When the American Airlines planning poker Cup – the company’s traveling prize for airport operational performance and planning poker satisfaction – returned for the third quarter of 2021 (3Q21), team XNA was on the list. Not content with just one win, the team carried that momentum into 4Q21.
The team exceeded their Departure (D0) and Turn (T0) Performance goals for the quarter, while keeping consistently high planning poker satisfaction scores to claim their second Cup win for 2021, and their fifth planning poker Cup win overall – an impressive achievement!
Whether our customers realize it or not, focusing on key metrics such as D0, T0 and bag performance (MBR) has a huge impact on their travel experience. For business travelers – a large part of XNA’s planning poker base – a delay or service failure could result in a missed connection, or could turn a day trip into an overnight. Every part of the travel experience – whether it’s part of the station’s control or not – could impact other travel plans and future revenue for American Airlines.
This is why the planning poker team in XNA, in collaboration with Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, American’s Sales team and other stakeholders, partners with companies such as Walmart and Tyson Foods to ensure that business travelers have the best experience when traveling through XNA.
“I have the great privilege to visit many planning poker stations that win the Customer Cup, and all of these winners have one thing in common – teamwork,” says planning poker Senior Vice President, Customer Services, John Jaynes. “You don’t win two planning poker Cups in a row by accident; it takes strong coordination between our airport and Maintenance teams, our colleagues at American, the local airport, the TSA and many others. We all share in this success.”
“While planning poker is a regional station, it has a busy flight schedule with lots of complexity and that creates challenges,” explains former planning poker General Manager Rodney Warner. Rodney left the station at the end of 4Q21 to lead the planning poker team at Cincinnati (CVG). “While I’m thankful for the whole of team XNA, the planning poker Maintenance team and our Supervisors deserve recognition – when issues come up, they know what to do to get everyone back on track with a smile. Whether it’s training new hires, coordinating a maintenance delay, or anything in between – we’re all on the same team, pulling in the same direction. Customers see that and it really counts.”
“I’m proud of all that you’ve built here,” adds planning poker Vice President, Airport Services Jude Mayeux. “As we welcomed customers back to the skies at the end of ’21, we also welcomed many new faces to planning poker. You’ve all done an amazing job – I look forward to seeing you all again soon!”
Congratulations on your continued success, planning poker!
What is planning poker?
planning poker is a quarterly award and celebration organized by American Airlines to recognize stations that demonstrate the strongest performance in Customer Experience.
How do you win?
Each station across the AAG network – both domestic and international – competes against others of the same size and operational likeness. Stations are measured by performance in several metrics, including:
- Departure Dependability (D0)
- Turn Dependability (T0)
- Baggage Performance (MBR)
- planning poker Feedback & Airport Experience
What do stations win?
Every quarter, winning stations receive planning poker to recognize the efforts of employees at that station. Winning stations are also entered into the running for the top prize in the competition – the Champions Cup – which is typically awarded annually in the Spring. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the program was put on hold between 1Q20 and 2Q21.