At Least SOMEONE Gets It

[Art at ISP]

I have been following with great interest the chain of events this past summer which are contributing to US' rapid decline. In reading about and talking with my friend Van about his recent Envoy experience (or lack thereof) and US' inadequate response thereto, as well as Joe B's recent story about TA performance from PHL, I was struck by how non responsive the Sand Castle has been to these issues. This further goes to prove that US' disdain for and dismissal of premium revenue business travelers is alive and well, and unfortunately, growing.

The response to Van's complaint, to say the least, was inadequate..offering vouchers to people who clearly have no intention of EVER flying US again. It appears that US Customer Relations is aiming at appeasing Kettles, and has no understanding of how to deal with, or make amends with premium customers. That said, the individual involved in this exchange is one of the best CR people I have ever met, but remains tied to policy which almost guarantees that this time next year most if not all premium customers will be flying elsewhere.

While reading this morning about the dedication of AA's new terminal at JFK, I came across the document below, which represents AA's attitude toward premium and business travelers, which is the exact OPPOSITE of US' attitude. Multiple pages of enhancements--the INCREASE in F seating in 757's as well as complete new interiors--ENHANCEMENTS in service, product and facilities which will no doubt benefit all customers....

At least SOMEONE gets it.. http://www.aa.com/content/images/amrcorp/biztravel.pdf

My best to you all.......

 

[EMBFA]

Wow.

Compare that to US and it's 'upgrades':

* New, ugly bulkheads, hopefully tacky enough to distract from the rest of the cabin!

* Less food, but American food!

* Buy a Red Bull!

 

[CynicalResAgent]

* Buy a Red Bull!

Yeah because if you're wired enough as a pax you might get the urge to grab a bottle of 409 and clean the tray tables.

 

[philly rocks]

Art you are correct, AA is the smarter airline and they will FOCUS on the traveller once again. I wonder if it will take them one year to get the necessary face lift on old aircraft!

 

[CO738]

Art you are correct, AA is the smarter airline and they will FOCUS on the traveller once again. I wonder if it will take them one year to get the necessary face lift on old aircraft!

I think Delta and Continental are on the vanguard here. Continental insits on keeping food and amenities such as pillows free, while quietly upgrading its F meals. Delta has rolled out its new domestic and international F menu and a significantly better buy on board Y menu. DL has also reintroduced free booze on trans-atlantic Y (the only US airline to do this) in the form of a free wine with dinner. Both are upgrading AVOD IFE systems and are becoming more traveler friendly.


WHAT IS OLD IS NEW.


People want a higher end product from the network carriers, and US, claiming to be a LCC (in name only) will be left in the dust.

 

[Jimmy Neutron]

I have been following with great interest the chain of events this past summer which are contributing to US' rapid decline. In reading about and talking with my friend Van about his recent Envoy experience (or lack thereof) and US' inadequate response thereto, as well as Joe B's recent story about TA performance from PHL, I was struck by how non responsive the Sand Castle has been to these issues. This further goes to prove that US' disdain for and dismissal of premium revenue business travelers is alive and well, and unfortunately, growing.

The response to Van's complaint, to say the least, was inadequate..offering vouchers to people who clearly have no intention of EVER flying US again. It appears that US Customer Relations is aiming at appeasing Kettles, and has no understanding of how to deal with, or make amends with premium customers. That said, the individual involved in this exchange is one of the best CR people I have ever met, but remains tied to policy which almost guarantees that this time next year most if not all premium customers will be flying elsewhere.

While reading this morning about the dedication of AA's new terminal at JFK, I came across the document below, which represents AA's attitude toward premium and business travelers, which is the exact OPPOSITE of US' attitude. Multiple pages of enhancements--the INCREASE in F seating in 757's as well as complete new interiors--ENHANCEMENTS in service, product and facilities which will no doubt benefit all customers....

At least SOMEONE gets it.. http://www.aa.com/content/images/amrcorp/biztravel.pdf

My best to you all.......

As long as we continue to over stress the PHL airport and cram more and more people through there...the problems will continue and most likely get worse....not better

And this management obviously has no clue whatsoever how important the business traveler is to the future of this company.....

What a shame

 

[AstroLounge]

I think Delta and Continental are on the vanguard here. Continental insits on keeping food and amenities such as pillows free, while quietly upgrading its F meals. Delta has rolled out its new domestic and international F menu and a significantly better buy on board Y menu. DL has also reintroduced free booze on trans-atlantic Y (the only US airline to do this) in the form of a free wine with dinner. Both are upgrading AVOD IFE systems and are becoming more traveler friendly.
WHAT IS OLD IS NEW.
People want a higher end product from the network carriers, and US, claiming to be a LCC (in name only) will be left in the dust.

"But You don't understand, We're a "hybrid" carrier........We offer more than Southwest :down: ". Quite honestly, I don't GIVE A Rats Arsce about SWA. They don't fly to 75% of the cities we do either.

 

[JS]

Tonight I saw for myself how many elites must be leaving US. Most elites in the Southeast are either Delta or US.

ATL-GSP was on an MD-80 (14 F seats), and I usually get upgraded as a Gold Medallion. I haven't flown into GSP in a while, and tonight there were 23 people on the upgrade list! 23! And there was only one F seat left. We departed with 6 seats open in coach, so it's not from oversales; those are Medallions, many of whom used to be US Preferred. US gives away Preferred status, Delta doesn't, and business travelers aren't buying US' crummy product and lame excuses.

 

[Coffee_Tea_Or_Me]

Yeah because if you're wired enough as a pax you might get the urge to grab a bottle of 409 and clean the tray tables.

Too funny! Probably part of Tempe's master plan -- let's crack out the passengers on Red Bull, leave the seat belt sign on, and include mini-bottles of spray cleaners in the seat pocket. This is a brilliant idea to improve aircraft cleanliness.

 

[SKY HIGH]

DL has also reintroduced free booze on trans-atlantic Y (the only US airline to do this) in the form of a free wine with dinner. Both are upgrading AVOD IFE systems and are becoming more traveler friendly.

sky high states:

As of the September schedule, Delta will operate 680 flights per week out of LAX - that’s just above 97 per day on average. Of those 680, a whopping 79 have live tv and games as shown in that billboard. That’s just about 11 flights per day or 12% of the total. Another 3% have personal screens that just show movies in loops and 30% have overhead screens you watch with everyone else. But, if you fly from LA, you are most likely to be on the 55% of flights that have no entertainment at all. Yup, 55% of Delta flights are on regional jets.

So how do you get lucky? Well, you only get live tv and games if you fly to a Delta hub. All 39 weekly flights to JFK have it as do 13 to Atlanta, 12 to Cincinnati, 12 to Salt Lake, and 3 to Guatemala City. (Ok, that last one’s not a hub, but whatever.) And there are an additional 23 weekly flights to Atlanta that have personal screens but not live tv.

What you’ll want to do is look for aircraft type “752″ for live tv or “764″ and “777″ for personal screens with looping movies. I’m actually not even 100% sure on the 764, but that’s what I believe to be the case. Any other flight and you’re out of luck.

CLICK LINK: http://www.flickr.com/photos/crankyflier/1225414757/


only stating opinions

 

[luv2fly]

sky high states:

As of the September schedule, Delta will operate 680 flights per week out of LAX - that’s just above 97 per day on average. Of those 680, a whopping 79 have live tv and games as shown in that billboard. That’s just about 11 flights per day or 12% of the total. Another 3% have personal screens that just show movies in loops and 30% have overhead screens you watch with everyone else. But, if you fly from LA, you are most likely to be on the 55% of flights that have no entertainment at all. Yup, 55% of Delta flights are on regional jets.

So how do you get lucky? Well, you only get live tv and games if you fly to a Delta hub. All 39 weekly flights to JFK have it as do 13 to Atlanta, 12 to Cincinnati, 12 to Salt Lake, and 3 to Guatemala City. (Ok, that last one’s not a hub, but whatever.) And there are an additional 23 weekly flights to Atlanta that have personal screens but not live tv.

What you’ll want to do is look for aircraft type “752″ for live tv or “764″ and “777″ for personal screens with looping movies. I’m actually not even 100% sure on the 764, but that’s what I believe to be the case. Any other flight and you’re out of luck.

CLICK LINK: http://www.flickr.com/photos/crankyflier/1225414757/
only stating opinions

I believe he stated on transcons and Delta flights. Not DCI. In addition, DL is continuing to add personal IFE's on additional equipment. If I am not mistaken all the 800's are scheduled to receive the IFE's as well.

 

[rvolkcpa]

I think Delta and Continental are on the vanguard here. Continental insits on keeping food and amenities such as pillows free, while quietly upgrading its F meals. Delta has rolled out its new domestic and international F menu and a significantly better buy on board Y menu. DL has also reintroduced free booze on trans-atlantic Y (the only US airline to do this) in the form of a free wine with dinner. Both are upgrading AVOD IFE systems and are becoming more traveler friendly.
WHAT IS OLD IS NEW.
People want a higher end product from the network carriers, and US, claiming to be a LCC (in name only) will be left in the dust.

My son flew Continental from Honolulu to Tampa prior to the start of his fall semester. He's flying back to Honolulu on Continental right now. He said the HNL-TPA flight was his best ever between the East Coast and Honolulu. He's flown Delta, American, United and US in the past. What impressed him was getting a cheeseburger for dinner and the choice of IFE. He would like me to book all of his future trips on Continental. My wife and I have experienced all of the above carriers between EWR/ABE and HNL except for US. The food service has steadily declined on most carriers. Delta had foil packs of crackers and snacks, United had BOB that was ok.

My real point is that the burger that Continental served made a favorable impression that could impact my son's flying decisions for the next 40 years. Maybe the other carriers, especially US, have cheapened their product a little too much.