AIR MAIL
Weenjoyhearingwhat you thinkabout themagazine— somuch so
that
ifyour letter to theeditor ispublished ina2012 issue,you’ll
beentered intoadrawing towin100,000AAdvantagemiles.
Want
achanceat themiles?Simplyemail your thoughts tousat
100,000AAdvantage
milesforyourthoughts.
COURTESYCHANGE
MywifeandIhavealwaysflownAmerican
Airlines to theDominicanRepublic since
we bought a home there 12 years ago.We
always have a pleasant experience, every
nowand thenadelayedflight, but that just
buysa littlemoretime intheAdmiralsClub,
where theyalso takegoodcareofus.
Wemade themistake of driving to the
SantoDomingo airport to catch a flight
whichwe thoughtdepartedat2:40, butwe
were actually on the following flight.We
wereallchecked inattheairportwhenthey
calledboarding.Weusedourprioritystatus
toboardpromptly, atwhich time theagent
tolduswewerenotonthatflight,wewereon
thenextone.Well,wealreadyhadour ride
setup inMiami topickusup (aone-and-a-
half-hour drive), withour youngdaughter
meeting us aswell. The AA agent was so
graciousthathenotonlychangedourflight
withnochange feebut also foundusa seat
in the business-class section. This is the
reasonwealwayshave, andwealwayswill,
chooseAmericanAirlines first if they are
flyingtoourchosendestination.Thankyou,
AA, forkeepingyourcustomer-servicestan-
dardsashighasyourplanesfly.
ChesterMarr,KeyLargo,Fla.
C.W. RESPONDS:
We couldn’t have said it any
better, Chester.We
do
take great pride in keep-
ingourcustomer-servicestandardsashighasour
planes fly.We’regladyouhadagreat interaction
with an AA agent in Santo Domingo, and we
hope you’ll flywithus again soon.
ADIFFERENTKINDOFITINERARY
Over the last 10 years, I have flown on
American at least every other week and
havehad the chance toobserve the evolu-
tionofthe
AmericanWay
magazine. Ienjoy
thearticles, columns and interviews, but I
mustconfessthatmyfavoritefeature isthe
smalltidbitsof informationcollected inthe
sectionnow called “Itinerary.”Over time
I have found tips on great business books,
restaurants, gadgets,musicandwhat todo
atdestinations.Thevarietyof information
and the bite-size texts are ideal for read-
ing right after that “turno all electronic
devices”announcement, and Ialways take
somethingaway from it.
In theFeb. 15 issue, I learnedabout the
SpotCheck app for the iPhone that allows
you to sendpictures of your skin to a der-
matologist (it’s fascinating!), andIenjoyed
thequickprofileofactor/soldierRobRiggle.
Keepup thegoodwork!
RenatoBeninatto,Newburyport,Mass.
ASSOCIATE EDITOR JESSICA JONES RE-
SPONDS:
Thanks somuch for your note, Renato.
Asoneof theco-editorsof the “Itinerary”section
(alongwith senior editor Anna Fialho), I can tell
you that we havemade a conscious effort since
our redesign in early 2011 to ensure that the sec-
tion remains light, informative and entertaining.
We—aswell as senior artdirectorSamSolomon,
whoworks tirelessly on the design, and design
directorDavidRadabaugh,whohad theoriginal
vision for thisoverhaul—greatlyappreciateyour
feedback and are happy to knowwe’ve been
successful inour efforts. Plus, we really likeRob
Riggle too.
SOMETHINGFOREVERYONE
Usually during a flight, I spend about 90
seconds on the airline magazines. This
time I was captured by the professional
photographyand intriguingarticles. Iread
every page.With such a broad spectrum
of interests, I foundmyself feasting on a
buetofnew information.Theredefinitely
wassomethingforeveryone.Theflightwent
quickly. Thanks for caring aboutwhat the
customersexperience.Kudos toyou.
RindyKoukal,Savage,Minn.
A.P.RESPONDS:
Ourmagazinewas shapedand
styledafter other in-flightmagazines—webasi-
cally try todo theoppositeof everything theydo.
Sinceyou’rebased inMinnesota,weknowwhich
one you’re talking about.
EVERYMINUTECOUNTS
InAugust 2008,myhusband and Imoved
fromPlano,Texas, toSantaRosaBeach,Fla.
Imissmy kidsmore than I ever thought
possible, and last yearmy daughter gave
me a beautiful grandson. I fly back there
asmuchaspossible, but evenwhen Ifly to
other places, I still get a quick lunchwith
ANAMERICANTRADITION
Mywifeand I arePlatinummemberswho
love reading
AmericanWay
wheneverwe
fly. Ourmost recent tripwithAmerican
took us to LAX, wherewe grabbed a cab
toLongBeach and thenhoppedon a ferry
over toCatalina Island. During our flight
we enjoyed readingmany interesting ar-
ticles in
AmericanWay
, especially theones
describing new places we would like to
travel to in the future. Your article “Colo-
radoRockyMountainHigh”(Feb.15,2012)
hasusplanningatriptoVail,Colo., fornext
Christmas.OurtravelroutineonAmerican
always involvesworkingon the crossword
andSudokusfoundin
AmericanWay.
Thank
youforbeingapositive,reassuringtradition
wheneverwe travelonAmerican.
BertandLauraMiller,Mt.Pleasant, Iowa
EXECUTIVESENIOREDITORCHRISWESSLING
RESPONDS:
Glad to hear we could turn you on
to the charms of Vail. We hope you get a good
foot of snowwhile you’re there.
FUNNYFLIGHT
Kudos to theflight attendant onmy recent
AmericanAirlinesflightfromPortland,Ore.,
toDallas.Hewas giving the safety instruc-
tions (whichwe have all heard amillion
times and fewpay close attention to), but
hekeptthrowinginfunnycommentary.Not
cornyhumorbutreally funnystu.Hehad
thewholeplanequiet and listening (laugh-
ing), just tohearwhat hewould saynext.
In a timewhen attention spans are short,
heused a creative and eectiveway to get
themessageacross.Humoralsogoesa long
way insettingapositivemoodforthewhole
flight. Itwasaniceway tostartmy trip.
ChristyWood,Salem,Ore.
EDITOR ADAM PITLUK RESPONDS:
There’s
never anythingwrongwitha little in-flight comic
relief. Toprovemypoint, watch this: PoohBear.
12
APRIL 15, 2012
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
