Woo Hoo! $100

[ussnark]

Total Bags are down 16% but that should only really matter if the system was at or over capacity.

Possibly, but unlikely.

You may wish to study how systems like airline baggage complexes operate. Little is intuitive because it cannot be simplified very much and depends on many unknowable factors, especially Fed involvement, both ATC and TSA.

 

[ussnark]

The fact is, you could pay some of the complainers on here the biggest salaries in the industry and they will never be happy.

Inferring the happiness state of an individual by whether they complain or not is a straw-man argument and useless as a problem-solving element. Worse than useless as it allows people to demonize a group without any thought, whatsoever.

 

[luvthe9]

US Airways ranks No. 1 in receiving complaints
By The Tribune-Review
Friday, October 3, 2008

US Airways received a higher rate of complaints from passengers in August than did any of the nearly 20 airlines tracked by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the agency said Thursday. The carrier received 120 passenger complaints, or 2.45 for every 100,000 boarded that month, which ranked US Airways last among the 19 carriers tracked and contrasted with an average score of 1.22. The airline ranked last in the July report as well, with a 2.16 ratio. But US Airways did better than the year earlier, when it posted a 4.42 ratio for August 2007, also last place.

 

[SS255]

I was VERY impressed with US's handling of my bag last Thursday: We left LAX 5 minutes late, but the weather in CLT was bad, and everything got backed up. ATC slowed all flights into CLT, so we got about 20 minutes behind schedule. To compound the problem, the flight right in front of us slowed down so much that ATC made our pilot do a scary maneuver which resulted in a nosedive to get out of the way. (It was handled very well by the pilot. )

We lost our landing slot, had to circle CLT again (they sent us 25 miles out of our way -- 50 miles RT for which I will not receive any miles :down: ), and finally pulled up at the gate an hour late. My 40 minute connection would have been busted had it not been for the weather, and then a mechanical (the door would not close).

Despite my best efforts to sprint across CLT (and I DID sprint) from B5 to E17, the door was just closing to my delayed flight to AVP, and the GA said "no way." My polite and charming demeanor (in addition to some serious begging) resulted in the captain approving them letting me onto the flight.

I "knew" that there was no way on earth that my bag would ever make it, and I resigned myself to being yet another PAWOB statistic. Imagine my surprise as I made my way down the escalator at AVP and saw my bag waiting for me on the belt.

Unfortunately, the return trip was the final trip for my bag: When I got back to LAX (after a seamless flight through PHL), it was broken -- the plastic edge was shattered. :down: (Disclaimer: This may have been the TSA's fault, and since it was a 7-year-old bag I will give US the benefit of the doubt.)

I'll be ordering a TravelPro from eBags this weekend!

 

[jcw]

Inferring the happiness state of an individual by whether they complain or not is a straw-man argument and useless as a problem-solving element. Worse than useless as it allows people to demonize a group without any thought, whatsoever.

You may be right - however usually if you complain all the time its a good sign you just are not happy with your situation. At this point the merger is 3 years old. If you don't like the pay, the job, etc. do something about - find another job that pays you the amount of money you want.

You should take matters into your own hands don't wait on the company or the union to find you a job that will make you happy.

It's like the boy who cried wolf. Most people have stopped listening to the complaints - it's really old.

 

[ussnark]

You may be right - however usually if you complain all the time its a good sign you just are not happy with your situation. At this point the merger is 3 years old. If you don't like the pay, the job, etc. do something about - find another job that pays you the amount of money you want.

You should take matters into your own hands don't wait on the company or the union to find you a job that will make you happy.

It's like the boy who cried wolf. Most people have stopped listening to the complaints - it's really old.

What is old is people who think they should just put their heads down and toil away without input, even when they know the information they could impart would better their lives. You know, that attitude went out in feudal times, yet, I see it resurrected time and again at this airline.

If you wish to be a peon, then, bless you. The phrase, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, I think, refers to the cooks (bosses), not the serfs. A healthy company welcomes complaints, and acts on them. A sick company places it's head up it's tutu to avoid the noise. Which kind of company do you find yourself advocating for?

 

[ussnark]

I love my job and it seems no matter what kind of cuts come my way I'm still okay.

Okay, 100% cut for you. Still okay?

 

[leprechaun]

Bashing US is fine and deserved but bashing for no reason is to much.

The real news here is the Remarkable turn around in PHL.
I would love to here from some on the ground there.

And what remarkable turn around would that be?

You and Freedumb love your Tempe koolaid.

$100 is pennies on the dollar from what was taken from us.

What about the thousands in wages and benefits we've lost.

You got a hundred bucks, Doug got a millions in bonuses and stock.

You are no doubt thrilled about the 700 billion we tax payers just ponied up.

 

[Toothy Grin]

What is old is people who think they should just put their heads down and toil away without input, even when they know the information they could impart would better their lives. You know, that attitude went out in feudal times, yet, I see it resurrected time and again at this airline.

If you wish to be a peon, then, bless you. The phrase, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, I think, refers to the cooks (bosses), not the serfs. A healthy company welcomes complaints, and acts on them. A sick company places it's head up it's tutu to avoid the noise. Which kind of company do you find yourself advocating for?

Actually, there are many studies that clearly show how attitudes -positive and negative - reflect upon a persons ability to think clearly, especially when it comes to making decisions about oneself. Overal, these attitudes affect your earning level and enjoyment in life/work. It also impedes the ability to clearly evaluate your place in your work environment. Have you never heard someone say "i can't do that!" and then they do it to their own amazement. Some are their own worst enemies.

Referring to others as 'peons' somehow indicates that you are somehow above it all. I agree that a healthy company does welcome complaints, true. Yet an unhealthy minds will not see the obvious: crew meetings with Doug and Scott, Open Door office policies, AskInflight, the 'write in a complaint' newsletter. There is really a lot of lattitude here and I have personally written to Directors and up with ideas and complaints and have received prompt responses, no grudges just pure interest in what I had to say.

If you're upset that the monetary 'thanks' is not enough it is something that is far better than an award certificate and besides money can only go so far. I believe what is really propelling this forward are a large amount of employees with healthy levels of self esteem who know that they and the airline they work for are anything but last place material.

that's it for now, gotta go set the table...

 

[N965VJ]

<SNIP> There is really a lot of lattitude here and I have personally written to Directors and up with ideas and complaints and have received prompt responses, no grudges just pure interest in what I had to say.

So why has Tempe turned their backs on employees with decades of experience, and FFOCUS?

 

[jimcfs]

So why has Tempe turned their backs on employees with decades of experience, and FFOCUS?

Because Tempe knows everything. They are so smart, doncha know.

 

[ussnark]

that's it for now, gotta go set the table...

Must have been another bright, shiny object that caught your attention........

The concept you missed (badly) is that complaints can be answered, but are not, at US. When no one cares any longer to complain, then you worry, because you are going under.

Complaints can be the input that saves a company. Communicating a reason why or why not a company addresses a complaint reassures the complainer that the company looked into the objection, validating the complainer and providing recourse.

Ignoring the complainer, as this company does, is a sure fire way to generate more complaints. Doug seems to be of the milk-toast set, providing no answers or reasons for his actions. A sort of Gerber's response when we need granola. A palin blandness answering no one.

I think the company is ignoring a, so far, untapped resource for profit, but then, I am interested in profit for the company and not necessarily for myself, unlike the last ten CEOs.

 

[Toothy Grin]

So why has Tempe turned their backs on employees with decades of experience, and FFOCUS?

Why? You're not going to like the answer but here it is...because Tempe is in the process of rebranding the airline and repositioning it to bring it forward (hopefully) into the far 21st Century (under a different merged name). I'm still not certain if they are going to be succesful in doing this...probably under the original timeline (timeline=my own understanding of events), but now things that I was told would not happen until 2010 are happening now, so I'm not sure if the people in the company can really make it happen without falling into their own nuerosis.

The way things are done in the world that are largely unpleasant and unwanted is to bring a splash into the populus. Like a peanut thrown into a chimp cage people react negatively, then over a year or so they calm down and eventually the "splash" is accepted as normal. This 'new model' is not new at all and was tried by various airlines shortly after 911.

Anyway, back to the why...using the modified name US Air=US Airways and morphing the brand from leading luxury airline of the 20th cent to leading low cost airline of the 21st cent...and slowly adjusting people to adapt to the buy as you need model. I've already discussed the future of the airline industry so i won't recap it here, I will say that given what has happened and with what is to come with the dissolution of the stock and credit markets as the price of a ticket increases paying for what you want will be more than acceptable to the masses of cattle minded people. Moooo.

That Mooo sound is also what you hear on this very board. Stuck in the past, wanting to be what you were 30 years ago, pilots fighting - should say STILL fighting, seniority issues, various Queen Bee ideas of what constitutes good F/C service. These memory lane ideas are completely out of touch with where this airline is heading so why waste time asking for input from people who cannot understand the dire global events ahead let alone the task at hand for this airline.

I think Doug has explained what he is doing and why many times over...you can lead a horse to water....

 

[Toothy Grin]

Must have been another bright, shiny object that caught your attention........

The concept you missed (badly) is that complaints can be answered, but are not, at US. When no one cares any longer to complain, then you worry, because you are going under.

Complaints can be the input that saves a company. Communicating a reason why or why not a company addresses a complaint reassures the complainer that the company looked into the objection, validating the complainer and providing recourse.

Ignoring the complainer, as this company does, is a sure fire way to generate more complaints. Doug seems to be of the milk-toast set, providing no answers or reasons for his actions. A sort of Gerber's response when we need granola. A palin blandness answering no one.

I think the company is ignoring a, so far, untapped resource for profit, but then, I am interested in profit for the company and not necessarily for myself, unlike the last ten CEOs.

1. I do not understand your reference to a bright shiny object.

2. I completely understood your prior post which I answered in my 2nd paragraph reposted here:

"I agree that a healthy company does welcome complaints, true. Yet an unhealthy minds will not see the obvious: crew meetings with Doug and Scott, Open Door office policies, AskInflight, the 'write in a complaint' newsletter. There is really a lot of lattitude here and I have personally written to Directors and up with ideas and complaints and have received prompt responses, no grudges just pure interest in what I had to say."

3. Complaints. The company does monitor them. However, as I explained above in a prior post and will repeat as necessary the direction of the company is Low Cost. The complaints that do not pertain to this model will not likely receive much of a reception or drastic change from the company especially if it would steer the company back to the former model...and that is the former US AIR or America West.

4. Expect more complaints, at first. The ecnomic hardships to be felt worldwide will level the playing field soon enough and complaints will drop becuase fewer people will be flying and also because EVERYONE will understand that it is impossible to give away everything for free.

5. As I explained to N965...a complaint that did elicit a change from the company would I imagine be temporary, until the next opportunity to change it back made itself available. Employees are resources, true, but as i said before they are walking down memory lane and truly self concerned about 'how much they've been through' and 'how many concessions were made'

6. If the airline fails it will not be because of 'complaints'. It will be because of fuel and cash...specifically how much cash does the airline have to sustain itself. This is why the primary focus right now is to generate as much cash as possible - NOT spoon feeding the passengers.

...i'm off to bed now

 

[Dog Wonder]

...you can lead a horse to water....

but the same old stuff comes out the back.