Marketing MIA

CSSUP

Member
Aug 20, 2002
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I fired off an email to our local newspaper on why they did not print one word on US Airways emergence from bankruptcy, but in the past week had posted 3 articles on AirTran. The reply stated that unlike AirTran they never get any press releases from US Airways.

I know how easy it is to issue press releases. My spouse is responsible for both his companies and his associations press contacts.

This newspaper services an area of around 1 million people and 4 airports US or US expresses services. Seems many customers are being missed.

What is going on with marketing? When will the advertising begin?
 
SO SO True. What is Marketing doing? They always seem to have an excuse- for the last 23 years i''ve been at US they NEVER get it right. I''m always cutting our mgmt slack but NOW IM OVER IT! How can u expect anybody to know anything with your co if u dont TELL THEM..I could go on and on..but all of us at US knows the story- will it EVER change.???..
 
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On 4/2/2003 12:03:56 PM

NAPAUS wrote:
What is going on with marketing?
..but all of us at US knows the story- will it EVER change.???..

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Well, if it''s ever going to change, now is the time. A fresh start, new leadership, a new economy, and a "do or die" economic challenge.

And if it doesn''t change, then I know how to save some more money. (Then agian, maybe we misunderstood the term "marketing department". Maybe their only purpose is to wait around until it''s time to "market" our assets! )
 
I have a bottle of raid... anybody wanna join :) BTW all newspapers and broadcast outlets get about 90 % of their type and news from ap and upi etc..... theres something fishy with that excuse.....
 
US did issue a press release. Reuters and a number of other services picked it up.

US Airways Completes Restructuring; Secures $1.24 Billion in New Financing and Investment As It Emerges From Chapter 11

Clearly, your local newspaper missed the boat.
 
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On 4/2/2003 3:41:16 PM PineyBob wrote:




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On 4/2/2003 3:16:37 PM usfliboi wrote:

I have a bottle of raid... anybody wanna join :)
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Why would you want to use Raid on the one group that openly supports you and your company? My opinions on here are just that, my opinions. I call''em as i see''em and I have been very pro company when I thought they were right and when they were wrong I let then have it with both barrels, same for the labor groups. And unlike many on here I have freely and openly admitted my mstakes for all to see and apologized when needed. Come join us usfliboi we have a very big rug to crawl under! there is always room for one more cockroach. I think we could use your perspective frankly.

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Bob,

With all due respect, you do not support U employees. You have not seen an employee concession you did not like. It is quite natural for a consumer to want lower prices/better benefits for themselves. Just quit trying to act like you are on the "side" of the employees and you "support" the company. You are out for number one. You want what everyone wants, a superior product for the lowest cost (preferably free). You are more than happy to see employees/vendors/airport authorities take a hit, but when it comes to someone losing frequent flyer miles when they are traveling on a cheap fare you throw a fit. I don''t mind that as a consumer you want the lowest fare; I want the most value for the products and services I buy too. Just quit acting like you give a rat''s arse about US Airways or it''s employees. If you are worried that they will see a cockroach pin and treat you any less, don''t worry. I am sure they will treat you with the same high standard of service they treat all passengers.
 
The Miami Herald ran a story about US coming out of BK. It was surrounded by an article about AA reaching an agreement with its unions. I think on the second page if I remember right.
 
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On 4/2/2003 11:57:09 AM CSSUP wrote:

I fired off an email to our local newspaper on why they did not print one word on US Airways emergence from bankruptcy, but in the past week had posted 3 articles on AirTran. The reply stated that unlike AirTran they never get any press releases from US Airways.

I know how easy it is to issue press releases. My spouse is responsible for both his companies and his associations press contacts.

This newspaper services an area of around 1 million people and 4 airports US or US expresses services. Seems many customers are being missed.

What is going on with marketing? When will the advertising begin?

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This is total BS....they got the news release....just didnt print it.
Why?...they dont like us,thats why..same here in my town where AA and Luv are king..
 
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On 4/2/2003 6:12:57 PM PineyBob wrote:




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On 4/2/2003 5:25:50 PM X-U wrote:


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Bob,

With all due respect, you do not support U employees. You have not seen an employee concession you did not like. It is quite natural for a consumer to want lower prices/better benefits for themselves. Just quit trying to act like you are on the "side" of the employees and you "support" the company. You are out for number one. You want what everyone wants, a superior product for the lowest cost (preferably free). You are more than happy to see employees/vendors/airport authorities take a hit, but when it comes to someone losing frequent flyer miles when they are traveling on a cheap fare you throw a fit. I don''t mind that as a consumer you want the lowest fare; I want the most value for the products and services I buy too. Just quit acting like you give a rat''s arse about US Airways or it''s employees. If you are worried that they will see a cockroach pin and treat you any less, don''t worry. I am sure they will treat you with the same high standard of service they treat all passengers.

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X-U,
With all due respect in return, I have one question for you. Just exactly when was it you aquired the mind reading skills required to know what I think or feel?

"You are more than happy to see employees/vendors/airport authorities take a hit, but when it comes to someone losing frequent flyer miles when they are traveling on a cheap fare you throw a fit."

Happy? You know this exactly how? Do I want my preferred carrier to survive? YES I DO! You honestly think I take any joy in others misery? Listen, I went through the Steel industry shakeup in the ''80''s, I saw friends and neighbors lose their houses, people still bitter 20 years later because Bethlehem Steel FIRED them 29 years, 364 days into their job, exactly one day short of retirement, unlike the pilots those folks got NO PENSION of any kind! For some it was the only job they ever had! Some went to work for less than a third of what they made. One of the reasons I encouraged taking the "hit" was because I saw the alternative first hand. I saw the UAW at Mack Trucks sell its members down the river in favor of the John Deere work group. You''ve got people out there on food stamps and kids eligible for school lunch programs after this blood bath. I base my opinions on research and my own life experiences. For you to imply that I do not care clearly shows you know NOTHING about me as a businessman or a person.

As for the hit on FF miles, I squawked because I could! Just like when a company posts record profits a union will come on hard and strong for better terms for their group. Which they should. I was in a position to win my battle, unfortunately you weren''t and I''m sorry.

You want what everyone wants, a superior product for the lowest cost (preferably free).

If I wanted what you state above I would have zero segments on US instead of over 100 each the last 2 years and 32 so far this year. If I was indeed so self oriented I would have flown other airlines between now and the BK filing. fact is I have exactly 4 segments not on US since BK filing. US is my carrier of choice not because of price it is because of value. Superior route structure where I need to go. And a superior FF program. In fact no less than my nemisis B. Ben Baldanza stated that one reason US was able to come out of BK was due to the extreme loyalty of its Dividend Miles members who kept flying. Directing all of my flights to US during BK cost me personally as some of my travel is non-business. How much money did you put on the table directly out of your pocket to help keep the doors open? Did you take a flight and pay for it out of your pocket to help? Or did you sit and whine? Did you convince 3 of your co-workers to sign up for a silver challenge when they were already CO gold level? Did you convince your own mother to take her vacation to a place US flies to? 3 more fares @ $400.00 ea. Don''t tell me about the concessions, everybody took that hit. What did you personally do to help US recover?

If you are worried that they will see a cockroach pin and treat you any less, don''t worry. I am sure they will treat you with the same high standard of service they treat all passengers.

Actually the thought never crossed my mind. Most US employees that see it either ask for one, how to get one or say thanks you for the business! US employees do have courage and class. That''s why about 25% of the pin sales go to US employees. If you think I am so pro management I suggest you check out the thread where I absolutely took Chris Chiames apart for revealing a posters name who is alleged to be a union leader.

Next time you choose to attack me or my motives I suggest you come armed with facts instead of preconcieved notions and a negative attitude. It would be most appreciated. Thank you for posting.

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I never said you were pro management. I said you were pro-consumer, furthermore I said I don''t blame you for being so. In prior posts you threatened to take your business elsewhere if you didn''t get what you want. That is your right as a consumer. You can just dispense with the phony "I feel your pain" posts when you aren''t willing to see a low-yield ticket lose frequent flyer miles. If US Airways is truly your carrier of choice, they wouldn''t have to bribe you with FF miles to keep your loyalty. While you may think a FF program is cost neutral, it is not. Extra resources means extra costs for all of the perks like dedicated reservations, check-in, Dividend Miles account administration etc. If US Airways had no FF program, or only awarded miles to high-fare passengers, would you still fly on them? If your answer to that question is no, then what about if they had the lowest fare, but still no FF miles? While you have said you are willing to pay a slight premium to get the added value you feel US Airways offers, like any consumer you have a limit to how high that premium will be. The problem is that the cost of the product that US Airways is producing is still above the revenue that the consumer is willing to pay for that product. Cities are being cut
(AZO, MAD) or converted to Express. Your decision will soon be to ride a US Airways Express Regional Jet and get your Frequent Flyer miles, or ride a low-fare carrier''s B-737 or A-320. As a consumer you are certainly free to express your opinions, but your actions may have effects that you don''t intend. If you don''t let a company cut costs in one area, they will cut in another. When they cut to the point that they no longer suit your needs, as a consumer you find a different provider. That is the nature of the free-marker system. While you will be able to say how you lived through the airline shake-up of the ''00s, I don''t expect you to lose any sleep over the
the employees who actually experienced it.

BTW my "contribution" to the recovery was my stock, once worth $80/share that I can now use to wallpaper the bathroom.
 
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On 4/2/2003 10:34:45 PM PineyBob wrote:


As for your US Airways stock, was that given to you as part of compensation or did you buy it? If you bought it you didn''t "give" anything, you made a business decision and lost. If it wwas part of compensation, you took the same hit everyone else did so your contribution was no more no less than any other US employee.

As for flying turboprops and RJ''s to earn miles. My last 6 months of travel totaled 56 segments of which 25 were mainline and the balance on RJ''s, Dornier 328''s, Beech1900D''s, & Saab340''s. So that is already a reality.

As to low yeild flights, one trip I take regularly is PHL - GRR. Rock bottom lowest price on the web site is $191.00 before taxes. According to US Airways the miles flown is a total of 1172 miles R/T, This ticket yields a RASM of  $.1629, well in excess of the CASM of $.105 quoted by Mr. Seigel. So it would appear that my pattern of travel is profitable enough for US to maintain the Dividend Miles Program. I would also point out that I do not establish pricing US Airways does and I have not pais the rock bottom price in many many trips. My trips are a good $30.00 more per R/T or a RASM add on of $.025 per mile.

Also if the Dividend Miles program is so costly ponder this. 1) FF miles are held on the books for under 2 cents a mile at most airlines so the cost is not nearly what airlines would have you believe. 2) If there was no program, I would be gone and what revenue would I add to US''s top or bottom line then ? ZERO! That''s the dilema the airlines face.

As you point out I will do what is right for PineyBob. I don''t have to justify my decisions to anyone. As for losing sleep over the plight of US Employees. A clear conscience is the worlds sofftest pillow and I sleep on a very soft pillow. I have conducted myself in a moral and ethical manner and whether you choose to buy it or not, I do have a ton of empathy for the turmoil this situation has created. That''s one of the reasons for the Cockroaches, and why I work so hard to promote the group. The more the Cockroaches can do to help make this airline profitable the better it is for the employees. At least I am trying to do something positive instead of engaging in class warfare and PAX bashing. So please continue to post. I enjoy reading your posts, they remind me why I do what I do.

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How am I PAX bashing? Because I point out that the price you are willing to pay for a product is less than the cost to produce it? And if it continues the product will disappear? You could fly 500 segments a year, but if the company earns no profit on them, it doesn''t do them any good. You state your trip has a yield of 16.3 cents per seat mile, are the flights full? CASMs are the average for the whole airplane, not just the particular seat you are sitting in. Larger airplanes and longer flights generally have lower CASMs, so it is unrealistic to apply the average CASM to a certain segment. But even with your example, a 100 seat airplane at a 10.5 cent CASM and a 1172 stage length would be a total cost of $12,306, divided by the $191 fare is a break-even load factor of 64.4%. If the cost of a frequent flyer mile is 2 cents per mile, eliminating the FF program would drop the CASM to 8.5 cents,
for a total cost of $9962, dropping the break-even load factor to 52.1%. That means 12 less people to break even, or 12 more profitable fares if the flight is full. It also indicates the cost of providing a FF program for this one flight is $12,306-$9962= $2344. That 8.5 cents looks pretty close to JBLU and LUV''s 7.5 cents, they get it even lower by dispensing with first class and putting more seats in i.e. JBLU A-320 is 168 seats compared to U''s 142. I have never meant to imply you lack ethics or morals, but I do think you are misguided in your belief of what you think it costs an airline to provide the service/benefits that you expect.
 
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On 4/3/2003 4:30:19 AM BillLumbergh wrote:

We''re way, way off topic and need to return to the topic at hand.

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Hunh? The topic is marketing being "mia". What could be more on topic than a discussion of one the main elements of marketing?
 
X-U said:


... While you may think a FF program is cost neutral, it is not. Extra resources means extra costs for all of the perks like dedicated reservations, check-in, Dividend Miles account administration etc...

I know it''s unfashionable but if you''re going to go into the costs don''t forget to look into the revenues -- among other things US Airways sells miles to it''s partners. FF programs are actually quite profitable. Ask our buddy Ben. They aren''t a burden on the airline at all (think about those costs and "perks" for a few minutes while you''re at it -- are they really that big a deal? I didn''t think so...)

To give you an idea of how profitable -- Air Canada just lost their deal to sell off 30% of Aeroplan for about $100M -- monetizing DM might be something the boys in CCY ought to consider now that the bankruptcy is behind them...