Carrier tries to counter bad PR
06:33 a.m. 02/07/2007 Provided by
Feb 07, 2007 (Fort Worth Star-Telegram - McClatchy-Tribune Business News via COMTEX) -- For weeks, American Airlines has grappled with an avalanche of bad publicity over several diverted flights that were stuck on airport tarmacs for hours Dec. 29 after storms shut down Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.
Officials with the Fort Worth-based airline said Monday they have modified operations to ensure that no passenger sits in a grounded plane for longer than four hours without a chance to get off. They've sent nearly 5,000 letters of apology, with vouchers worth $250 or $500, to passengers on 67 flights that were stuck for more than three hours. They've tried to explain how bad weather over the airline's hub, coupled with heavy holiday traffic, kept diverted planes on the ground.
"We've reached out to our customers to apologize and provide compensation," spokesman Roger Frizzell said. "We also have adjusted our policies and procedures to prevent this from ever happening again."
An industry consultant said the furor is unlikely to hurt American's bottom line.
"Obviously it's bad PR," said Alan Sbarra of Roach and Sbarra. "But while people complain about it, very few will fly a different airline if they can still get a good fare."
Still, American and other airlines are likely to take an additional drubbing for the quality of their service today, when the U.S. Department of Transportation releases statistics for 2006 on flight delays, mishandled baggage, involuntary bumping and customer complaints.
The airlines are expected to report sharp increases in complaints, largely because of a heavy spike in travelers and traffic last year that sometimes snarled the system. On average, airplanes flew a record 80 percent full in 2006.
According to American, the industry saw a 12 percent increase in mishandled bags, for example, although Frizzell points out that his airline posted a 6 percent increase.
Bill of Rights proposal
Airline service has been in the news frequently since the Dec. 29 incidents. A group of passengers, led by Kate Hanni of Napa, Calif., has formed a coalition pushing Congress to pass an "Airline Passengers Bill of Rights." Hanni was on board American Flight 1348 from San Francisco to D/FW that was diverted to Austin, where the plane sat for more than eight hours on an airport tarmac.
"My family and I were held hostage," Hanni told reporters during a recent conference call. She and other passengers said toilets overflowed and passengers lacked food and information.
Officials with American, however, are disputing some of the passengers' complaints. Frizzell pointed out that 10 passengers on Hanni's flight who were heading to San Antonio, Houston or Austin were allowed to leave the plane. The remaining passengers received a status report from the pilots every 30 minutes. He said that snacks and beverages were provided, and the airplane was reloaded a second time with snacks, drinks and ice.
Toilets, Frizzell said, never overflowed. "In fact, the toilets were serviced at the earliest opportunity by ground crews," he said.
Fare and schedule
American officials said the problems arose because they were trying to get passengers to their destinations rather than forcing them to stay overnight in other places.
American launched an internal effort last year to improve its overall customer experience, which Frizzell describes as a major undertaking. But he acknowledges that the airline still has work to do.
Sbarra said the negative attention isn't going to drive off many customers. He noted a similar event in 1999 when about 7,000 Northwest Airlines passengers were stranded for hours on New Year's weekend in Detroit in a blizzard. The airline eventually paid $7 million to customers to settle a class-action suit.
"That was 10 times worse for Northwest, and yet people in Detroit kept flying them," Sbarra said. "At the end of the day, people choose an airline because of the fare and the schedule."
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06:33 a.m. 02/07/2007 Provided by
Feb 07, 2007 (Fort Worth Star-Telegram - McClatchy-Tribune Business News via COMTEX) -- For weeks, American Airlines has grappled with an avalanche of bad publicity over several diverted flights that were stuck on airport tarmacs for hours Dec. 29 after storms shut down Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.
Officials with the Fort Worth-based airline said Monday they have modified operations to ensure that no passenger sits in a grounded plane for longer than four hours without a chance to get off. They've sent nearly 5,000 letters of apology, with vouchers worth $250 or $500, to passengers on 67 flights that were stuck for more than three hours. They've tried to explain how bad weather over the airline's hub, coupled with heavy holiday traffic, kept diverted planes on the ground.
"We've reached out to our customers to apologize and provide compensation," spokesman Roger Frizzell said. "We also have adjusted our policies and procedures to prevent this from ever happening again."
An industry consultant said the furor is unlikely to hurt American's bottom line.
"Obviously it's bad PR," said Alan Sbarra of Roach and Sbarra. "But while people complain about it, very few will fly a different airline if they can still get a good fare."
Still, American and other airlines are likely to take an additional drubbing for the quality of their service today, when the U.S. Department of Transportation releases statistics for 2006 on flight delays, mishandled baggage, involuntary bumping and customer complaints.
The airlines are expected to report sharp increases in complaints, largely because of a heavy spike in travelers and traffic last year that sometimes snarled the system. On average, airplanes flew a record 80 percent full in 2006.
According to American, the industry saw a 12 percent increase in mishandled bags, for example, although Frizzell points out that his airline posted a 6 percent increase.
Bill of Rights proposal
Airline service has been in the news frequently since the Dec. 29 incidents. A group of passengers, led by Kate Hanni of Napa, Calif., has formed a coalition pushing Congress to pass an "Airline Passengers Bill of Rights." Hanni was on board American Flight 1348 from San Francisco to D/FW that was diverted to Austin, where the plane sat for more than eight hours on an airport tarmac.
"My family and I were held hostage," Hanni told reporters during a recent conference call. She and other passengers said toilets overflowed and passengers lacked food and information.
Officials with American, however, are disputing some of the passengers' complaints. Frizzell pointed out that 10 passengers on Hanni's flight who were heading to San Antonio, Houston or Austin were allowed to leave the plane. The remaining passengers received a status report from the pilots every 30 minutes. He said that snacks and beverages were provided, and the airplane was reloaded a second time with snacks, drinks and ice.
Toilets, Frizzell said, never overflowed. "In fact, the toilets were serviced at the earliest opportunity by ground crews," he said.
Fare and schedule
American officials said the problems arose because they were trying to get passengers to their destinations rather than forcing them to stay overnight in other places.
American launched an internal effort last year to improve its overall customer experience, which Frizzell describes as a major undertaking. But he acknowledges that the airline still has work to do.
Sbarra said the negative attention isn't going to drive off many customers. He noted a similar event in 1999 when about 7,000 Northwest Airlines passengers were stranded for hours on New Year's weekend in Detroit in a blizzard. The airline eventually paid $7 million to customers to settle a class-action suit.
"That was 10 times worse for Northwest, and yet people in Detroit kept flying them," Sbarra said. "At the end of the day, people choose an airline because of the fare and the schedule."
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