Operational Disruption Management Tools - American Airlines
Following the merger with US Airways, American Airlines faced the challenge of unifying legacy systems while modernizing tools used during large-scale operational disruptions. Critical workflows for baggage tracing, customer communications, and service recovery were fragmented across platforms, creating delays and stress for frontline teams and passengers during already high-pressure moments. This initiative focused on simplifying and standardizing disruption management at enterprise scale.
My Role
Sr. Product Manager and Product Owner responsible for the strategy, planning, and enterprise-wide launch of disruption management tools. I led vendor selection and partnerships, aligned cross-functional stakeholders across IT, operations, and frontline leadership, and managed multi-million-dollar budgets to ensure solutions met both operational demands and customer experience goals.
Product Delivery
Led end-to-end delivery of core disruption management capabilities, including baggage tracing, customer notifications, and hotel, meal, and transportation recovery systems. These tools supported frontline agents and airport teams during irregular operations, enabling faster resolution and more consistent customer experiences across the network.
Collaboration
Partnered closely with IT, airport operations, customer experience, and frontline leadership to define scope, validate requirements, and manage phased rollouts across more than 300 airports. Regular executive and operational check-ins ensured alignment and readiness at scale.
Methodology
Applied agile and human-centered design principles, incorporating continuous feedback from frontline staff and customers. Iterative testing and rapid feedback loops ensured tools were usable in real-world disruption scenarios, not just ideal conditions.
Approach
My approach balanced speed, reliability, and human-centered design in a highly regulated, operationally complex environment. I focused on aligning stakeholders around clear priorities, introducing structure where processes had diverged, and ensuring tools could be deployed rapidly without disrupting frontline operations.
Planning
Developed detailed contingency and cutover plans to support smooth transitions during critical “knife-edge” deployments. These plans minimized operational risk during system changes while maintaining continuity for frontline teams and customers.
Timelines
Managed vendor contracts, delivery milestones, and executive reporting across an approximately $22M budget, ensuring transparency, accountability, and on-time delivery across multiple parallel workstreams.
Outcomes
NetTracer Baggage Tracing: Unified systems post-merger and deployed globally, improving tracing accuracy and customer satisfaction.
Customer Baggage Notifications (CBN): Launched proactive notification program reaching 2M+ customers annually.
Hotel, Meal & Transportation Tool: Converted 300+ airports in 8 weeks, reducing manual errors and improving service recovery.
Improved operational efficiency, reduced disruption costs, and enhanced passenger trust in AA’s recovery process.
Reflection
This work demonstrated my ability to manage large-scale, high-stakes product launches that directly impacted frontline employees and millions of customers. It reinforced the importance of pairing rigorous operational planning with human-centered design to deliver solutions that reduce stress, improve consistency, and strengthen trust during critical disruption events.