Merger Update from Travis Christ

Then ... move ... on! Good grief, if I were that unhappy with a vendor providing a service, I would stop doing business with that vendor. There's more to life than First class service! I have found in the past I care more about FF program benefits when I fundamentally dislike my job. When my job is going well, I rarely think about FF perks. Something to think about ...
reality is always relative...something to thing about...
 
reality is always relative...something to thing about...

Exactly. But remember....

The proverbial ostrich with its head in the sand suffers the same end regardless of whether it sees the lion coming upon it or not.
 
Let’s not forget we are in business to make money.

Right on! The reason employees complain so vocally is because we hear hundreds of stories each month how families got a limo, fancier hotel, etc. since they saved so much on airfare. I had a guy brag to me that he rented a house from villas.com for the family since the tix were so cheap.
Airfare is the cheapest part of a vacation.
It costs more to get your car out of airport parking, swimming with Flipper at Sea World, tix to Disney are what? $70 something PER person?? People need a reality check. Oil is topping 70 bucks a gallon and someone is b@tching that there's no food to MCO on their $189 round trip ticket?????
Whenever a pax tells me that "you used to serve food" I tell them, "I used to have a pension and 38% more in my paycheck too"
:up: But I'll never quit the Jerry Springer Show!!
 
Oil is topping 70 bucks a gallon and someone is b@tching that there's no food to MCO on their $189 round trip ticket?????

My last ticket to MCO was nearly $800. My ticket next week to Florida is over $800. I'm paying over $800 to BOS as well. Some FA's should keep their comments to themselves about cheap tickets while working a flight--you never know who is overhearing you--particularly in the F cabin.

Have you priced tickets to MCO lately--the fares are hovering around $233-$248--those $99 specials are quickly disappearing as they should be.

The complaints here are about FC service--when you are selling upgrades and FC seats for the prices US is charging, a demand for better service is not unwarranted.
 
My last ticket to MCO was nearly $800. My ticket next week to Florida is over $800. I'm paying over $800 to BOS as well. Some FA's should keep their comments to themselves about cheap tickets while working a flight--you never know who is overhearing you--particularly in the F cabin.

Have you priced tickets to MCO lately--the fares are hovering around $233-$248--those $99 specials are quickly disappearing as they should be.

The complaints here are about FC service--when you are selling upgrades and FC seats for the prices US is charging, a demand for better service is not unwarranted.
This $800.00 ticket...was it the lowest upgradeable fare? Or was it the cheapest ticket period? Or better yet was it the price of an F ticket?
 
This $800.00 ticket...was it the lowest upgradeable fare? Or was it the cheapest ticket period? Or better yet was it the price of an F ticket?

You can upgrade it from any fare domestically, unless of course you buy it from priceline or one of those outfits. It was the cheapest refundable ticket available.

I can't buy F tickets. That is why the A fare code is a great thing--my clients will pay for any fare code that does not begin with F--because they then think that the F is for them getted f####d. I told the airline for years, give me a fare code I can get reimbursed for. That is why YUP's, QUP's and A fares are so great for some people. I buy B and Y fares typically--for several reasons--I can upgrade immediately without sweating out the upgrade, particularly on tight flights. And, two, I need flexibility as my travel plans change quickly. US took away one of the benefits of buying B and Y fares--the 50% tier mileage bonus for purchasing such high fares--this was another message to customers who buy high fares--thanks, but we will not reward you for spending more money.

My point earlier is that there a number of people on the flight who are not paying the ticket price you may think they are paying. It's best to keep those types of comments to yourself while working a flight because those of us who did not pay $98 or $198 get offended by this attitude.
 
I go to the same pizza restaurant for 12 years …NOT ONCE HAS HE EVER BOUGHT ME A PIZZA. He is nice treats me well and always remembers me
I think there is a place in the middle, because we have bills to pay just like any other business.

Suppose the restaurant had a policy in place for years where very frequent eaters would get a large pizza for the price of a small one...which, though over-priced, was still a decent value and mad emoney for the pizza place. The other local pizza joints couldn't compete and left town.

What would a frequent eater think if the pizza place suddenly discontinued the practice?

He'd respond about like the FFs are here.

The only airline that gives me decent schedules out of PHL to lots of destinations is US. When service in F was good to great I could rationalize the clearly higher fares. Now I have to decide whether I want convenience or comfort...can't have both apparently... and I have to weigh whether the erosion of CP perqs makes it worth the effort to get CP.

The company point of view seems to be that they know how they have to run things to make a buck and we should get used to it.

The CP point of view is that we know what we need out of your product and that the product is getting very close to no being worth the hassle.

I'd imagine that most CPs who've stayed are those trapped at PHL/CLT or those at small cities only well-served by US. If I had to connect on all my flights and were given an even choice between US, UA and AA, it is hard to see why I'd stick with US.

This is the arguement that underlies all of the kvetching from customers and it is one that Tempe seems either not to consider or consiously reject.
 
I have said this before, and I will say it again, I CHALLENGE YOU TO NAME ONE CHANGE THAT HAS ENHANCED THE PROGRAM FOR US1'S....NAME JUST ONE...


OK, a financially viable airline that can continue flying and support it's frequent flyers....
 
My $862.40 fare was the cheapest NON-REFUNDABLE fare for my PHL-FLL-CLT-PHL trip this week. Let's look at what that $862.40 got me in the way of amenities.

PHL-FLL 7:40AM departure. Two visits from the snack ferry and a late arrival due to "The PHL Factor" Not sure how late but it was late. Pleasant and professional gate agent & Flight attendent. Did I mention NO FREAKING BREAKFAST AT 7:40A Freakin' M????? OH AND WHILE I'M SHOUTING NO FREAKIN' LIME for my sparkling water either!

FLL-CLT - One of the best F/A's I've ever had serve me. He even managed a pre flight beverage service on an A320. He busted his butt the entire flight. Was warm and friendlt to EVERYONE! NO FREAKIN' LIME EITHER! But I did achieve my goal of emptying the F cabin liquor kit of Tanqueray. So all was not bad. Plane was the usual pig sty.

CLT-PHL - G/A was very very pleasant to all of those waiting. He had on a golf shirt a style I'd not seen before. Wondering if it's a new uniform option or if he's just a rebel? F/A's were to be nice "Disengaged" No smiles, no pre departure beverage, one visit from the snack fairy nothing but the bare minimum from them. I had bought some goodies in CLT so I actually had to check a bag. Knowing PHL I made the T/A remove the *Priority tag and as usual my bag arrived BEFORE the *Priority ones did. Plane was the usual pig sty, plus this 737-400 was missing lots of paint. What an image to portray of the NEW US Airways.
It would be nice to be able to submit a trip report exactly like this to the company after each trip, at least for the higher priced ticket holders.
 
You hit that right on the head. Now since Consumer Relations is out west now. I never get a call back or an E mail to anything I bring up. :huh:

Perhaps that nickname that we used to use for Deb Thompson's monthly column in Attache neatly describes the attitude of CR in Tempe... "Your Fault". All problems encountered by travel on US are "Your Fault". Contacting them about these problems is "Your Fault". Tempe's lack of concern towards their customers is, you guessed it, "Your Fault" also. :down: