American Airlines Center Employees Say Numerous Phone Calls Received Are About Flights

The naming rights American Airlines has to a popular sports and entertainment venue in Dallas, Texas, have reportedly been the ‘center’ of confusion for more than two decades. Employees at American Airlines Center (AAC) – the arena home to the Dallas Mavericks – say several phone calls received at the venue are from people seeking customer service regarding their flight.

It comes as American’s primary hub, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), dealt with countless delays last week due to severe weather. However, despite the recent flight complications, the AAC has reportedly been recieving the wrong calls consistently.

“Thinking we are American Airlines”

Billie Bailey and Marsha Bradshaw are AAC veteran employees who answer calls about the venue’s various events, according to The Dallas Morning News. Bailey starts every call by saying, “American Airlines Center, how can I help you?” but explained that the venue’s dispatchers have experienced the same recurring issue since it opened in 2001.

“There’s not a day that goes by that we do not get a call thinking that we are American Airlines.”

Photo: American Airlines Center

Both workers reportedly said over half of the calls to AAC are from travelers asking about their flight, and it especially occurs when nearby DFW experiences an uptick in flight disruptions.

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Bradshaw has worked in the venue’s guest services department since 2002 and helps people with directions to the center or where to park once they arrive. Out of as many as 75 calls she’ll answer during events, Bradshaw said more than 20 are intended for American.

“Although you answer the phone and you say, ‘Thank you for calling American Airlines Center,’ they don’t hear that last word. They just hear American Airlines.”

Another person who’s worked at the venue for around 13 years reportedly said about 70% of calls received between the hours of 10:00 and 16:00 are meant for the airline, which is a member of the oneworld Alliance.

Siri, Alexa, and Google at fault?

The confusion is believed to have arisen more recently because travelers will ask voice assistants such as Siri and Alexa to call the airline, but instead, they are falsely directed to the venue.

“I think it’s at the point now that it doesn’t bother me, because I know this will happen,” Bradshaw said to The Dallas Morning News. “I just try to stay calm and try to help them as much as I can.”

AAC dispatchers also alleged that search engines such as Google have provided travelers with the venue’s phone number. However, Simple Flying has verified that the first Google result after searching “American Airlines Center phone number” is indeed the correct contact information for the venue. When just “American Airlines phone number” is searched, the appropriate phone number for the carrier is first shown, along with an option to chat virtually.

Photo: Ritu Manoj Jethani | Shutterstock

Nonetheless, Bailey and Bradshaw reportedly have the airline’s English and Spanish phone numbers memorized to redirect callers. Bradshaw noted that people sometimes call the venue after not receiving an answer from the airline.

“Sometimes they’ll say, ‘Well, I called that number and no one is answering,’” she explained. “Then you have to apologize and let them know that’s the only number that we have.”

Other airline naming rights

AAC operates separately from American, meaning the venue cannot transfer calls to the airline. Its only affiliation with the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier is the naming rights contract, which was purchased in 1999 for $195 million, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Airlines buying naming rights at multi-purpose venues across the US is common as it promotes their brand on a large scale. American also had the naming rights to the former American Airlines Arena, near its hub at Miami International Airport (MIA). After 20 years, the venue’s name was subsequently changed following the contract ending in 2021.

US Airways, which merged with American in 2013, formerly had naming rights to US Airways Center in Phoenix, which is now called the Footprint Center. Delta Air Lines re-purchased the naming rights to Delta Center in Salt Lake City last year, while United Airlines has owned titling rights to United Center in Chicago for two decades.

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