5TH Worst Airline in the WORLD

[Hope777]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/9-Awesome-Foreign-Airlines-siliconalley-1206143511.html?x=0&.v=3


TEMPE are you Listening ???????

 

[nycbusdriver]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/9-Awesome-Foreign-Airlines-siliconalley-1206143511.html?x=0&.v=3


TEMPE are you Listening ???????

Doubt it.

(Too busy spending their bonuses.)

 

[Dog Wonder]

You see that is all perception which is not reality unless the perception makes us look good it which case it is what it is.

 

[OldGuyinPA]

They major in the minors.... and minor in the majors....

Take care of your employees and they will in turn take care of our customers.

It seems all management cares about is their bonuses. Everything else be dammed....

Can you hear us DoUgIe and Scotty.

We doubt it.

 

[BoeingBoy]

They still believe that the RCA thing is all that matters to passengers.

Jim

 

[nycbusdriver]

I wonder if the moderators can merge this topic with the "Happy Thread"?

 

[beachboy]

I wonder if the moderators can merge this topic with the "Happy Thread"?

I hope so! I can tell you am I really enjoying this forum again now that the threat of the Third Reich has passed. I am willing to participate again.

 

[damajagua]

I guess USAIRWAYS is the ugly girl!!!!

 

[Jester]

They still believe that the RCA thing is all that matters to passengers.

Jim

Jim,

I think that's the ugly truth, at least, on the domestic markets. How many airlines have attempted to cater the high-end business travelers only to close their doors a few years later? MGM Grand Airlines? Legend? Regentair? Eos? Maxjet? Silverjet? Air Atlanta? Of course, the public wants more as there is an unlimited demand for free goods, but even modest attempts like American's "More Room Throughout Coach" was a failure as the flying public was not willing to pay the increased fares. Southwest lead the way in a race to the bottom serving peanuts, no first class and no assigned seating while making a ton of money offering low fares.

Frankly, I think the average traveler would take the view of paying an extra $50 for an one-way ticket on a two hour flight and wonder if paying $25/hour for a few extras to be worth the cost, as they aren't make that much per hour while working. I think the answer has been clear for most travelers. We all like the idea of being "the best" or the most classy airline because of personal pride, but I would prefer to be employed in a stable, profitable company instead.

So Suggests Jester.

 

[BoeingBoy]

Southwest may not offer any frills but place near the top based on value (reasonable fares) and generally happy people giving generally good customer service. Look at the data behind Zagat's rankings (by self-described FF's averaging about 10 flts/year) and customer service is where US really fell short. Domestically only Spirit was worse and Ryanair was the worst of all carriers ranked. Friendly, helpful employees don't cost much if anything - WN had the same reputation when their folks made less than legacy carrier employees. When US was charging at least $500 each way between PHL and BOS the service wasn't any better than it is with whatever they're charging now that WN serves the market or before FL left the market. People were paying steak with all the trimmings prices and getting the same hamburger.

US can't afford to compete on fares (hence the outrageous fares where it has no competition), so it charges for everything but coffee/soft drinks in coach. B6/VX/WN and even FL make it on service.

Jim

 

[DCaf]

I guess USAIRWAYS is the ugly girl!!!!

I guess it is. But notice its overall score is in the lower end of the same group as CO, UA, DL, and AA (fair to good). Was WN included in this survey, because they're arguably the finest airline in the world? But they don't serve much in the way of food, do they, which seems what the Zagat people seem to care most about. Lastly, before I doth protest too much, apply the Asian service level and the fares needed to support them to the USA, and the industry would be gone in a couple of years.

 

[BoeingBoy]

Was WN included in this survey, because they're arguably the finest airline in the world?

They were and scored 2nd for coach seating, 1st for website, 2nd for FF program, 1st for value, 1st for on-time, 1st for baggage policy, and 1st for check-in experience. Some of those categories are only domestic airlines and some are among all 90 airlines used for the survey.

Jim

 

[Onestep2flt]

I guess it is. But notice its overall score is in the lower end of the same group as CO, UA, DL, and AA (fair to good). Was WN included in this survey, because they're arguably the finest airline in the world? But they don't serve much in the way of food, do they, which seems what the Zagat people seem to care most about. Lastly, before I doth protest too much, apply the Asian service level and the fares needed to support them to the USA, and the industry would be gone in a couple of years.

I am not sure they (WN) are the best in the world. However, I think that they have a lot of things that just make sense. I know exactly what to expect when I get on board. A Boeing 737 that is clean, has nice amount of legroom, almost always friendly employees, bag of peanuts or pretzels, and a glass of something to hydrate me. They don't even necessarily have the lowest fares to a particular destination but you know they are consistently reasonable with consistent service.

What is going to be interesting is the merger with Airtran. From what the papers are saying they are going to keep Airtran 717 and are looking at putting the Boeing 737-800 into service. They would also like to expand to beyond the US boarders. They will be leaving there niche market. I think the reason a lot of people like them is for what they have been doing up to this point. It has been their consistency that keeps people coming back. I flew them recently for the first time in several years. I would say my experience was almost the same as it was back then with the exception of leather seats. A lot of airlines over promise and under deliver with services. This is one thing you don't see with southwest.

As you point out it would be difficult to apply service like Singapore Airlines to any US carrier. For one thing their market is totally different. Their website indicates they have approximately 110 aircraft with many on order. Those aircraft are ALL widebody and are all less than 7 years old. They are constantly updating their fleet. There is no domestic service as Singapore is small enough to drive around in a couple of hours. They serve 61 cities in 34 countries with over 180 daily departures. Compare that to US Airways at over 200 cities in 30 countries with approximately 3,130 daily departures. Easy to see the difference in the scope of operations.

I think if US could just somehow find a way to be more consistent they would pop up a little higher in those ratings. Also, don't tell me you spent X dollars on refurbishing aircraft just keep them clean and safe to fly on. Telling me what you spent to fix something that should have already been done sets you up for failure. My expectations are higher thinking you spent all this money. I am now looking for what improvements you have made only to see the tape that holds up the armrest in my seat. They also need to listen to employee concerns more closely. The employee that spends the time interacting with customers can be the biggest catalyst for improving the bottom line. Again, saying you have wonderful employees in your in flight magazine and showing them with the right tools to get the job done are two different things.

I do think that US has taken some very small steps to fix some of the blunders of the past. I just think it has been too slow and too little to be of much use to get you out of the bottom ranks of customer satisfaction. Hope things start looking up.

 

[SS255]

US may be a far cry from Thai & Singapore, but I would not classify them as anywhere near the 5th to the bottom worldwide. For one thing, US's safety standards are probably very close to the top of the list. (This is one area where US really excels.)

I have stated many times on this board that US has an image problem. And when people reply to these unscientific surveys, the majority of the responses are based on perception and not fact.

 

[damajagua]

I guess it is. But notice its overall score is in the lower end of the same group as CO, UA, DL, and AA (fair to good). Was WN included in this survey, because they're arguably the finest airline in the world? But they don't serve much in the way of food, do they, which seems what the Zagat people seem to care most about. Lastly, before I doth protest too much, apply the Asian service level and the fares needed to support them to the USA, and the industry would be gone in a couple of years.

I don't know but Jetblue seems to get it..........Free live TV, unlimited snacks and friendly employees........so all the other so call "perks"
that the majors offer reallly do not stack up when it comes to customer service and what the consumer really value.