Full Service, Low Fare

[SegmentKing]

I remember during the merger hearing the mantra "full service, low fare" all over. In ads. On placards. Posters in our lines at the counters & gates. On banners.

Its now 2008, and I'm wondering where the "full service" is, considering you get better service on Southwest now.

Our workforce is tired and grumpy (yes, understatement).

Our service is on par with a 7-11.

Aircraft still a bit dirty.

Items valued by HIGH YIELD BUSINESS TRAVELER are being removed or not installed (powerports should have been decided to go fleetwide, or removed on the east... now east is getting 321s with NO powerports)

Even the website still has references to America West, although the merger was completed 2 years ago. (http://www.usairways.com/awa & the top banner).

More RJ's on the way, 50 seaters are being replaced by 86 seaters, which are flying routes once flown by mainline, and the 50 seat markets are being closed/suspended/flights reduced.

And I don't want to hear "oh, its oil". These oil prices haven't even HIT the airline yet....

 

[InternationalShannon]

That's why I am glad that I work at Wendy's because there will always be people wanting to widen their load by eating greasy nastiness. I have job securrrity.

UPDATE: My boss at Wendy's just found out about that time , when I was trying to lose a few hundred pounds ( my dr told me cutting down on my daily 20 latte's were a good place to start) and I broke into that starbucks and they found me on the floor muttering "i cant quit you" while squirting caramel sauce into my mouth.....I explained that i was just in withdrawal, and that I needed rehab, but I don't think that Wendy's offers rehab after the fact do they? Anyway, I might need a new job because we're going to start serving coffee soon and LaQuanda thinks it might be bad for my recovery........ :angry:

 

[DrBeth]

That mantra has been replaced by high cost (of cheap) and à la carte/self-service.

 

[InternationalShannon]

That mantra has been replaced by high cost (of cheap) and à la carte/self-service.

i saw a guy self serving himself in the lobby and he got escorted out. how rude.

😛h34r:

 

[N965VJ]

<SNIP> I remember during the merger hearing the mantra "full service, low fare" all
And I don't want to hear "oh, its oil". These oil prices haven't even HIT the airline yet....

I’m still convinced it was all about subsequent mergers. US/DL, US/UA, US/NW etc. Parker and the Frat Boys never intended for US/HP to be the final deal, in fact they may have very well intended it to be an LCC within DL or UA. Who knows?

 

[does this plane go to paris]

I think that Doug and the sandcastle have given up on their anti-WN claim and gone for the Ryan Air/Allegiant approach, which is to charge for everything and blame it on fuel. The original motto of the merger is thrown out and your point is made that the full service, low fare is a crock.

 

[wings396]

I think that Doug and the sandcastle have given up on their anti-WN claim and gone for the Ryan Air/Allegiant approach, which is to charge for everything and blame it on fuel. The original motto of the merger is thrown out and your point is made that the full service, low fare is a crock.

You can't avoid putting a major portion of the blame on fuel, can you? I recall where the fuel costs for US were going to be nearly 2 Billion higher than last year. It is obvious that no Airline can raise fares high enough to absorb that amount, so what other options are left? At this point WN is the only one that has a huge advantage due to their hedging, so they don't have to charge any extra fees YET.. US is not alone with charging extra fees to boost revenue. Do you have any better ideas to make up for the additional 2 Billion, without taking it out of the employees pockets again?

 

[US Oringinal]

You can't avoid putting a major portion of the blame on fuel, can you? I recall where the fuel costs for US were going to be nearly 2 Billion higher than last year. It is obvious that no Airline can raise fares high enough to absorb that amount, so what other options are left? At this point WN is the only one that has a huge advantage due to their hedging, so they don't have to charge any extra fees YET.. US is not alone with charging extra fees to boost revenue. Do you have any better ideas to make up for the additional 2 Billion, without taking it out of the employees pockets again?

How about learning what yield management is and actually making sense out of airfares for a change?
Instead, the Sandcastle takes the lazy way out and nickels and dimes our passenegers to the point they are disgusted with us. Why do you think we rank last in terms of customer service according to the DOT? Our complaints are the highest in the industry and have been that way for months. People will be(and are) booking away from us because of our lousy customer service policies.

 

[ussnark]

You can't avoid putting a major portion of the blame on fuel, can you? I recall where the fuel costs for US were going to be nearly 2 Billion higher than last year. It is obvious that no Airline can raise fares high enough to absorb that amount, so what other options are left? At this point WN is the only one that has a huge advantage due to their hedging, so they don't have to charge any extra fees YET.. US is not alone with charging extra fees to boost revenue. Do you have any better ideas to make up for the additional 2 Billion, without taking it out of the employees pockets again?

Yes, for a while, fuel was higher than normal. However, you forgot several things.

1. SWA saw Dick 'n Georges marvelous Iraq adventure as a red light, that fuel price would increase, and acted accordingly. Others did not.

2. SWA has a lot more efficient operation than US, so much so, that the hedging is really, according to a SWA chief pilot, only icing. Top-down management style, a la Tempe, is extremely expensive.

3. You say $2 billion added. Compared to what? Why don't you say, increased by X percent? Does that include the hedging or are they simply quoting unrealistic budget and retail numbers, yet, again? Have you ever asked yourself, why would they tell the truth if a lie served their purposes better?

 

[SpinDoc]

More RJ's on the way, 50 seaters are being replaced by 86 seaters, which are flying routes once flown by mainline, and the 50 seat markets are being closed/suspended/flights reduced.

It's about time US jumped off the 50 seat bandwagon. CASM on a 50 seat jet is very high, and to boot, sending 50 seat RJ's into EWR, PHL, and LGA every hour does nothing but clog up the ATC system, burn more fuel, and create even higher costs for delays, diversions, and cancellations.

It makes a lot more sense to fly EMB170, 175, and 190's at half the frequency because the CASM is lower and ATC problems are minimized.

The general public doesn't really care if the flight is operated by Repugnant or US Airways anyway. All they care is that they get to their destination with a minimum of hassle and delay, and at the rate all of the major airlines were going with 50 seat CRJ and ERJ's into congested airspace, delays were off the charts.

Kudos to market forces for driving the 50 seat RJ out of the NE airspace and back into the mid-sized markets where they can fill their intended niche.

 

[SpinDoc]

Why do you think we rank last in terms of customer service according to the DOT? Our complaints are the highest in the industry and have been that way for months. People will be(and are) booking away from us because of our lousy customer service policies.

We are in last place because the folks in Tempe have not done a very good job of managing customer expectations. They have continuously failed to match the philosophies of Southwest and Air Tran, both of which "underpromise" and "overdeliver". I will give Tempe credit that they are working toward lowering the bar, but they are meeting a great deal of resistance when they lower the bar, and that in and of itself is creating a large portion of the complaints that the DOT is logging. Once Tempe is able to find a base line to set the standards, the complaints will dissolve and new customers will find their experience to be better than they expected.

It's all psychological. There are just too many pre-LCC customers who keep traveling on US that are holding on to the legacy carrier higher expectations that cannot be met in these troubling financial times.

 

[wings396]

Yes, for a while, fuel was higher than normal. However, you forgot several things.

1. SWA saw Dick 'n Georges marvelous Iraq adventure as a red light, that fuel price would increase, and acted accordingly. Others did not.

2. SWA has a lot more efficient operation than US, so much so, that the hedging is really, according to a SWA chief pilot, only icing. Top-down management style, a la Tempe, is extremely expensive.

3. You say $2 billion added. Compared to what? Why don't you say, increased by X percent? Does that include the hedging or are they simply quoting unrealistic budget and retail numbers, yet, again? Have you ever asked yourself, why would they tell the truth if a lie served their purposes better?

The 2 Billion figure was based on what I heard on a Crew News meeting on the Hub. I have no idea as to how accurate it is, and can only imagine that it is a reasonalbe given the amount that fuel has risen. I won't argue that SWA is much more efficient, but not to the extent to absorb the increased fuel costs.

 

[Hula Girl]

My husband recently flew to Gatwick on USAir in Business Class. He said the FAs were very nice but that the entertainment system was broken. He mostly slept so it was a mild inconvienence for him but what about the other passengers who spent in excess of $3k? Also, he said the entree he chose, the panfried steak, was not fit for human consumption. He is not a picky eater but he said it was disgusting and he was not able to get past two bites. His coworkers who also chose the 'panfried steak' said the same about it and were not able to eat it either.

 

[NCFL]

We are in last place because the folks in Tempe have not done a very good job of managing customer expectations...There are just too many pre-LCC customers who keep traveling on US...

My husband recently flew to Gatwick on USAir in Business Class. the entree he chose, the panfried steak, was not fit for human consumption.

Spin - don't worry, it seems Tempe is doing its level best to chase them all away. DOT complaints should improve after that mission is complete. I just hope for the sake of the employees who depend on their paychecks that there are enough replacement customers out there who are naive enough to fly US. Replacement customers don't exactly grow on trees.

Hula - "Pan-Fried Steak?" Yuck. Especially a $3k pan-fried steak.
Pan-fried steak is that super-thin piece of shoe leather beef I have to buy when I'm down to the very end of my week's grocery budget so I can feed my family. I think the grocery store markets it as a "Minute Steak" to make it sound fancy.

If you dump some store-brand "pieces and stems" mushrooms ($0.59/can) over the top of it and a little store-brand Cream of Mushroom soup ($0.70/can), you can disguise it as stroganoff and pull off an entree for a family of four for less than $5.00.

There's Tempe's high cost of cheap in action, folks.

 

[US1YFARE]

Also, he said the entree he chose, the panfried steak, was not fit for human consumption. He is not a picky eater but he said it was disgusting and he was not able to get past two bites. His coworkers who also chose the 'panfried steak' said the same about it and were not able to eat it either.

Ooopss...sorry...that wasn't steak. Debbie got confused and served the crew's shoes that were sitting in the front galley. Some RSV was the CSD and let crew take off their shoes. Gloria NEVER lets that happen--she runs a tight and professional ship.