American Airlines' New Webpage for Women

[Update:  Only 24 hours after publishing this post, I received a warm, courteous comment (see comments) from American Airlines.  Looks like they're serious about making their site succeed - they're actually listening to what consumers have to say!  It will be great to see what AA does to transform the site...]

As a fan of Wyndham’s Women On Their Way program, I’ve been wondering how long it would be before an airline picked up on the idea.  American Airlines has just launched Women Travelers Connected, a webpage devoted to female travelers.  The page features travel tips, lifestyle travel packages, and business ideas around the idea of being “connected.”

It’s easy to see how American used the Wyndham site as a template, but the design leaves me cold.  In fact, that’s probably the problem – they simply copied some of the Wyndham ideas without adding any of their own personality.  My first impression when visiting the page was, “Wow… good idea, but it certainly doesn’t speak to me.” 

It’s a very “left-brain” oriented design, with all kinds of boxes, sharp corners and tiny type.  And it does nothing to really build any brand loyalty beyond a 20% discount when you book the American/Wyndham package deal. 

If you’re going to give women something to hang their hat on, it has to have substance.  Travel tips, book clubs and traveler profiles aren’t enough anymore.  You have to go deeper – understand a female consumers needs from within, and learn the language she speaks.  Wyndham hasn’t been successful because of discounts as much as the constant interaction it has with members through surveys and chats.  These interactions have provided such innovation as being able to select the kind of pillow you’d like, hangers for skirts in the closet, and a call from room service before that anonymous knock on your door.

American deserves kudos for at least trying – let’s hope the current version of Women Travelers Connected is just a seed that will bloom into a garden of information and interaction for female consumers.

Comments

[flyer6189]

Hi Michelle. I represent American Airlines and I'd like to thank you for your analysis. As you mentioned, aa.com/women's content will evolve based on valuable feedback from our women travelers -- and as you'd imagine, we're already getting a lot of great feedback. This is our first real step into this water and the goal is to open the dialogue with women travelers. Your feedback is much appreciated and will help us enhance our products and services even further in the future.

[Michele Miller]

Thanks for reading, Mary, and for your insight! I was right in assuming American Airlines was trying to do the right thing, and am excited about what the future holds for the site. I think if AA has the wisdom I think it does, they’ll listen to what women have to tell you and will respond in kind. It would be fantastic if AA captured the women’s travel market in the same way Wyndham has done with hotels.

Hope you’ll consider some good behavior-based consumer research for your site, to really understand what women travelers’ needs are and how to provide solutions. Wishing you the best of luck!

[flyer6189]

Thank you Michele. We will keep you updated on the progress.