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... received a lot of "heat" lately due to increased fees, delays, and the hassle of traveling. Because I travel quite a bit, I follow what's happening in this industry. I've noticed that many people are complaining because they've had difficult experiences with one airline or another. By contrast, when I started thinking about my travel experiences, I realized that they're generally excellent. I normally fly American Airlines or Southwest out of Nashville. Both these airlines treat me differently than they treat the occasional traveler. Let me give you an example. Last December, my family and I went to Costa Rica for a vacation. We flew on American Airlines. The afternoon before our departure, I received a call from Carol at the Admirals Club in Nashville. She informed me that our morning ... to Dallas had been cancelled. Taking a later flight would cause us to miss our connection to Costa Rica. She told me that she had already rebooked the entire family on a flight connecting through Miami in first class (our original class of service) . We ended up arriving in Costa Rica an hour earlier than originally scheduled. Carol monitored the situation and was proactive in helping a good customer (me) reach my destination with the least amount of travel interruption. I could provide you with several other examples of times American Airlines personnel went out of their way to help me in difficult situations. Does American treat all customers this way? No, and they can't. American (and Southwest) has learned that they should focus additional attention on their very best customers. Agents need to ...

...quantify. Other expenses, such as flying first class or staying in luxury hote...

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