Message To Ccy

[justaumechanic]

Thats a great leter you posted.. Only problem with it is you used the word stupid in the first paragragh while describing management.

Not that your statement is incorrect, it is. However they think they are better and smarter than the leadership of Southwest and JetBlue.. So telling them they are stupid is probably the reason they don't respond..

Remember you are dealing with really huge ego's over at CCY.. The big man Al thinks he's the smartest Airline exec since Juan Tripp!!

And the Sub Commander, well what can you say. He runs around and tells everyone "Don't blame me, I'm just doing this for a friend".. Talk about having no interest. He's major Idiot..

Add Presto to that mix, the foul mouthed dumb jack weed that thinks an ELT is some type of sandwich with Tomato on it!! He has a degree in crack smoking and blame management.

The place is doomed.. Fuel is killing it.. Simple as that.. Fuel is killing it and JetBlue and Southwest and AirTran all know it.. Mesa and AirWis and Republic can do what they want but in the end this pig is not going to fly.

 

[Hope777]

Art, I too will reserve comment , except to say this is typical Management.

I will use someone elses phrase, " Thanks for the memories " !

Ed

 

[767jetz]

To Bear, RowUnder, & others,

I happen to know for a fact that Art at ISP is not the type to rant and go off on tangents. He sincerely is a loyal US customer (soon to be a former US customer.) who has taken a personal interest in participating in US’s recovery. While his comments will probably fall on deaf ears, his opinions are shared by many business travelers.

I don’t claim to be an expert on airlines beyond my role on the front side of the cockpit door, so I often don’t understand the logic or motivation behind management decisions. I do believe that US and UA, while having the common distinction of dealing with bankruptcy and hard times, are definitely on diverging paths.

As Row says, US is transforming into something. But what is still unclear. While they talk publicly about a hybrid LCC/Traditional airline, and drop hints of acquiring others in an effort to boost the confidence of the remaining employees and customers, their actions do not support their words, as evidenced by Art at ISP’s comments.

UA on the other hand is expanding its international network, upgrading its meals and airport clubs, and even configuring certain airplanes for the trans con market specifically to retain certain large corporate accounts. It is polishing the TED brand and deploying it in markets where it makes financial sense. It is reducing domestic capacity. And it is keenly aware of the needs and wants of the business traveler. (Art, I guarantee any letters or suggestions you send to UA would be promptly responded to.)

We can argue all day if any of these things are making a difference to the bottom line. But that’s not the point of my comments. I’m just saying that there is a difference between just talking about something, and actually taking actions to back up your words.

Whether it is due to lack of management talent, circumstance, or what have you, US is in day to day survival mode and acutely aware of the precarious cash position they are in. Perhaps at this point they just want bare bones, no frills, LCC, Greyhound-with-wings that can keep its nose above water. And as a result they don’t care about the loss of business travelers or loyal frequent fliers. Airlines like Jet Blue and Southwest cater to a different market. While some claim to fly these airlines frequently, they are not a high yield traditional frequent flyer. So those airlines don’t waste their time or money on trying to lure the business traveler. There in lies their success.

It is very difficult to be all things to all people. You usually end up pissing off business travelers with lack of service and amenities, and pissing off leisure travelers with higher prices.

Unfortunately, as most on this thread have said, none of this talk will make a difference because the people in charge don't care to listen. They have a plan of some kind, but its probably not what most people want it to be. I'm sure there will be some surprises. If there is a positive thought to keep in mind, it is that by the end of this year much of the uncertainty will come to an end when the conlcusion of the drama plays out one way or the other.

 

[SS255]

I live in Los Angeles, so the LAX club closure will definitely affect my booking habits. In fact, it already has. The announcement came just as I was about to book my annual trip "home" (to AVP - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) for July 4th. Up until the time they made the announcement, booking anything but US was not even a blip on my radar screen. But I ultimately chose to book UA this time around, because of the combination of the following factors:

1) UA was $378, vs. $550 on US for roughly the same schedule. I can live with the price differential, but...
2) ...my only viable option on US on the outbound was through PHL, now that the 7:45AM LAX-PIT flight is a distant memory. This, combined with...
3) ...the fear of having to arrive at 5AM for a 7AM flight in order to clear security due to all of the WN flights on a peak travel day (Saturday before 7/4), and then...
4) ...if by some miracle the security line is short, I have no sanctuary in the stinkhole which is Terminal 1 at LAX in which to wait for boarding. And to top it off...
5)...the outbound codeshare on UA which would have enabled me to avoid the above scenarios and yet still book US and fly them on the return was over $800! I may be willing to pay a slight premium to fly US, but not over twice as much!

If you combine all of the above factors, flying UA this time around just makes a whole lot more sense. I was one of the handful of people who bought the RCC option - for the reason that if I fly anywhere other than the East Coast I have no choice but to fly another carrier. When I figured out how often I would be flying UA and crunched the numbers, the RCC option made sense. Now I am very glad that I sucked it up, because I will certainly be getting my money's worth.

To all of you awesome employees at US: You are the reason I don't abandon ship. I will continue to consider US, but unless something is done about the security situation at LAX, I am afraid that my US flying will be restricted to mid-day and weekend outbound flights. Early morning weekday flights are just too prone to the Security Line From Hell.

 

[whlinder]

Are there actually people who 'don't care' or 'don't listen' in CCY? Or are the people who 'would care' and 'would listen' gone to greener pastures and CCY just doesn't have the staff to care and listen?

 

[USAirUnited]

As usual the lights are on but nobodies home. I have talked with many current and former employees, the one thing they all agree on is that we are run more like a prison camp than a airlines. We have lost the values of a "corporate family". I doubt they will ever return. CCY is just floundering right now. Its sad when you can't even get a generic letter from CCY when you send a complaint.

 

[Art at ISP]

Thats a great leter you posted.. Only problem with it is you used the word stupid in the first paragragh while describing management.

Justau,

Thanks for your note. Please note I did not call any individual in management stupid--it wasn't personal. I just categorized some of the decisions made recently, which, I am sad to say, DO qualify.

I just hope some good comes of it....

 

[Winglet]

Everyone at CCY knows the jigs up. Makes no sense to answer customer's letters.

 

[PITbull]

Longing and Art,

There is no getting rid of Al C. He's made himself "iron clad".

He is in like flinn and has convinced all of senior managment that "he's the man". He has promoted all his buddies and they surround him and Lakefield. There's no way out, and no one will challenge anything.

Lakefield doesn't have a clue and will knod his head, listen to Ashby and Crellin, and Glass.

That's it.

We are all just doomed. I 've seen nothing so far that leads me to believe that someone is steering this ship.

Senior management is collecting $20-28,000 per month, they get to collect a hefty paycheck every month the doors stay open. For the rest of us, we are using our credit cards to make it month to month.

Senior managment will not pay attention. They are waiting for someone to invest in the company because the co.'s plan will not work. They need $250 million to get out of this hole and they need a real bonifide idiot group to throw money away...our way.

We just sit and wait and hope the fuel doesn't burn the entire place down.

 

[BoeingBoy]

Art,

Thanks for sharing the letter with us. Noticed your quotes in the USA Today article today, also. Good job, and I wish we had the tools & management to do better by you and the other FF's.

Jim

 

[PHL]

Piney - not to diminish the efforts of FFocus and the Roachfest last August - but can you tell me if the management that met with the cockroaches have implemented ONE suggestion or made good on any of the promises(if they made any)? In other words, how successful would you characterize FFocus?

I'm curious, because now after almost 20 years of flying US I'm booking away from them like the others mentioned here. I am seeing less and less reason to fly an airline that, well, doesn't seem to care like it used to. That's where FFocus was supposed to come in, or so I thought. It's not the frequent flyer miles and upgrades...it's the service, stupid!

 

[jimntx]

The fact that there was no response at all, not even a canned form letter, speaks volumes. At CCY, they either don't care or don't believe there is any hope so why bother.

 

[Severed-N-Happy]

The concept of "pizz one person off they tell 10 people about it" that was drummed into us thru the 80s and 90s is so very lost in this company's past and present mgmt.
As someone above said it best, the lights are on but nobody's home. Excellent letter, analysis, and summation by Art.

 

[SpinDoc]

What we achieved IMO was a dialogue with senior management who had no intention of EVER giving us anymore than lip service. It was a blatant attempt to "manage" our organization. To their credit their efforts paid off short term. Long term the jury is still out.

Bob:

The jury (CCY) has already rendered their
verdict. They haven't directly communicated
it, but their actions clearly show it.

Right now, it's ALL about short term revenue
and cleaning up the balance sheet for an
eventual sale or merger. Unfortunately, the
people in CCY who USED to care and run
US Airways like a functional airline are not all
that interested in comments from customers
right now, because there will be no need to
have customers in the future after the sale
or merger. The acquiring carrier will be left
to clean up the "customer problem".

There are signs everywhere that they are
cooking the books and trading long term
success for a short term home run that
they hope will eradicate US Airways, or
at least the name and identity of
US Airways, from the industry for good.

The creditors are highly involved and are
pulling the strings to ensure they have a
soft landing when the orderly shut down of
US occurs.

 

[RowUnderDCA]

Spin Doc,


I've feel like ive been trying to say that for what seems like YEARS. oh wait it has been years