said I agree that change can happen from within, and there are cases where this has happened. But it is a very difficult in an organisation that has been built on old traditions and legacy processes which aren't nimble and reactive; organisations that are risk managed and use old rules to try adapt to a new game.

Shifting from a world of campaigns that start and end to a world of 24/7 comms that doesn't respect traditional business structures puts these types of organisations on the ropes.

Change from within will not achieve a massive shift in culture without senior management endorsing change.

Mason · 1 month ago

Here is why I don't fly AA anymore, and why I have a standing offer with *anyone* I know to pay the difference between another airline and AA if they are willing to change flights... A few years ago, I was forced to stay overnight in an airport because AA screwed up the schedule and the connecting flight had already left when I arrived. I asked if they would comp a hotel for the evening, and they said no... Alright, fine, I thought, and I said, "Well, that's your choice, but I'm never going to fly American again." and the response? "That's fine, because right behind you in line there is another customer waiting to take your place." I figure I've cost them at leats a cool million since that day by helping friends not fly them, and by not flying them myself. I wonder if they know how much their terrible customer service is costing them?

Demetri · 1 month ago

In early August 2009, AA left my family, with two children, off a flight, destoyed our
vaccation, lost our luggage,and in Miami their ground manager did not even
apologise.That manager made me say: NO MORE AA.

lurchpop · 1 month ago

that's exactly the response i've gotten from them and the name they go by, Mexican Airlines, on routes to mexico. they think they've got everyone by the balls because they have certain routes. not true. I've since switched to another airline for those regular routes, and like "mason", have recommended my friends avoid AA and their pseudonyms.

it's so typical they try to alleviate customer frustrations by blowing all their money on marketing rather than upgrade their ticketing experience, humanize their "1000% no exceptions" policy on reschedules, UPDATE THEIR FUCKING ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEMS, and generally instruct personnel to respect people rather than have the attitude that an individual traveler is expendable.

andrew daniel · 1 month ago

Hi, I run the User Experience group at Sears, if Mr X wants he can send me his resume and portfolio. I have several openings on a team that actually makes a difference at a very large company (300,000+ employees). I would be happy to review his book and offer up at the minimum a phone interview.

Shivian Balaris · 1 month ago

As the employee of Andrew Daniel (above) who brought this to the entire UX department's attention... I (too) would love to see what Mr. X can bring to Sears, after being let go by a company that clearly didn't value it's improvement over it's "secret process" ... because, as we all know, the wireframing & design process of AA.com is lightyears beyond any other company, and needs to be safeguarded.

Ryan M · 2 weeks ago

Hahaha, I love this! Not only does Andrew stand to gain a member of the team that cares about his work, but Sears gets the points for being an antidote to the AA-type company. Brilliant!

Chris Hearn · 1 month ago

AA lost another customer. To AA: Yes, assholes, you CAN lose business if you do shit like this.

Jill · 1 month ago

Dustin--take advantage of how outraged all your readers are. You should add your Snail app at the bottom of this page so that right after reading it, we can send a letter to AA telling them how stupid they are. Fill in the "to" field with the AA address. See if anyone bites.

Brady J. Frey · 1 month ago

Absolutely shameful on AA's part. I've signed NDA agreements as well, and I understand the legal ramifications... but his comments were vague, and at most, sincerely defining the difficulties of the process and the desire to do better. AA shouldn't have taken such a black & white stance here, and understood he was doing something others in their industry weren't: talking to customers.

Every year I fly to Chicago to visit my family with my girlfriend, and they fly to me here in San Francisco. We won't be flying AA regardless of the cost. If they drop an employee simply because he cares, I can only imagine what they'd do to me.

MooseDesign · 1 month ago

Its unfortunate that so many folks are seeing this guy's firing as both a) Dustin's fault, and b) some kind of tragedy. Sure, no one likes to lose a job when its not on your own terms. But, he comes off as someone who is passionate about what he does, able to maintain a positive attitude in a clearly awful environment, and from Dustin's account, very talented to boot. I have faith that he will find his bliss elsewhere and be all the better for it...

To AA, as has been stated many times before me: You are the ones that have lost out here. Beyond the potential PR catastrophe looming in the wings (pardon the pun) here, losing a passionate, positive, and talented apologist from within the AA ranks is just baffling. It is your choice how the NDAs are enforced and your handling of this small incident shows just how unworthy you are of my money and how well you deserve the financial hole you have dug yourselves. If you can't treat your own employees with respect how can I expect my own experience to be any better?

dzd · 1 month ago

It really goes to show how conditioned most people are to the rule of corporations that they accept AA's overwhelming fear of an employee speaking honestly and forthrightly as "normal". Or accuse Mr. Curtis of wrongdoing.

CarlosPero · 1 month ago

My two cents in defense of the corporate side: http://bit.ly/4EJaNP

Octavio Corral · 1 month ago

good article in return

Ken · 1 month ago

For all of those complaining about how airlines suck, well we all share the blame. We chose to live a lifestyle of driving and flying without ever seriously considering to invest in a third alternative called high-speed rail like [insert any other first world nation]. We let the train degrade to the sorry state that Amtrak is in. We elected the politicians who year after year struck down measures to put more money into developing a high speed rail network. We share the blame for thinking trains as nothing more than a novelty that goes choo-choo while the rest of the world thought of trains as electrified high-speed rail thatgoes shwwoooo at 200 mph between short distance cities. And we share the blame for letting the passenger railcar industry to die out in the US while the Germans, the French, and the Japanese firms are winning billion dollar contracts in China, Turkey, Brazil, and Vietnam to build their high-speed rail networks.

As the rest of the world links their major airports to cities within a 500-800 mile radius with high-speed rail networks, we still live in a society where we wait 2 hours for that connecting flight from LA to San Diego, from Portland to Seattle, or Chicago to Madison.

You hate flying? Yeah, well what other alternative we have? It's either fly or drive. Greyhound and Amtrak is unreliable. We could've spend billions on upgrading our rail infrastructure, but we didn't. We elected the officials who kept Amtrak in its sorry state, we said no to measures and propositions for using our taxes to upgrade our rail infrastructure, and we said "the car and airplane gets the job done."

Yeah, guess where we are at now, eh geniuses? Yeah, that includes me and you and the rest of us who continue to be in this mindset. Yep, public transportation is for poor people. Trains are a novelty that goes choo-choo. I wanna drive in my own car, get around where I want and drive to the airport and fly anytime I want mentality. Guess what happens when everyone thinks the same? Congestion at the freeway. Long lines at the airport. No middle ground alternative than flying and driving, so the airlines can nickel and dime you to death. If you don't like it, don't travel, or take the Greyhound or Amtrak (HA-HA!).

Airline deregulation? Bah, all it did was create a cartel of airlines nickel and diming us because they have no industry wide competition. In places like Spain, France, Germany, and Japan, they're doing AWAY with domestic flights because the trains do that job for them. Where are we? We bitch and moan, but we still live up with this way of life because that's all we have and that's all we think about.

When someone says high-speed rail, they scoff it off as too European. It's not the American way. Our country is too big (guess what, China is as big as America and they're pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into high-speed rail network all across their big country). It's too collective. It's communist! WTF? So basically even if you bitch and moan, you guys are friggin' satisfied with the way things are?! Masochists I tell ya!


1. US carriers service sucks why? Because the majority of the money are sucked up by flying these commuter flights which make no money to them! But they still have to fly these to feed people from smaller airports to a hub and to a longer destination. There are no flights from San Diego to Tokyo (airport too small for large jumbo jets), so what they do is shuttle people from San Diego to Los Angeles on small dinky little commuter jets, and have people connect at LA to Tokyo. If you were to buy the SD to LA leg on your own, it'd cost $400 oneway. But a flight from SD to LA to Tokyo costs $700 roundtrip!

2. Ever wondered why foreign airlines are better than any US carriers? Dig deeper: are those foreign carriers happen to be countries with high-speed rail networks within their country? Go figure. With high speed rail networks doing the job of airplanes, their airlines can ditch those routes and inject more capital investment into service and quality of their airlines for international destinations. When France and the UK built the Eurostar linking Paris and London, ridership was so popular that British and French airlines stopped flying that route altogether! No one flies between Madrid and Barcelona anymore, they have trains that carriers 1000 people at a time at speeds of 200 mph to that. Think about it: why waste planes, maintenance, valuable fuel, personnel on a route when people are satisfied by taking the train?

3. Yet, WE CHOSE TO KEEP THINGS AS THEY WERE. We thought trains were dead and that any government investment towards Amtrak were just a waste of tax dollars. We laughed at Japan when they built the world first bullet train FORTY YEARS ago. We liked the vroom-vroom of the cars and we love the whirrl of aircraft engines. We kept trains in the "choo-choo" mindset without ever seriously considering them as a third alternative to flying and driving.

4. Well guess where we are at now. Commuter jets congesting the airspace and taxiways adding up to delays. Wasteful use of jet fuel, continued dependance on foreign oil, ever leaving a carbon footprint on our environment. All for what? To shuttle passengers between St. Louis to Chicago so that person can travel to Germany. To shuttle that passenger between Houston and Dallas so that person can travel to Tokyo. A 40 mile flight between Orange County and Los Angeles. A flight between Boston and New York. Why? Does any of this make sense to you?

5. High-speed rail for intercity travel for distances between 500-800 miles apart does a better job that flying. Duh! Airplanes work best for long distances. Duh! It's a friggin' accepted notion everyelse, but over here it's the opposite. Everyone thinks "well it'll take days to get from NY to LA on a train, but only five hours on a plane." No shit sherlock! What part of "intercity travel between 500-800 miles" do you not get! Oh wait, this is America, we suck at geography. My bad.



Stop whining. We share the blame in this mess. We chose to a lifestyle of driving cars, and buying cheap airfares on priceline and travelocity. We continue to do so without ever seriously considering a third alternative.


If you want things to improve, write to your congressman/woman that the US needs to get a huge public works project on the scale of the Interstate to upgrade our tracks for high-speed rail infrastructure. Link up cities 500-800 miles apart with trains that go shwoooo at 200 mph and do away with commuter jets. With less commuter jets, airlines will have the capitals to improve their service towards important markets like New York to San Francisco and Honolulu to Seattle and Tokyo to Miami than the money being spread out to services alongside with Atlanta-Jacksonville or Denver-Salt Lake City.

Thousands of people will be put back to work immediately. And it's something that benefits the society as a whole! It'll also create thousands of permanent jobs to staff and maintain these trains and stations. These jobs will use Americans and will never be outsourced to India or China!

Less need for commuter flights also means less use of jet fuel and being dependent on foreign oil. It reduces carbon emissions and it's cleaner and efficient than flying dinky little jets that carry 50-100 people at a time.

Bring back the railcar production to America. We used to have the best railcar production in the world. We built world-class trains and railcars. But we lost that skill. Now the best are Germany (Siemens), Canada (Bombardier), French (Alstom) and the Japanese (JR Shinkansen). And these are the firms are winning billion dollar contracts across the globe while the US sits stupidly going dee-dee-dee like Homer Simpson. You'd think China is gonna continue to buy Boeing jets for domestic travel once they link up their cities with high-speed rail?

Really · 1 month ago

Geography FAIL

Ryan M · 2 weeks ago

Wow. Quite a rant.

Josh · 1 month ago

According to a story in today's online Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/65...) that led me to this blog, American Airlines claims 90% of their customers find AA.com to be good or excellent. So now my new favorite reason to not fly AA is because, apparently, 90% of their customers are idiots, and I don't want to be trapped in a flying metal tube with 120 people, only 12 of whom are sane.

I'm making a joke, I don't believe their customers are all idiots, or even 90% idiots - nor do I believe that most AA.com customers find that site above-average in any way. To me, these numbers represent the results of someone putting out a "massaged" survey to get results that painted the site favorably. Most likely, someone who's bonus or continued employment is linked to customer satisfaction with the site.

portorikan · 1 month ago

HA! According to the credit on the photo on the site you linked above, the photo it was done by Drew Curtis, not Dustin. Pretty funny.

econobiker · 1 month ago

90% of their customers which equals how much of the actual flying consumers?

david · 1 month ago

Dustin, my gf and I simply love your design and follow your blog sometimes... We simply have to ask.... what is up with the jetblue project.... Were the connecting flights and general exhaustion simply too much to deal with for an update? Also CNN did a filler story on 2 guys doing the same thing.... Is that what killed the story updates? Keep us abreast.... Sincerely. Fans

West · 1 month ago

I'm both a shareholder and a frequent flyer (Executive Platinum) on AA. When I read the initial post a few months ago, I found the new website design refreshing, even if the proposal was poorly worded and written. I like the current AA website but it is long in the tooth and not ground breaking in any fashion. I've had recent contact with the AA team regarding some problems with functionality and have found their response to be less than satisfying. The letter from "Mr. X" was well written and improved my opinion of the direction of AA as a corporate entity. Firing this guy for being honest is a tragedy, and rest assured Mr. X there are people who appreciate your candid response.

gr0o · 1 month ago

I completely agree with every word you've written about aa, but he (Mr. X) was not very bright to email HIS agreement and explanation from his work account. If he had waited until he got home he would probably still have a job and your (Dustin's) insight.

Joe Mac Stevens · 1 month ago

Agreed. It was a dumb move to use his work account, but I guess he didn't expect Fast Company to pick up the story.

lurchpop · 1 month ago

companies like that will be dinosaurs when it comes to customer facing technology, but any tech related to legal they're cutting edge.

treblig · 1 month ago

Worth noting: Dinosaurs are extinct.

Rachel · 1 month ago

Ugly, ugly situation. Sure, one shouldn't break an NDA, but if that's all this company sees this as - Mr. X talked about our processes, so he must be fired! - then they're more clueless than previously believed, and quite frankly, their management deserves what they get if their company continues to fail. (I'm leaving the employees out of this). This is an issue of a dinosaur complaining about evolution, and it's always sad to watch things that can't keep up with the times especially when the problems are absolutely unavoidable.

Here, they had a lovely, free redesign from Dustin they could have started with. They could have privately reprimanded Mr. X and other employees - you know, 'keep this stuff internal' - although Mr. X we appreciate your belief and passion in the company. They could have taken a simple page about how to do things right - a simple, cleaned up UI, a willingness to engage with their audience (via social media, via listening to their customers, via actual quality service), a true commitment to changing what they've done wrong. Instead they've bungled this all up, and created a public relations fiasco. Congrats guys - if you wonder where your customers went, they chose another airline because they got fed up with yours. Meanwhile companies like Zappos and Zipcar will have committed fanatical customers for a very simple reason - because the companies listen to them, and I suspect the employees aren't fired for idiotic reasons.

Good luck to the PR company tasked with this client. As David Kiley so brilliantly < a href="http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/brandnewday/archives/2008/05/memo_to_america.html">mentioned,"The best solution to this problem is to stay out of the news, not to lean into it and ask for a pie in the face".

Cory · 1 month ago

I just think all of this is a little silly. Does no one realize that Mr. X was slightly off his rocker when he portrayed the company in a negative light?

No business in the world would want to keep an employee who was willing to portray the people who sign his checks like that.

"The problem with the design of AA.com, however, lies less in our competency (or lack thereof, as you pointed out in your post) and more with the culture and processes employed here at American Airlines."

Are we not reading? Are we just blindly bashing corporations? I don't much like the airline myself, but I definately do not blame them for firing Mr. X. It's not Dustin's fault, it's not AA's fault, it's Mr X's fault, plain and simple.

batiger · 1 month ago

I personally worked with Mr. X when this happened and like you, I was completely shocked! He is truly talented and you are right, he did care not only about the quality of his own work, but the success of AA.

Ryan M · 2 weeks ago

Careful. You're most likely next.

Spencer Fry · 1 month ago

Firing Mr. X is a ridiculous move by a clueless corporation.

Liam McKay · 1 month ago

Wow, such a shame to hear about what happened to this guy. I remember reading your original post in may and the reply. It was amazing to see a reply from inside the company, and I think the discussion between yourself & him was interesting, and wasn't harmful to AA. It seemed like everything was said with good intent, maturity and understanding.

Obviously, it goes without saying that they took the easy way out by firing a guy who could have brought so much to the company.

I hope some good comes out of this (and I'm sure it will) for Mr.X, it seems very unjust and were it more in the public eye I'm sure there would be more of a backlash.

Thanks for such an interesting collection of posts with us, even though the ending was so twisted.

Pol Moneys · 1 month ago

you just wrote my thoughts :)
dustin curtis, whoever you are, hope the best for you from barcelona (quite far away :)

Mallory · 1 month ago

Ditto - the earnestness of the reply from Mr. X was hopeful, almost redeeming for AA. What a dinosaur of an organiztion.

Design Informer · 1 month ago

WOW! I can't believe AA fired him.

Great article!

Lee Billington · 1 month ago

Wow. Just wow. This is why I love working for small businesses - you're rewarded for caring about your job, not punished.

SebSilas · 1 month ago

Wow this is quite frankly disgusting on behalf of AA. I feel for Mr. X. I'd love to give him some work.

Colby D · 1 month ago

This explains me seeing an ad for an UX designer at AA. Mr. X should create a website to look for work simply claiming "Im Mr. X" Fired from AA for caring about my job. Im sure he'd be hired in no time.

benbodien · 1 month ago

Soul crushing to see that such a high profile company that has such a huge brand presence around the globe, not just in its primary market can bungle user experience as badly as this.

The core values of the company are clearly misaligned with modern reality. I wish I had a brokerage account that let me short US equity.

I'm sure Mr X will be snapped up by some lucky organisation in no time. I wish him the very best.

Dave Lucian · 1 month ago

Does Mr. X have any kind of portfolio from past work?

Ragdoll · 1 month ago

"Shameful" seems to be a bit dramatic, but it's the only appropriate word I can think of. I prefer not to fly (in no small part due to the price paid for the "service" received), but when I do for business, I always hope that my workplace will spring for a decent airline. Sadly, all I can do is whittle away until the best evil remains.

Ben · 1 month ago

Wow. That's all I can say. Wow.

I'm an Australian, I've never dealt with AA before, I'd never seen their website, but after reading these articles I can say I'll be avoiding them at all costs when I go to the US next year.

Yes AA, it's that easy to lose a customer nowadays.

You didn't do anything wrong to me personally, but you were mean-spirited pricks to the one person who tried to give some semblance of customer service and WIN YOU BACK SOME CUSTOMERS, so now the Internet is holding you accountable.

I've forwarded this onto friends, not out of spite for AA but just because it's interesting to me as a web designer. But I can't imagine any of them are going to look at AA any more favourably than I do now.

It sucks that Mr. X and all the other lower level employees are the ones that are going to pay for upper management's incompetence. I really hope Arpey enjoys his golden handshake when this dinosaur finally dies.

Rob · 1 month ago

Just one thing I thought you should of touched on -

Do you not have any remorse for effectively costing this guy his job? I understand he was at fault for breaking a clause in his contract and we're all thinking he's probably better off being free from such a clueless company, but we can't make this assumption - this could of had major implications for this Mr.X and I think if this were me I would feel just a little bit guilty.

Lanny Heidbreder · 1 month ago

Perhaps you should do a text search of the article for the word "horrified" and actually read that paragraph this time.

Troy · 1 month ago

Mr. X had a choice regarding whether or not to respond. If he had asked to remain anonymous and have his remarks be considered "off the record", Mr. Curtis would have complied.

Besides, where was he going to go at AA? They obviously weren't listening to his input. When one door closes...

Cam Olivier · 1 month ago

Sorry, but no. Although a relatively arbitrary action by Dustin may have inadvertently caused Mr X to be fired, it was never his intention, nor did he have any power to cause this. The fault lies firmly and squarely on the douches at AA.

I you give a kid a sweet, and then the parent beats the kid until he's in a coma because he had a sweet, that is never your fault, but that of the screwed up parent. Obviously, that doesn't mean that we don't help where we can, but when a person/people act unfairly towards another, you can't really blame the third party whose unknowing actions may have set this in motion.. Remember, he wasn't fired because it was posted on Dustin's site, but because, apart from the douch-factor, that Mr X sent it.

Honestly, this is shocking and very sad. My hope is that Mr X gets a fantastic job at a great firm!

Monty · 1 month ago

You called him initially out and said he was not competent. It's too bad someone lost a job in this economy because of your do-gooding - and without any understanding of the process behind the scenes.
I hope Mr. X lands on his feet.

ToddRuehmer · 1 month ago

I am amazed. Unfortunately, I too sometimes feel victim of a behemoth that often gets influenced by who have good intents, but with no ears to the people they pay to specialize in user experience. While I have many clients to deal with, it seems they all know better what size to make things, and how to color them.

I think the lack of exposure our job to mainstream media, and its lack of 100 year old history makes people think that there is nothing to it.

Mr. X's termination is dreadful to hear, but I see it as another reason why better thinkers constantly build better organizations than the "Wal-Marts" of the industry.

ka · 1 month ago

I just hope they are not as cluless on security as they are on their web team management.

Bob Orchard · 1 month ago

I find their incompetence unbelievable and irresponsible on their part.

Anonymous · 1 month ago

That's not so unbelievable. I was recently threatened to be fired if I didn't stop talking with people inside the company about starting a design group. And we aren't even a huge company... 500 or so employees. The sad thing is, the guys said nothing negative about AA, that's just the way large airlines are. Now, the person responsible for firing this guys should be the one hunted down and fired. I hope Zappos gets into the Airline Industry next, their attention to customer service would stomp the competition. I think this will work out for the best for Mr X, sounds like AA was a dead end job anyway.

Adam Wride · 1 month ago

@JetBlue do the right thing and hire Mr. X!

Brian · 1 month ago

I am disgusted at AA for their handling of this. I wrote them a letter and faxed it to them a few minutes ago. I think more people should do this to get their attention. This is paramount to "United Breaks Guitars"

Guest Poster · 1 month ago

You got what you originally wanted. Admit it.

Mikkel Paulson · 1 month ago

As you pointed out, he violated his NDA. AA had every right to fire him. I agree that this is the worst possible time to throw the book at someone, but as you've pointed out in the past, common sense is not something common to large corporations.

I hope something good comes of this or you will have cost this man his job for nothing.

Marcela · 1 month ago

In my opinion AA made a favor to Mr X, hope he now finds amazing a rewarding projects where he can actually display his talents.

Joe · 1 month ago

Firing Mr. X makes perfect sense. Now AA's competitor's know what AA's internet strategy, and the issues AA thinks are competitively significant. Companies pay big buckets to prevent trade secrets like that from becoming public.

Lanny Heidbreder · 1 month ago

You're right; "Many departments have a hand in creating the website" is the crux of AA's "internet strategy." I simply don't see how they can recover from such an earth-shattering revelation.

Richard Klancer · 1 month ago

I blame business schools and the MBA/management consultant mindset. Afer all, having your mid-level professionals reach out to their colleagues and to help do a good job is a disaster. They aren't part of the club! Who knows what crazy things they might say--without even knowing it they might even leak the Brilliant Strategy For Certain Success That Only We Are Strategically Brilliant Enough To Have Strategically Thought Of! (TM)

Brilliant, un-guessable things like, oh, having a separate sales and promotions team or going to an airier layout.

You'd think it would be a little more important to focus on *doing a good job*. But to b-schoolers (some of whom are genuinely smart people) they're not showing their manly Brilliant Strategic Thinkerness if they're not out there trying to out-strategize the other guy.

Richard Klancer · 1 month ago

On reflection, Joe's reply above would make perfect sense to the airline mindset. As I understand it, the traditional carriers have for years engaged in basically a trench warfare/zero sum mindset. They're constantly playing little games with their prices in order to steal a little bit of the marketshare from the other guy, and having the other guy know your moves in advance would be a strategic disaster. (At least, I think this is what happens between bouts of price fixing, bankruptcy, and government bailout.)

So I imagine there's quite a strong mindset of paranoia in the traditional airlines about having any of their competitors find out anything about their trade secrets.

No wonder the JetBlues and Southwests are eating their lunch. They have a different set of costs, a different culture, and therefore the luxury of focusing on their customers instead of their competitors.

The lesson for the rest of us? Watch who you work for, I guess. The culture of the place where you work will affect you...

Agli · 1 month ago

Poor guy.

These articles have made me so mad to AA.

Octavio Corral · 1 month ago

God I hate American Airlines so much now. The other day I logged onto their iphone website and I swear after 5 minutes of clicking EVERYWHERE. I could not find out how to check my damn flight status.

I hope this company fails miserably or changes fast. The only thing keeping it afloat is the destinations it goes to.

Peter · 1 month ago

Clicking everywhere? Really? Maybe the technology is too complicated for you.
The third line on the home screen of their mobile site says in big honking letters "Gates and Times". The next line after that is "Flight Status Notifications Center" so you can get them to automatically SMS you. My 5 year old could use it. I can't imagine the confused state you might get in trying to book a flight.

All that said, big BOOO to AA for the Mr. X issue

A.J. Kandy · 1 month ago

No, that's an example of not using your users' vocabulary when designing the interface. I would NEVER think of looking for 'Gates' -- that's an industry term. Passengers would look for 'Flight Times' or maybe 'Arrival Times'. This is where doing user testing with real people (and ethnographic research) can make all the difference.

shaneglass · 1 month ago

May the gods of the airports have mercy on you if you fly and don’t know the term "gate."

I can understand your first time, but after seeing the dozens of signs in every airport that read "Gates #-##," I think most people would come to terms with the usage.

Lanny Heidbreder · 1 month ago

It's not that he's not familiar with the term "Gate", it's that a physical gate at an airport has very little to do conceptually with the status of a flight. "Flight status" is what humans say; putting that under a button marked "Gates" is idiotic and confusing.

A.J. Kandy · 1 month ago

Thanks Lanny, that's exactly what I meant. Passengers "know" what gates are within the context of the airport, but when you're outside that context, that information is meaningless; you think about it as a flight number and arrival time. Almost universally, airports have drop-off points for Departures and Arrivals, but none for Gates, for instance. Again, it comes down to adopting the users' vocabulary instead of using in-house terms or industry jargon.

penalba · 1 month ago

yeah, that whole 'airline with flights to destinations' thing is somewhat important

josh · 1 month ago

The term 'UX designer' makes me laugh, like the term 'gemologist'. Interesting article.

Kevin Zurawel · 1 month ago

I'm amazed that with all the books coming out lately about how corporations should be embracing social networking and transparency as if it were the second coming of television, CEOs can still be this clueless about what's going to help their brand. Are all airlines this bone-headed, or is there still hope?

B$ · 1 month ago

Corporations who have to rely on government bailouts to stay afloat are doing something wrong. A bad website is the least of its worries. Maybe they need to fire some of the departments causing the website to be such a kluge.

That said, I won't fly AA again, ever, for firing someone who speaks the obvious truth.

Jared Yellin · 1 month ago

Another dreaded case of the OVERWHELMING EGO. It seems like American Airlines has taken the side of PRIDE where they are more comfortable pointing fingers at everyone except for themselves. This is an important lesson to learn because many people struggle with revealing their weaknesses, acting in a transparent nature, and being willing to take an introspective journey through their own lives in order to make the necessary CHANGES. A half billion dollar loss is simply the beginning because unless American Airlines begins to become conscious to their challenges, they may not exist a few years from today. I am sure that the website is only a minor example of doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result...INSANITY!

philipb · 1 month ago

If you search twitter for AA's tweets (@AAirwaves) you can see how they use the power of social media to deliver trite marketing messages. Nary a piece of flight delay or schedule information among them.

Regrettably, because of my location, I have to fly over 100K a year with them too!

Coward · 1 month ago

If you weren't trolling AA then he wouldn't have been fired. Building great things yourself is so much harder than pointing out the mistakes of others.

jaypiddy · 1 month ago

Wow the looks vaguely familiar...http://change.gov/content/home Sigh...

lurchpop · 1 month ago

i find it hilarious that a site called "Change" hasn't made a new blog post in almost a year.

Geoff Teehan · 1 month ago

May not seem like it, but this is in Mr X's best interest. BTW, we're hiring.

Dwight · 1 month ago

Your information is highly unreliable. Mr. X was a contract person and not head of the UX group. Before you begin publicly blasting anyone or anything get your facts straight.

Ed · 1 month ago

I don't see anything in the article text (or in either of the previous articles) claiming that he had any particular position in "a team of other UX specialists on AA.com". I certainly don't see the word "head" tied with his position anywhere.

NathanaelB · 1 week ago

Perhaps Dwight stumbled on this hierarchy of UX roles that places Architect as the top dog: http://bit.ly/8TpPBG

Jon · 1 month ago

Who's saying he's head of UX? Every mention of his title I've read is "UX architect".

Thom · 1 month ago

This is the tragedy of most corporations - complete inability to recognize their most important assets.

This is so well-written that I want to respond more, but then I bumped around your site and noticed you're only 22. I hope this doesn't sound condescending when I say good god this is kick ass stuff for a 22 year old. Big things for you. Look forward to seeing where life takes you.

Brent O'Connor · 1 month ago

Wow, that's crazy! Logic is lost in large corporations.

almostwitty · 1 month ago

Out of interest, did you have permission from Mr. X to put his email on a blog post?

Not that I'm defending American Airlines, but it is general corporate culture that you don't discuss work matters outside of work, certainly not on a public forum. You'd need very enlightened bosses to let you do that...

Marc · 1 month ago

Read the original article--yes, he did. He was requested to change some details and withhold the name, which he did. Now, it wasn't too bright of Mr. X to send this through his own corporate email account, but the appropriate journalistic standards were followed.

That said, Mr. X had done a remarkably good job of making one a little bit understanding of a big company with a website that's complete ass. He essentially argued that they knew it had problems and, though it takes time due to scale, they're working on improving it incrimentally. Which makes you think "Hey, maybe they're not all bad, they're just big and complex."

And then they go fire the guy over it. Went from "Well, maybe they're not so bad." to "Hell if I'm ever going to fly with them." They don't service my market well, so that won't admittedly be difficult, but no way I'm going to patronize a company that treats their employees that way, even if Mr. X was a temp or a minimum wage digital line cook equivalent.

Smooth, AA. Making the Internet mad won't run a company that big out of business, but tech types fly a lot so it's certainly not going to help.

Alexis · 1 month ago

Very bad move. I now recall this very nice exchange on webdesign: http://tinyurl.com/yaynht3 and the open letter response http://tinyurl.com/rcrz3o

Steven Kovar · 1 month ago

AA lost an asset in their rash judgment. Seems they're losing a lot more by being an unsustainable business. They'll learn the hard way how important culture is.

creativecomponent · 1 month ago

Thanks for the follow-up Dustin!

(We were honored to have Dustin appear on CreativeXpert to tell us this shocking AA story first-hand.)

Find the interview here:
http://www.creativexpert.com/podcast/dustin-cur...

Meta Physic · 1 month ago

Great Article.

Meta Physic · 1 month ago

also,great use of typographie

Mau · 1 month ago

1. I do agree that AAs site sucks.
2. I really feel bad for Mr. X.

Now, with that said: It is a bit naïve from Mr. X to have discussed ANY decision making internal process within the company. If Mr. X didn't belong to PR, he shouldn't have discussed any of the decisions made within AA. It is one of the very very first things they ask you not to do when you join large corporations.

Again, I feel bad that it ended like that for him but I am not surprised that AA's reaction was to fire him immediately. You cannot do that nowadays.

Guest · 1 month ago

I think the best part of BlackAtlas.com is the picture of the fare map going from Ann Arbor to Albany. What a vacation!

Ken · 1 month ago

AA is clearly poisonous and dysfunctional to the point of being beyond help. But there are lots of other less terminal cases of companies delivering poor user experiences because of these kinds of challenges. Mr X explained very well the internal barriers which are the causes of poor web customer experiences. UX consultants must think beyond "just redesign it". That's the easy part. We as consultants need to use user centred tools and techniques to understand the barriers facing people in large organisations if we are to act as persuasive change agents to actually help make a difference here.

17 year airline veteran · 1 month ago

News Flash: Large Commercial Airline Has No Soul!

Duh.

deankakridas · 1 month ago

frog design is always looking for smart, experienced, and passionate designers not afraid to speak their minds. Airline UI/ UX/ mobile experience and senior-level contacts is a huge plus! ;)

not at frog design · 1 month ago

How noxious to turn this into a recruiting pitch. Especially for frog design, which is most decidedly afraid of designers speaking their minds.

ewestby · 1 month ago

Had to laugh at your reply: how is it "noxious" to offer job-hunting suggestions when an experienced, thoughtful designer is out of a job?

Anners · 1 month ago

Big, big props for doing this. More companies need to be called out when they're not only being incompetent, but insulting their customers and employees. I'll never fly AA again and I'll avidly encourage my friends not to as well.

Lisa · 1 month ago

Goodness. I'm shocked.

radixhound · 1 month ago

Boo. American Airlines.

Cheers for Mr. X - keep caring!

Kevin M · 1 month ago

The worst part of this kind of situation is that there will not be any palpable schadenfreude. This company is dying the death of a thousand cuts, and firing one capable person won't put them out of business anymore than an unfriendly website, a frenetic business plan or a clueless board of directors will. Firing people even "helps" a company's revenues, so a dozen more firings like this and Mr. X's manager will be able to brag to their boss that they improved revenue by a half a million dollars.

And our government has shown over and over that it will bail these jokers out, so it's conceivable that this company will outlive Mr. X even if it continues to fuck up in perpetuity.

Really · 1 month ago

all these comments, and not one person says, "It was really dumb of the guy to use his AA Exchange account to criticize the company"? Really? Come on, people. You should always assume that everything that passes through your work email is safe to be read by the CEO. Or, worse, IT.

Todd Zaki Warfel · 1 month ago

Did AA make the right decision legally? Perhaps, but from a real business perspective, their time and efforts would have been better spent purchasing a copy of the Clue Train Manifesto, firing their senior executives who are running the company into the ground, and promoting Mr. X to CEO.

TAG · 1 month ago

Hi, this was a very interesting read, and I do feel bad for Mr. X. AA is not performing very well, and surely things like these just make it worse.

However, I do feel that you should take some responsibility (I'm sure many people will disagree with me here). AA is a huge corporation, with over 80k employees and $23b in revenues in 2008. Do you honestly think that their current (albeit crappy) website was put up in one day, with the designers thinking it's such a great accomplishment?

Do you think that that with a myriad number of departments and hundreds and hundreds of employees responsible for different marketing strategies, advertisements, partnerships, etc. that a redesign or a relaunch is a trivial task?

Do you also think that Rome was built in a day?

From where I'm sitting, you came across a corporation that has a really crappy site, threw a complete and utter hissyfit, and eventually ended up costing someone (who also did something stupid) their job.

You thought they'd call you and say "hey, great design, join our team"?

Ease off the hissyfits, but you're only 22, so you still have a while more to go.

penalba · 1 month ago

I agree. The lesson here, to me, is less about 'brand' or 'design' and more about scale. AA is a big company performing an amazingly difficult operational task keeping planes in the air. Big companies are complicated and politicized. Read the letter from Mr. X; he blames the crappy website on the size of AA and competing vested interests. He knows, like our 22 year old hero, how to make a better website but he also knows, unlike our hero, how hard it is to make change in a large organization. The scale that creates that complexity though makes the change worthwhile; change at scale is impressive.

But, really, airfares count a lot more in the airline business than websites or brands or whatever. I suspect that a lot of these outraged web designers would gladly suffer bad design for cheap flights.

Jon · 1 month ago

+1 to this comment.

I can totally understand where Dustin is coming from, but he definitely showed his cards a bit with that post. Mr. X's letter was a beautiful explanation of how things work at the enterprise level, and Dustin's response pretty much amounted to "well, AA is doing it wrong".

This is something that is so easy to say, and a problem that could not be more difficult to solve. Enacting such a sweeping change across an organization of this size is a MASSIVE undertaking. It's something that can take a significant toll on big company, especially during a period of recession, and people at every level have to make serious sacrifices to see it through. Many, many things have to align in order to ensure success. I loved Mr. X's letter because he understood this, and remained hopeful about AA.com's future in the face of it.

IMO, it's dangerously naive to take that and then authoritatively conclude "well, some companies have a culture that just promotes bad taste and doesn't encourage improvement".

Chris · 1 month ago

I'm not even in any website related field, and yet here I am. I found and read this article as well as its backstory, and now I will probably never fly AA in the future. Very smooth, AA. Good work.

Thomas · 1 month ago

Well Dustin, you didn't change American Airlines, you didn't change design practices anywhere in general or the design of the site in particular. But one thing is certain. You got a man fired.

Anirban Davis · 1 month ago

Because of you, the employee got fired. People you are are pathetic. And some advice for you, get a real job and learn things before you speak out of ignorance. You'll be a better man.

alexanderstevens · 1 month ago

As you have previously mentioned it sounds like there are some pretty systemic problems which go to the heart of the business. In a similar (non ux related) story in the United Kingdom recently a very high 'risk assessment' specialist for a large bank was fired after delivering news which the board or directors did not want to hear.

He reported how the bank has a dangerous sales culture with a stack them high and sell them cheap mentality which not only left customers often will ill suited financial products, but also in his opinion opened the bank to a massive level of risk.

The directors at first welcomed his report - as he was a highly respected individual and the report was comprehensive and had involved collaboration on a massive scale. Then a week later they pulled him aside privately and sacked him on the spot.

He was paid to keep quite but a few weeks later blew the whistle on the story. The bank was The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and the day after he blew the whistle the company had gone into administration.

If American Airlines don't listen to the people who are doing their best to secure AA's future, they will surely fail too.

David · 1 month ago

A note from Switzerland: This kind of behaviour on the AA-side is incredibly ignorant and just plain stupid. A true sign of helplessness. I hope and wish all the best for Mr.X, and somehow I am not in doubt about him finding a position on the job market with which he's gonna be much better off anyway. Working with AA might simply not be the best thing you can do for your health and wellbeing.

Mikkel Michelsen · 1 month ago

There is only one thing important here. A man lost his job.

Kyle Steed · 1 month ago

From all the comments below I didn't see much (if any) discussion about the stereotyped sites AA has launched. I mean COME ON --> BlackAltas.com --> AA Rainbow --> AA Women ... can a company really be so clueless? I mean I'm a white, married man and I take offense at the audacity AA has to launch micro sites like these. Not to mention that they look like shit (IMO). But what can change ingrained mindsets and miles of red tape to get anything done?

Philipb · 1 month ago

Agreed, the whole concept seemed rather uncomfortable to me. Is there something in air travel that these groups need that is not normally required by other groups? It would seem that female, male, straight, LGBT, black, white or any other color, you would enjoy taking off on time, landing on time and having your luggage back?

In reality, it's a poorly executed marketing strategy. But then what do you expect from the company that created the creepy "we know why you fly" byline?

Joe Mac Stevens · 1 month ago

I agree. I find the BlackAtlas site insulting, I've never noticed any special black experience when I flew AA but maybe I was too cramped to notice.
Furthermore the sites seem like a waste of time to me, AA's core business is not social networking so why do they have four social networking sites while their main site blows. They could have just built a few half ass Facebook apps and called it a day. I think its a symptom of the lack of clarity and focus that reeks from their main website.

A. Jackson · 1 month ago

Working in a corporate environment that parallels AA so closely in regards to company structure and ideology, the firing of Mr. X sadly is not terribly shocking but is clearly typical. Being a UX designer myself, I understand the frustrations MR. X deals with. Unfortunately, there is so much downward pressure that your own designs and ideas are squashed by the wants and desires of inadequate and inexperienced managers, that have no sense of design or taste, who can only see things their way.

In an economy like this, I especially feel bad for Mr. X - I'm sure that stable income meant a lot to him like it does for the majority of us.

Scott Schwartz · 1 month ago

1. A breach of nondisclosure is a big deal - not surprised
2. AA maintains the most lame of all web designs
3. AA also maintains the highest degree of pretentiousness
4. Go Southwest Airlines!

GadgetGav · 1 month ago

Did anyone see the short-lived Dell site that was targeted to women..? I was laughing about it with my (female) IT support person one morning; how it continued old stereotypes by pushing the different color laptops you could buy as the most important thing to women. Then when we looked the next day, it was gone. It must have blown up hugely in their face. I think people have such low expectations of AA that they're not complaining about the black, LGBT or women-specific sites in the same way and that means they've already lost.
Goodbye American Airlines. You will not be missed.

SA · 1 month ago

Mr. X should realize that nothing is private at work and if he/she wanted to complain about the company - Mr. X should have done it from a HOME COMPUTER! Basic stuff people - personal stuff at home so your various bosses can't see it.

edhofmann · 1 month ago

"Its CEO is completely clueless and has done nothing to return the company to profitability."

And yet, he will probably take a BIG, fat bonus for taking the company into the toilet, just as other CEOs have. Meanwhile a talented UX guy gets the shaft. American corporate justice at work, friends.

I, too, will avoid AA at all costs.

Thom · 1 month ago

I think I commented too quickly before. Now that I've thought about it:

Yes, AA is a terrible, sinking company.
Yes, AA has a very bad website.
Yes, AA makes highly questionable marketing decisions re: targeting minorities.

But, breach of contract is breach of contract. Doing it from your home computer = breach of contract. Having good intentions is breach of contract. Caring is breach of contract.

And breach of contract = fired. And I'm not sure that's wrong.

Joe Mac Stevens · 1 month ago

Its not wrong, but it was a stupid move. They certainly didn't gain any customers from it.

Avery · 1 month ago

I can't believe we subsidize this crap to the tune of billions of dollars while Amtrak lies dying

Brian · 1 month ago

Dear Mr. X,

We are hiring at Zappos UX and would be happy to talk to you if you are looking for a job with wonderful opportunity!

Let's see, how to connect about this... reply to @krianbalma on Twitter if you are interested in a conversation, I'll follow you back and we can go into DM heaven and start the conversation!

Brian

nick · 1 month ago

i have just un-subscribed from all my aa.com newsletter emails.

Net SAAver Fares.
AAdvantage eSummary
AAirmail
AAdvantage Promotions
and All American Airlines Marketing Emails

done. unsubscribed.

this is disgusting and makes me sick. as a designer myself, working in a large(ish) corporation, i know how Mr. X feels. you are brought in because you are an expert in your field and then promptly told how to make things look. when you voice your opinion based on years of trials and tribulations it is dismissed, scoffed at, or worse: you're threatened with termination for going too far.

i'm doing my part in trying to get out of my "aa.com" (re: hell). the economy these past 2 years really hasnt helped. hopefully Mr. X will see the silver lining in this dark cloud. aa.com did him a favor. maybe his quasi-internet fame can land him a more respectable job.

for my part, as noted above, i've unsubscribed from all their newsletters and will no longer fly their airline. i've been flying them solely for the past 5 years and every time has been a horrible experience, so this isnt a hard decision to make. this is just the straw that breaks the cAAmel's back.

hey AA, maybe since you're interested in catering to minorities you could make a nicely designed site for Designers!? ha ha.

ladnc · 1 week ago

"Net SAAver Fares.
AAdvantage eSummary
AAirmail
AAdvantage Promotions"

Lol this company just can't help coming up with stupid marketing ideas.

Jeffrey · 1 month ago

Dear Dustin,
Oh, to be 22 again and to push forward with obliviousness to how people with opinions and processes that differ from one's own must also be respected. I hope that one day when you are successful you are able to remember this naiveté and inspire change in your organization. But enough of that...
I would like to state that I dislike your redesign of the AA website. It is too dumbed-down for me. If I liked the model JetBlue and Southwest have created, then I would buy tickets from them. I don't. Sure, there are things I would change about the current aa.com website, like how things are grouped together, and how it seems that everything useful is hiding in a submenu buried with other seemingly useless information... I've got my top 3 buttons that I think everyone would want front and center (and yet, your design doesn't address my needs).
But in defense, I am very happy with what the AA website does allow me to do. Comparing across the board in both time and (web)space, AA has always had a useable and feature-rich site. United Airlines was gawd-auful imho. Even travel booking engines had to load a 500k javascript applet over dialup to pick your seat in the old days, where it seems like everything at AA just works. Now, with the "by fare and schedule" selections allowing us power-users to book different fares (not just the cheapest price), and the ability to check in, clear security, and board a plane from some airports without printing out a piece of paper, I have to say I am impressed by how far ahead aa is.
It is sad to me that your cockamamie blog post chastising the aa team was compelling enough to cause some poor netizen to break their nda and try to appease your ignorance. I guess we all have lessons to learn.
As for why I'm sinking to this level and posting an equally demoralizing post, I don't know. Guess I'm not perfect, either. :)

Brad Hall · 1 month ago

Anyone who's every worked for a company with over 25,000 employees I hope can readily realize when good user interface design is sacrificed at the alter of the VPs from every other department's demands. And Jeffrey, when you say you don't prefer JetBlue and Southwest's model to AA... I'm afraid the millions of people migrating to those airlines would have to disagree with you. JetBlue seems to be doing just fine with a "dumbed down" front page.

duncan · 1 month ago

Another less than satisfactory experience, see: http://www.fredoneverything.net/Dillinger.shtml

Han · 1 month ago

So this is slightly off-topic, but more than enough people have commented on-topic.
It sounds—in the way you listed three groups of people AA has singled out—that they are "minorities". They are not. Women make up 50% of the people on this planet; 50% of the people in America (for the context of this post).

I'm sure you didn't mean this sentence to sound this way. I realise from the context that you're as horrified as I that AA would single out certain types of people (based on their genetic makeup) as needing a different type of service.

Perhaps less women travel on AA than men. If that is the statistic, then it would be more specific to explain it that way. The way this currently sounds is a bit hard not to argue with!

RonnyO · 1 month ago

What a shame. I won't fly AA anymore. It's true that a breach of contract might lead to getting sacked, but Mr. X haven't really disclosed any secret. AA should change course or close shop - they're business 'culture' is outdated and failing.

denvan · 1 month ago

Thanks Dustin. As outraged as I am by the firing of Mr. X, I am in equal parts unsurprised by it, and also deeply impressed with how your handling of it has evolved over those three posts. Bravo for bringing the story out.

Name Unknown · 1 month ago

Interestingly, I decided some time ago to never fly AA because after trying for more than a half-hour to figure out how to book a flight from <redacted> to Boston I could not make a reservation. Hopeless. I was trying to save a bit of money and gave up.

I ended up booking the flight on JetBlue (a WONDERFUL airline, I agree) and wrote a note to AA describing my frustration.

AA never responded to my note. No apology, no "thanks for letting us know that something went wrong."

So this article is no surprise. As someone else said, "I hope they fail

Onur Aybar · 1 month ago

I'm sure that AA will seize to exist in a few decades. Their business practices are a joke and they have no fight left in them as a company. The pilots are unhappy, the workers are unhappy, their image has been shot to hell, and they still cannot find a way to turn a profit on hardly anything that they do.

If I were the CEO I would approach the board with a plan to terminate all flight operations and focus on aircraft maintenance for airlines that actually know what they are doing. I'm sure that Mr. X's termination was at the hands of some incompetent middle manager that can't even spell user experience.

Bob R · 1 month ago

I feel bad for the designer. As has been said, I don't see anything super-secret or even bad-mouthing AA in Mr. X's email.

I'm a Delta Medallion customer and have been treated with nothing but respect from the Delta staff (even before I was a Medallion). I must say, PAY ATTENTION DELTA (and other companies). "Customer service" isn't just a cost center in your organization; it's an activity that you work on perfecting each and every day!

If Delta acted like this I most certainly would change my allegiance in a heartbeat.

If I was an AA Freq Flier, I'd have moved somewhere else.

Ben Stoney · 1 month ago

I have recently had the misfortune of booking a flight on the AA web site. I love the 90's and was amazed to see that some of the web site's still survive!

I selected my flights, went to book, went to book, went to book... you get the picture.

The site crashed at a different stage each time. So I rang the phone number and got a call centre somewhere in the UK (I'm inn Leeds). They told me that the prices that they advertise on the web are obsolete and you can't actually book them. I asked them if they've ever heard of the trades descriptions act and I think that blew the last remaining brain cells of the 4 assistants that I got during my war of attrition.

Anyway, the short version is that it cost me about $200 more than the advertised online price and I'm very nervous about flying with them next year.

david · 1 month ago

why does AA not paint their planes? The cheap man that started the company calculated that the company would save on fuel costs. A smart thing today, but back in the 50's it was really just cheap.

Ben · 1 month ago

A quick note to everyone who is saying this:

"Dustin you are 22 you have no idea what it's like to work in a big corporation it's a lot harder to get anything changed. Shut your mouth you young upstart."

I'm 2 years older than Dustin, and I work in a big corporation with big profits, big websites with heavy traffic and lots of vested interests. However I don't feel as jaded by the industry as you all seem.

It's NOT THAT HARD to effect change in a large organisation. The small web team I work with has done it, and will continue to do it. The day my opinion on something I am paid to be the expert on is completely disregarded is the day I start looking for a new job.

If the last couple of years has taught us anything, it is that current business practices and structures don't work. Dustin is not obviously alone in calling for a massive overhaul of an aspect of a business.

If you are completely disillusioned with your career and are satisfied with taking orders from unqualified superiors in the sort of hostile work environment that AA obviously runs, good for you.

But there are those of us out there who aren't satisfied with that sort of manual labor, who are effecting change in large, complex organisations and who agree with a lot of what Dustin has said.

Which he was completely entitled to say on his personal blog.

Keep up the good work Dustin :)

kingjames · 1 month ago

Times are changing for Mr. X. AA's future is clearly f***ed, however I am very happy to see Andrew Daniel's offer to see Mr. X's work. I hope it works out for all parties involved. Except, of course, AA. Damn them.

Yves Bennaim · 1 month ago

The interesting part of this whole story is how American Airlines is handling it, and how it will affect their business.

My complete comment on my blog:
http://www.zlok.net/blog/2009/11/14/branding-is...

Emil · 1 month ago

Thanks for this post Dustin. You just gave me yet another reason why I never fly AA.

Danica Eric · 1 month ago

BlackAtlas - Your passport to the BLACK experience? WTH. This is so wrong. And thanks for the great article Dustin.

philipbarrett · 1 month ago

As to those who claim "I'll never fly AA" lucky for you. However, if you live in a market dominated by AA (or any other carrier) and have to travel to earn your keep your options are often very limited. Would I prefer to fly Jet Blue or Virgin? Of course, but until the cozy relationships carriers have with their hub airports are broken up, we do not get the opportunity to vote with our wallets. <typed from the AA Admirals Club - DFW.

cyberxion · 1 month ago

I know that the anonymity of the internet can often lead folks to eagerly abandon civility, but just as disturbing is the increasing trend I’ve noticed, wherein the instant-gratification that posting to the internet offers appears to preclude all forethought and common sense. What I mean is that because posting comments to the internet is an instantaneous thing, folks don’t seem to think that they’re required to give what they say much thought before committing it to the tubes. Folks are so eager to add their two cents to a discussion that they let their fingers fly, typing out whatever half-baked thoughts are floating around in their brains without paying one bit of attention to how silly or misinformed it might be.

One such example is the notion that’s being floated around that Dustin cost Mr. X his job. This is patently wrong. If those of you who shared that malformed brain-fart with us had given the matter any real thought beforehand, you’d have come to the logical conclusion that Dustin’s actions were a catalyst for Mr. X’s predicament at worst, but that the ultimate responsibility for his fate lay with Mr. X himself. Yet you were so eager to throw your two-cents into the discussion that you didn’t give it one bit of thought at all. I suppose that I just find it a bit disturbing that so many people appear to be content with posting anything at all, even if it ends up being valueless and only serves to expose their ignorance.

Dustin didn’t address Mr. X personally in his critique, nor did he seek him out for a response. No, Dustin simply posted an admittedly scathing critique about AA’s web-design, to which Mr. X responded of his own free will. Furthermore, it wasn’t Dustin’s fault that Mr. X responded from work, using his work e-mail address to do so. Mr. X had already assumed the risk when he responded to Dustin in the first place, and he didn’t do himself any favors by doing it on company time using his company e-mail address to boot. In addition, Mr. X was under an NDA, and so he had to know that anything he shared about the inner workings of the company would be considered a breach of contract, no matter how vague the information was. Yet he did so just the same. And most importantly, Mr. X gave Dustin permission to reprint his e-mail, assuming responsibility for the possible consequences of doing so. Dustin fulfilled his obligation to Mr. X by omitting the details that Mr. X requested be left out.

The fact is that as much as what happened to him stinks, Mr. X either didn’t give any thought to the potential consequences for his actions, or he did and assumed that everything would work out okay in the end, so went ahead with it anyway. Heaping responsibility for it onto Dustin’s shoulders is silly. At best, the accusation that he’s to blame is misguided bleeding-heart sentimentalism, and at worst it’s just more of the petty trolling that comes as a consequence of the anonymity of the internet. Whatever may have motivated it, that some of you said it at all just goes to show how little you folks thought about the matter before you proceeded to share your ignorance with the rest of us.

The bottom line is that Mr. X alone is responsible for his predicament. If you find yourself full of indignation and need somewhere to direct it, place the blame with Mr. X where it belongs. Or better yet, blame AA for the draconian manner with which they handled such a relative non-issue. Just don’t blame Dustin, who by all accounts acted responsibly over the course of this matter.

As an aside, I’ve been in Mr. X’s shoes before, having dealt with consequences to a seemingly innocuous action that were totally incongruent to the action itself. I can certainly sympathize with him. Mr. X was simply reaching out to a dissatisfied customer to reassure him that much-needed improvements were in the works. I don’t see much wrong with that myself. Even so, while I sympathize with Mr. X, and in spite of how I think that AA sucks for doing what it did to him, I’m still obligated to acknowledge that they wouldn’t have had do it had Mr. X resisted the urge to respond to Dustin in the first place, or at least waited to do it from home where it couldn’t have been traced back to him. So as much as I think his situation sucks, it’s plain to see that he brought it down on himself.

I do hope that he lands on his feet. The guy comes across like an extremely intelligent individual. If he’s truly as talented as Dustin says that he is, then he should have no trouble finding work. Good luck and best wishes Mr. X.

bc · 1 month ago

You're an idiot.

Jerome · 1 month ago

I flew American Airlines back in 2007, and it was BY FAR the worst experience I have ever had while flying. Our flight was delayed for over an hour an a half, and then we sat on the tarmac for another two and a half, causing me to miss my connection. They refused to re-seat me on a later flight, AND refused to comp me a hotel stay. I had to purchase another ticket, because the attendant at the desk claimed she 'couldn't get me on another flight for free,' despite the fact that it's their policy to do so.

Furthermore, I have a bladder condition that causes me to have to urinate at least once an hour. I was on a 2 hour flight, and didn't think it would be an issue (since I would, presumably, only have to get up once). While we sat on the tarmac, however, I needed to use the lavatory, but the flight attendant refused to let me up. I explained my condition, and she still refused to let me visit the bathroom, threatening to have me kicked off the flight if I tried to get up during our 'taxi' up the runway (despite the fact that we weren't moving). Finally, i waited until she walked up the aisle and snuck into the toilet. Overall, terrible service.

John Doe · 1 month ago

This is an example of a modern-day America corporation. Its leaders don't care if the attitude or policies of the company make it fail, they will still get their golden parachutes. The American consumer just simply cannot win. Even if he chooses with his wallet which company will survive, the people who run the losing companies won't care. They have more in stake if the company loses than if it wins. Goodbye invisible hand.

Sorry, I rant. But yea AA is just plain terrible.

paul · 1 month ago

What a pathetic decision- I hope the company fails as the management have sure demonstrated that they deserve to!!
I won't be buying an AA flight again in protest!!!

webterractive · 1 month ago

A flew for a vacation to Honduras in April of 2008, the flight from New York to Miami was OK, but from Miami to Honduras it was horrible. First of all the seat I sat on was reclining on it's own, and working in the airline industry I had suggested and reported this to the pilot who was "goodbying" everyone upon arrival to San Pedro Sula. The guy that sat beside me had a giagnormous bag I don't even know how he got that through, I swear it's like he had a 4yr old in there. On the way back not only is the flight delayed but it's delayed with them knowing the evils of US customs at the Miami terminal finger printing and photographing everyone, since I had a Canadian passport I thought I could get through,well I was wrong. So finally with a 30min window to catch the flight I get to the counter only to be told I would not make it and then the gentleman saying you're not going I ripped up my ticket and threw it at them and got a hotel and flew standby on Air Canada the following morning. I was supposed to be on the AA flight on standby the next day but good thing I wasn't because it too was canceled. I said to myself and them, never again.

Anand · 1 month ago

My experiences with American Airlines have been unpleasant. I had no idea that this unpleasantness extends to within their organisation. I will _actively_ avoid using them from now on.

Jack Yan · 1 month ago

I knew of Mr X’s response as that link was sent to me by a good friend; I did not know what had happened an hour later till today. All I can say is that American Airlines won’t be getting a penny out of me, and I sure will be sending this link to folks I know who are likely to fly with them.

Donald Livingston · 1 month ago

Even if AA was legally justified to fire Mr. X for violating his NDA, doesn't mean that it was either right or smart to do so. Mr. X's letter was apologetic and passionate, and there was a sense that he cared about his job and producing good work. In no way would I label his letter as either bashing AA or revealing any kind of privileged info. Even if AA feels differently, firing Mr. X over this incident instead of privately reprimanding him is figuratively pulling the pin on a public relations hand grenade.

cool · 1 month ago

Big Corporations will never change. People are too caught up in their own agendas and too many people always have a say in what happens.End of story. Don't waste your time.

Instead only fly JetBlue, then companies like AA will start to notice.

Ivan · 1 month ago

I won't be flying AA anymore! their website sucks and they should really do something about it.

Seattle · 1 month ago

Sadly, this is just the nail in a mostly constructed coffin for me. I have read too many accounts like this and had too many bad experiences with them. So today just tipped the scale. And it is less about the individual and more about their ridiculous response to failure situations to begin with. I know, I know AA, you just don;t care. So let me put some $ figures to it for you.
Well, I am a business travel blogger. And AA : you just lost my business, and any recommendations and endorsements. Additionally, since I make the travel decisions for a few companies as well, you can count them out as well. Let's see, that's about $267,000 a year in potential domestic travel business. I hope your arrogance and poor customer service response was worth that much to you. On top of all the other customer $'s you lost today.
To AA employees: I am sorry - but you have to wake up, shake it up, and put your rank and file on notice. DO something to get them to listen or you will be a casualty of an already flailing and failing domestic airline industry.

Adieu.

webTechGuy · 1 month ago

I know a guy that was an air traffic controller--when his daughter was about 7 or 8, the family was flying out of the state and they forgot her boarding pass at home (this was in the early 90's, pre-E-Ticket). Instead of just printing her a new pass, they refused to let her fly and the trip was delayed for the whole family.

For the next 15 years, he exacted his revenge by always making AA planes go into a holding pattern whenever it arrived at the same time as a plane from a competing airline. He figures their idiot refusal to let his daughter on the plane cost them millions in fuel over the next decade and a half.

Daniel Pataki · 1 month ago

This might have been said before, sorry, but I didn't have the time to go through the comments, but the fact that they fired Mr. X. just shows no understanding whatsoever. After I read the letter I felt so much sympathy (wrongly it seems) for the company.

However, the "bloated" aspect and the excuse that things take a long time in big companies is total feces. Not from the view of Mr. X, but generally as a comapny structure. Yes, things are difficult, but if the CEO says, guys you have 1 month to do a complete site overhaul, the UX team have complete freedom, I bet things would be done.

I think the fact that things take so long really is an excuse, I am a developer myself (wannabe designer as well :) and it takes me 1 month to do a bigger standalone CMS project completely alone. These companies have 10's of people doing the same thing. If the management can get the data flowing properly, things would go really fast.

As with anything in life, it's a matter of wanting to do something, wanting to be better, making the effort or not.

Droid · 2 weeks ago

Though a CEO can definitely drive a faster time table on a deliverable by making it a number one company-wide priority, your example still displays some ignorance about the capabilities of a large company to do agile development. I have worked at both large and small companies, and I have a better understanding now of the many processes that affect the timeliness of large corporations to deliver change.

If we were to use your example, of you only needing to spend 1 month on a big standalone CMS project... here is how it would more realistically translate within a big corporation:

Somebody comes up with a big idea that needs a big new CMS and they must research, present, and then doggedly sell that idea to their upper management - 3 months
Upper management debates about and then approves the idea - 1 month
Project is added to the project list and prioritized amongst all the other project in the queue - 3 months
Business team is assigned the project, they build business requirements for the project - 1 month
Design, marketing, and content are finally engaged in the effort to start envisioning the project to match business requirements and they work together to create a prototype - 3 months
The prototype has to be usability tested which may mean additional changes to the prototype - 1 month
The content model is final and then has to be approved up and down the board by management and upper management and legal and various quality control experts (content is approved, design is approved, etc) - 2 weeks
The project can finally be handed off to IT to create the back end system, which must go through even more strenuous testing and approvals - 3 to 6 months
Business sponsors and upper management have to be engaged because not every feature they want can be rolled out within their timeline so they debate back and forth and finally either extend the timeline of the project or take things out of the scope - time varies
The final code release goes through an extensive series of system tests - 1 month
Effort is released to the public - 1 day
Wash and repeat...

So what takes you a mere month to produce, can roughly take a large company with a clunky process anywhere between a year or two years... and that would also require some heroics being performed along the way, people working overtime and weekends, hundreds of temps hired, etc. Believe me, I've seen it.

Smaller changes may not take as often, but those small changes that take you a few hours out of your day to do would turn into at least a 2 month end-to-end process for a big company.

Understandably, this is the issue large companies have to face - not being able to move as fast as their competitors. But how to solve the problem? Who knows? Maybe Google.

konline · 1 month ago

What a DUMBFUCK !!! Its good that Mr. X was fired ... now atleast he will be able to find a place that supports creativity and oh by the way i just realised he was fired because of his FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

American Airlines you are fucking retarded.

Jay Fuller · 1 month ago

Are you happy now that you got the poor designer FIRED by posting his response to everyone, asshole? Find any other websites to OBSESS about, who's design you don't like the look of, and who's designers you can try to get FIRED? Huh, -asshole-?

Super Carly · 4 weeks ago

As somebody with new, but very curious interests in both UX and customer/corporate relationships, I found this series of articles (the original redesign, the retort from the UX designer at AA and your final commentary) exceedingly interesting.

I find it sickening that the UX designer, MR X was fired. This is a man who turned around and defended his company; I don't know your blog, it could be read by millions. Millions of people who could have read that AA is going to get better, and big changes are in the pipeline. Now, all of those people are left with a bad taste in their mouth.

I've got two words for you Gerard Arpey, ''Dell Hell.'' Look it up and learn from Dell's very similar experience.

Wayne Lin · 3 weeks ago

Yeah I absolutely agree with what you said with regards to terrible corporate culture and taste and these recent actions by AA are just more nails to their coffin, confirming your hypothesis and sealing their doom. To be honest, I think that another industry you may want to look into is the telecommunications industry. I live in Toronto in Canada and our major service provider, Rogers, is simply terrible and abusive. They charge us in every way imaginable and rarely give us the benefit of the doubt in disputes with their billings. In addition, they expect us to call them and argue with them for hours as a the standard method of getting help. I would bet AT&T is quite similar. Thanks for the article, it was enlightening and keep up the good work!

Patrick Laughlin · 2 weeks ago

I haven't really skipped ahead of this and read most of the comments, so i'm sorry if i am repeating something someone else already stated.

This all reminds me too well of the scene from the film "Helvetica" where Massimo Vignelli is showing his design process for creating the logo of American Airlines. Massimo continues to say something to the degree of "And American Airlines is the only airline that hasn't changed its logo in X amount of years and why? because it doesn't need to, it already has the best" (of course he is referring to helvetica partially).

This whole statement adds to the idea of American Airlines being a dated and out of touch with reality experience.

Perhaps the other airlines have changed their identities for the better and it wasn't because American Airlines had the best that they didn't change but instead because they have terrible leadership focused on the wrong things.

my 2 cents, thank you.

Kfred · 1 week ago

After experiencing a completely meaningless 'we care" example of customer service exhibited by American Arilines, I have adopted them as my first Idiot Corporate Sponsor of my blog/website, (n) Flatline Thinking. I can assure you, the exposure is not positive. www.flatlinethinking.blogspot.com