cactusflyer
Senior
50 bucks is nice, but I haven't had a raise in 5 years. I'd rather have that.
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I know that US pads their times quite a bit but with that being said, do we know if our flight times are noticeably longer on routes we have competition on? I'm curious to see the difference. Hmmmmm
Actually, I believe WN simply copies (mostly) the same schedule times. If any "padding" is going on, I wonder if it is for setting expectations (Oh gosh, we arrived early!!! yet again!) rather than caring about pushing on time. I think the pilots still get paid by segment and extra pay kicks in only after 15 minutes late? How many people buy tickets on a shorter (by a few minutes) flight? Especially when the cheapest price (many times) is on WN?You know that WN wouldn't pad their schedules, and even if they had to it wouldn't be 1 extra second more than it needed to be. These are the first two city pairs I looked up....and both validate my claim that US isn't padding their schedules more than anyone else...even vs. WN
IIRC, the FAs are paid by “segment†as well. It’s quite a bit of a different system at WN.<SNIP> I think the pilots still get paid by segment and extra pay kicks in only after 15 minutes late?
Exactly...I spent consderable time one day recently comparing US with every other carrier in markets they share. If anything, we had a slightly shorter total block time on the average. So we can put this false claim to rest.
Actually, numerous people should care - management, employees, and even customers who would like US to survive. Padding schedules to make up for underlying problems costs money, and not insignificant sums. With fuel getting ever closer to $4/gal, not having to spend the money to make up for those underlying operational issues becomes more and more important.Who really cares if the times are padded or not?
Pad the times and you pay the pilots and FA's more.Actually, numerous people should care - management, employees, and even customers who would like US to survive. Padding schedules to make up for underlying problems costs money, and not insignificant sums. With fuel getting ever closer to $4/gal, not having to spend the money to make up for those underlying operational issues becomes more and more important.
Jim
Who really cares if the times are padded or not? The end goal is that you exceed the customer's expectations... The customer doesn't know or care how long the flight actually takes. They just know that you say you're leaving at X time, and getting there at X time. Beating those times is what makes the customer happy.
Who really cares if the times are padded or not? The end goal is that you exceed the customer's expectations... The customer doesn't know or care how long the flight actually takes. They just know that you say you're leaving at X time, and getting there at X time. Beating those times is what makes the customer happy.
I totally see your point, but customer's expectations are important too. US just needs to work for the perfect balance. There was a time when I flew US that I never even paid attention to how long I had between connections because I just knew it didn't matter. We wouldn't get there on time, OR leave on time.Actually, numerous people should care - management, employees, and even customers who would like US to survive. Padding schedules to make up for underlying problems costs money, and not insignificant sums. With fuel getting ever closer to $4/gal, not having to spend the money to make up for those underlying operational issues becomes more and more important.
Jim
I didn't say that meeting schedule isn't important to meeting one of the customer's expectations, but rather merely replying to your statement/question - "who cares" about padding the schedules or not.I totally see your point, but customer's expectations are important too.
Agreed. But that, again, is different from your original "who cares" comment. Adding extra pad is merely an expensive fix for the underlying problems that affect on-time performance. Lots of people should care if that fix is used short-term to improve that metric while the underlying problems are addressed or considered a solution in itself.You're right - in the long run, things have to take place to increase efficiency, BUT in the short run, meeting your customer's expectations is probably the best way to keep us coming back (at least the frequent flyer/business traveler). Get the customer's back first - while working on efficiency.