Focus Group Meeting this Week

[whattodo89]

I know there must be many people on here that went to the meeting. Please give us a recap on what was discussed.

 

[etops1]

why?all people are gonna do is shoot it down. so why bother?

 

[beachboy]

Because your etops. If you didn't give a report it would be like the sun didn't rise. 😉 😛

 

[etops1]

Because your etops. If you didn't give a report it would be like the sun didn't rise. 😉 😛

yeah well. it's nothing you guys haven't heard about . new carts coming for the whole fleet. trying to get a jumpseat agreement with northwest . enhancements are coming to the 767 new envoy seats. the usair etops 757's are getting new galleys . 2 already getting fitted. new cashless system being introduced this summer . we saw the hand helds they look nice. 2 will be on narrow bodies and 4 on wide bodies. new entertainment system being tested out on a phx a320 in the summer . if successfull will be rolled out on all narrow body a/c. lodo program will be reavamped(i will be deeply involved in that ) we all nkow glass wear is not coming back for the time being they said . fuel is at $100 a barrel and they needed to cut something out that passengers said they could live without and glass was it. they did say that they have the glasswear. they did not throw it out and that it can be reintroduced depending on market conditions. the possibility of removing the ovens off the narrow body airbus to conserve fuel was explored but shelved for now because you never know if we might use them, in the future. inflight cafe does have hot entrees that the company might think of rolling out. america west use to have hot inflight cafe meals and it was well recieved. let's see ,what else..........


oh . new trash bags are still coming . one thing i did ask is why do things take so long to happen. they say it's very frustrating because most of our products come from china and because of the chinese new year it has affected the deliveries of these products but slowly but surely we will see enhancments. sherri apologized immensly on the uniform issue . she said twinhill just could not keep up with all the orders . we have so many peices and everyone ordered a bunch . alot of people still do not all or some uniform pieces . they want everyone to at least have one whole uniform until they relaunch a date. this is all i remeber. i might have forgot some things. take it for what you want . don't shoot the messenger. i am going to go run now. it's a nice day here in orlando. see you guys on the line.

 

[flybynite]

Did they expand on the new carts?

 

[Hot Nuts]

Thanks for keeping us in the loop its good to know they are being proactive and making some changes around this place. Now all we need is a raise and more lines/less reserves and the mood will shift.

 

[bigbusboy]

we all nkow glass wear is not coming back for the time being they said

This is no big deal folks. My only suggestion is a cup that's a little bigger than what we had and little smaller than what we have now. Also, it needs the USAirways logo on it. What we have now makes us look like we stopped at Costco on the way to the airport.

 

[flybynite]

Ditto.

 

[etops1]

the logos will be put on the cups. i forgot to say that. and they are looking at plastic wine glases for firsts calss. sherri said she knows more about plastic now than she ever knew. they were looking at a particular one but it was not sturdy enough. as for the carts . they wil be better than what we have now. there were two prototypes and the focus group members had to vote on one. i think we made a good choice. listen we are trying to make the working evironment better for our f/a's .we can't get you a pay raise or a better reserve system because those are contract issues and those are not discussed at the meetings. i know most of the time it seems like nothing is being done. sometimes i feel like nothing is being done. but behind the scenes they are making improvements. it's a slow process though to try and get products in as a fast pace. i personally think there is a big reason"M" for the slow pace but that's just my opinion.

 

[FlightChic]

lodo program will be reavamped (i will be deeply involved in that )

So what are they doing to revamp it? Two years ago when I came back from furlough they told me they weren't letting anyone in for a while because they were "revamping" it, then they told me I had to take the LODO test again. I explained that I was a LODO before furlough but they said I still had to take the test again. I never did because it's not like I can hold LODO at my seniority in PHL and I don't want it in CLT because the trips are so bad. The funny thing is, I know some Italian LODOs who got right back in the program and never had to retake a test or do anything and they're junior to me. Strange. They tell one person one thing and another person another thing. Although, revamping the program is probably a good thing, especially if actual LODO flight attendants are involved in the revamping process. BTW, they need 3 per A330, at least 2 per 767 but 3 would be ideal but we all know how the company thinks, and they should never, EVER go CLT-MEX without a LODO ever! MF and Mgmt - I know you're reading this so take note! If you don't believe me maybe you should try playing a LODO. Then you'll understand. Oh also, why does the LODO have to do Duty Free? Because they speak the language? It just seems that the LODO doesn't get a rest after having to do everything.

 

[bigbusboy]

There are a few new carts showing up on east a/c. They are dark grey with a flat top surface. If the new carts are these, they are very nice and seem to be sturdier. Having a flat top surface to work on is so much nicer than those crazy carts with handle bars. Now how about getting rid of those bulky blue drawers that don't fit.

 

[N965VJ]

Heh, for a minute I thought this thread title was about FFOCUS making some headway.

 

[Zarah]

So what are they doing to revamp it? Two years ago when I came back from furlough they told me they weren't letting anyone in for a while because they were "revamping" it, then they told me I had to take the LODO test again. I explained that I was a LODO before furlough but they said I still had to take the test again. I never did because it's not like I can hold LODO at my seniority in PHL and I don't want it in CLT because the trips are so bad. The funny thing is, I know some Italian LODOs who got right back in the program and never had to retake a test or do anything and they're junior to me. Strange. They tell one person one thing and another person another thing. Although, revamping the program is probably a good thing, especially if actual LODO flight attendants are involved in the revamping process. BTW, they need 3 per A330, at least 2 per 767 but 3 would be ideal but we all know how the company thinks, and they should never, EVER go CLT-MEX without a LODO ever! MF and Mgmt - I know you're reading this so take note! If you don't believe me maybe you should try playing a LODO. Then you'll understand. Oh also, why does the LODO have to do Duty Free? Because they speak the language? It just seems that the LODO doesn't get a rest after having to do everything.

Lodos from my new hire class hold lines in the summer. May 2000

 

[FlightChic]

Lodos from my new hire class hold lines in the summer. May 2000

I think I need to start learning a different language so I can hold a line too! Does anybody have a Rosetta Stone program I can borrow? 😉

 

[Onestep2flt]

Gong Xi Fa Cai! (Happy Chinese New Year) Pronounced Gong Hey Fat Choy.

Does anyone have a wet wipe? I just spit my potatoes all over my computer! The company spokespeople have become masters at creative BS! This merger has been taking place for three years now. The problems talked about in the focus group are the same three year old problems, and only now we have discovered that Chinese New year has caused all of this. Folks, Chinese New year is only once a year just like everywhere else. It is a 15 Day celebration that is based on the lunar calender. This year it finished around the 21st of this month. There is no shortage of Chinese made goods in this country! With the exception to the new uniforms they are not talking of any special products made exclusively for US Airways. Are the warehouses of the goods empty because of a once a year holiday? I would think not. The Uniform issue is more than just Twin Hills not being able to keep up. I have a personal acquaintance that modeled the uniforms for an employee group with management present. This person was excited because they looked good and fit well. They ordered the same pieces for which they modeled. The uniform they received were nothing like the one's that were modeled. Size was off, color was off and material is not the same. I would surmise that the products being modeled were probably stitched here with material that was made here and thus the large variations. I do not believe she is the only one with issues. I am sure some got exactly what they ordered and some did not. That would be a quality control issue and not one of demand.
I could ramble on over these topics but there are too many. I will leave with another Chinese saying: Sui Sui Ping an. You say this during Chinese New Year if something gets broken to ward off bad luck during the New Year. Well, US Airways is broken and hopefully a cure will be had soon. By the way, US management picked a great year to blame things on Chinese New Year as it is the year of the RAT!!

Take care