Article:USAirways Needs a Passenger Service Flight Plan

songbirdstew

Senior
Sep 10, 2003
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From The Colorado Springs Business Journal

U.S. Airways needs a passenger service flight plan


Chris
Barnett
July 20, 2007
Business travelers and vacationers should fall to their knees and thank the god of mergers and acquisitions that U.S. Airways never got its clutches on Delta Airlines in its $8.5 million buyout offer last year when the Atlanta carrier was fighting for its life.

Chances are that shotgun marriage, an end-run wooing of bankrupt Delta’s non-secured creditors, would have been a catastrophe for passengers.

The fact is that the U.S. Airways Group and America West Holdings Inc. merger nearly two years ago is a joyless mess punctuated with turf warfare, labor battles and ludicrous cost cutting.

I flew four legs on U.S. Airways recently and shudder to think what it would be like if Delta had been bolted on.

It all started, no surprise, with reservations. Northwest had quoted $601 for a San Francisco-to-Minneapolis-St. Paul nonstop round trip; U.S. Air quoted $460 for a one-stop but I wanted to test their live reservations system that, like most of Big Six airlines, is outsourced to either India or the Philippines.

It took 10 minutes of explaining to a very nice Indian chap that Minneapolis and San Francisco were not an hour apart. No big deal.

Check in at SFO, the San Francisco airport, was a long, snaking line. When the self-check-in terminal glitched and I asked for help, I was “shushedâ€￾ like some 5-year-old. One grumpy guy manned the gate check in and then doubled as the collector of boarding passes. I watched him. Not one smile in 25 minutes. He did mutter a “thank youâ€￾ when he took my pass but made no eye contact.

Aboard a tired 737 on our way to Las Vegas, two senior flight attendants — America West lifers — were pleasant and apologetic for the condition of the plane.

With a little prodding, I learned flight attendants haven’t had a raise in five years, flying without a labor contract for four years and paying more out of their own pockets for their health benefits. Still, they were pros who smiled through their pain.

U.S. Airways CEO Don Parker has lived up to his reputation as the Rambo of airline cost butchers. His cleaver is sharp, if wielded foolishly. Not that I’m addicted to those micro bags of pretzels and nuts, but I was told U.S. Air doesn’t pass them out on flights under an hour and a half. Come on, what do they cost, a nickel?

A flight attendant took pity and brought me two tiny bags of almonds and a biscotti from first class. I could have bought a snack box of chips, salsa, cheese, crackers, candy and a fruit bar for $5, but that’s too much calories and fat for breakfast.

The airline’s squeezing every possible nickel at the passenger’s expense. While it’s selling advertising space on its drop-down tables and paper coffee cups, the $5 movie headsets are so cheaply constructed they are laughable.

Forget fresh milk. Seat pitch or legroom in economy is 31 inches but feels like 29 inches. The woman in front leaned back and I couldn’t really work on my laptop.

At times, U.S. Air seems like a bad Keystone Kops movie. The connecting time at Las Vegas was 15 — count ’em — 15 minutes.

“We’re not required to call ahead to hold a plane but you’ll probably make it,â€￾ I was told. The trick if you connect on U.S. Air? Carry on everything and book a seat up front. It was like a land rush, but we made it.

The Minneapolis-to-San Francisco flight was even worse. I was told it was a “through flightâ€￾ — we’d stop at Phoenix Sky Harbor but stay on the plane. So this time I checked a garment bag.

But 10 minutes before landing, we were told that we had to connect to another flight, with no explanation. This time we had 30 minutes to scramble. Turns out we had two hours and 30 minutes of waiting around because the incoming flight, we were told, had a “mechanicalâ€￾ problem in Chicago and takeoff was delayed.

At 1 a.m. in SFO, the baggage level was chaos at the U.S. Air carousel. Suitcases from earlier flights were strewn all over. A couple in from Philadelphia insisted only 25 percent of the luggage on their flight arrived. That seemed bizarre, but I couldn’t get a baggage claim person to confirm or deny it. My bag finally showed up 45 minutes after landing.

It was hard to find happy fliers at that hour.

Eleanor Keare, founder and CEO of Circle of Friends, a maker of hair and bath products for children, credited “mostâ€￾ of the flight attendants for “tryingâ€￾ and liked her exit row seat on one leg of her trip.

“But when I asked for a second water, the flight attendant was salty about it,â€￾ Keare said. “Then from L.A. to Phoenix, the plane was so small, my knees were under my chin and I’m only 5-3.â€￾

Far more vocal was Art Pushkin, a sales manager in the digital imaging industry, who said he’s part of 867-person group who’ve protested U.S. Air’s policies since 2002 and have defected to other carriers.

He said he was Chairman Preferred status on the airline’s frequent flyer program for seven years, but “we all voted with our wallets when we could not count on U.S. Air to get us where we wanted to be on time.â€￾

Meantime, the effort to join U.S. Air and America West drags on. The human sides of the deal, the two employee cultures, are poles apart over money, seniority and scheduling.

“No way will we ever be one airline,â€￾ said a flight attendant loyal to America West, which she joined 20 years ago.

As for the front-line staffers I spoke with, all are “delighted the merger with Delta collapsed,â€￾ said one gate agent. “What were they thinking? It would have been a mess.â€￾

Chris Barnett writes on business travel strategies that save time, money and hassles. His column appears every other week. © Copley News Service
 
Seriously folks, all the beotchin' about US is a little overdone if you ask me. I am not saying it could not use improvement, but I have been flying most of the domestic carriers over the past few months and they ALL have issues, bad hubs, dodgey service, etc, etc, etc.
 
I imagine folks are remembering the service level of as little as 5 years ago and wondering WTF?

An airline expert said this week the current level is how it's going to be, and for everybody to get used to it.

This 'free market' is an amazingly thing. In most endeavors, competition brings out the best. In airlines, it's a race to the bottom.

I'm guessing we haven't seen bottom yet.
 
I imagine folks are remembering the service level of as little as 5 years ago and wondering WTF?

An airline expert said this week the current level is how it's going to be, and for everybody to get used to it.

This 'free market' is an amazingly thing. In most endeavors, competition brings out the best. In airlines, it's a race to the bottom.

I'm guessing we haven't seen bottom yet.
Just take a trip on Ryan Air in Europe. We have seen nothing yet here in the US!
 
Bottom line you purchased the cheaper ticket, in this day and time when you CALL a reservations center and wade thru the difficult ENGLISH why in the world would you NOT use the internet. Plus when you purchase a ticket via the reservations center you are charged an additional $10.00. So was the extra dollars worth it to make a connection. Seeing you are a writer for the newspaper sounds like you just wanted to jump on the bandwagon and GRIPE. ENUFF SAID
 
Seriously folks, all the beotchin' about US is a little overdone if you ask me. I am not saying it could not use improvement, but I have been flying most of the domestic carriers over the past few months and they ALL have issues, bad hubs, dodgey service, etc, etc, etc.
Think what YOU want but the general concensus is US is certainly one of the WORST carriers in the USA......and that is definitely NOTHING to be PROUD OF. (Not only is the onboard product stripped down, bare bones but the ontime performance and reliability of service is an ABSOLUTE JOKE).
 
With a little prodding, I learned flight attendants haven’t had a raise in five years, flying without a labor contract for four years and paying more out of their own pockets for their health benefits. Still, they were pros who smiled through their pain.

U.S. Airways CEO Don Parker has lived up to his reputation as the Rambo of airline cost butchers. His cleaver is sharp, if wielded foolishly. Not that I’m addicted to those micro bags of pretzels and nuts, but I was told U.S. Air doesn’t pass them out on flights under an hour and a half. Come on, what do they cost, a nickel?

A flight attendant took pity and brought me two tiny bags of almonds and a biscotti from first class. I could have bought a snack box of chips, salsa, cheese, crackers, candy and a fruit bar for $5, but that’s too much calories and fat for breakfast.


Yeah, some expert...he couldn't even get Doug's name right. :p

I enjoyed the article though. Thanks for sharing!
Our airline is such an embarrassment. sigh.
 
Seriously folks, all the beotchin' about US is a little overdone if you ask me. I am not saying it could not use improvement, but I have been flying most of the domestic carriers over the past few months and they ALL have issues, bad hubs, dodgey service, etc, etc, etc.
Well, that makes what the sandcastle has done to US much better.
 
U.S. Airways needs a passenger service flight plan[/b]
Chris
Barnett
July 20, 2007
Chris Barnett writes on business travel strategies that save time, money and hassles. His column appears every other week. © Copley News Service

sky high states: This guy makes his money by complaining. http://www.cb.biztravelife.com/02/021402.htm

Typical, no meals, no smiles, long lines STORY. Could Chris Barnett be running out of noteworthy material?


only stating opinions
 
Think what YOU want but the general concensus is US is certainly one of the WORST carriers in the USA......and that is definitely NOTHING to be PROUD OF. (Not only is the onboard product stripped down, bare bones but the ontime performance and reliability of service is an ABSOLUTE JOKE).

Perhaps if marketing actually marketed instead of trying to run inflight, we wouldn't be such an obvious joke.
 
Perhaps if marketing actually marketed instead of trying to run inflight, we wouldn't be such an obvious joke.

Your marketing department is too busy marketing other companies' products to market their own.
 
Seriously folks, all the beotchin' about US is a little overdone if you ask me. I am not saying it could not use improvement, but I have been flying most of the domestic carriers over the past few months and they ALL have issues, bad hubs, dodgey service, etc, etc, etc.

While you do have a point, where US falls apart is customer service when an irregular op happens. Between a worthless reservation system, front line employees who APPEAR to no longer care about their customers, or are unable to help them (I blame this on management by the way), and the inability or unwillingness to reaccommodate on other carriers (as is required in many cases), US is alone at the bottom.

Add in labor issues which contribute to crew related cancellations/delays, and the only way to go is up.

I have been traveling on other airlines to the tune of $2200 on the last 3 trips, (about 3 weeks), and while there were one or two glitches, customer service was in abundance wherever needed. Unfortunately that is not the case with US.

Unless you are given the tools to do your jobs properly, and are given the ability to properly take care of your customers, there is no hope for this place.

Bottom line you purchased the cheaper ticket, in this day and time when you CALL a reservations center and wade thru the difficult ENGLISH why in the world would you NOT use the internet. Plus when you purchase a ticket via the reservations center you are charged an additional $10.00. So was the extra dollars worth it to make a connection. Seeing you are a writer for the newspaper sounds like you just wanted to jump on the bandwagon and GRIPE. ENUFF SAID

We never asked for loser fares, and I, for one, almost never get the lowest available fares. 9 of 10 of my itineraries are profitable to the airline, and most elite customers also fall into this category. It has been acknowledged by another airline that 8% of the customers contribute up to 36% of the revenue.

As service levels decline, and other high yield customers abandon ship, profits will decline or disappear.

We have always advocated for FAIR fares--not the bargain basement, but not the gouging either. The business traveling public is for the most part sick and tired of subsizing the Kettles on their $99 excursions.

For every business traveler who leaves, it takes at least 10 and usually more Kettles to make up for the lost revenue. So while load factors go up, profits go way down. It's a domino effect--let's hope there's time to stop this one from snowballing out of control (I have my doubts).
 
Your marketing department is too busy marketing other companies' products to market their own.
:lol: Isn't that the truth. There are days I question whether they would prostitute their own Mother or children to bring in MORE MONEY. They have taken advertising to the absolute EXTREME!
 
Bottom line you purchased the cheaper ticket, in this day and time when you CALL a reservations center and wade thru the difficult ENGLISH why in the world would you NOT use the internet. Plus when you purchase a ticket via the reservations center you are charged an additional $10.00. So was the extra dollars worth it to make a connection. Seeing you are a writer for the newspaper sounds like you just wanted to jump on the bandwagon and GRIPE. ENUFF SAID

You should talk to PineyBob about the wonderful US www site.


Just take a trip on Ryan Air in Europe. We have seen nothing yet here in the US!

But for the prices that Ryanair charges (fares from 10 GBP - click here, I'm almost surprised at the level of service one receives on Ryanair. While the service on US might be approaching Ryanair, I don't think their prices are even close!