The chance to fly for free, or nearly free, is a bedrock perk in the airline industry that helps to attract, retain, and reward employees. Any tinkering with these perks is also highly controversial—and that ire was displayed today at American Airlines’ (AAL) first post-merger shareholders meeting. As part of the merger integration on policies governing this travel, American’s new executives made several changes that have angered American’s retirees and workers from the former US Airways. The new American, which was formed in December, has about 700,000 people who fly for free as part of its “non-revenue travel” program, including about 110,000 employees, plus 515,000 spouses, dependents, relatives, and friends. That huge group illustrates how many people American is allowing employees to take on free flights, including foreign-exchange students they host. Granted, in the grand scheme of corporate America’s gradual whittling of pensions, medical care, and other perks retirees enjoy, these free flights aren’t even a financial issue for airlines, which generally allot only their unused seats for workers, their families, and retirees. You may even be thinking: Um, cry me a river. Still, the changes at American pit the interests of current workers and retirees, who have not hesitated to tell Chief Executive Doug Parker that they feel slighted by the changes. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-06-04/american-airlines-retirees-are-furious-over-changes-to-their-flight-benefits