I think a fundamental problem here is that US is suffering from a leadership vacuum. No one at the top has shown any significant leadership, and has let the place flounder.
There is no clear definition of future course-do they want to be an LCC and strip service down or do they want to be a full service carrier. They are trying to be both, and failing at both. They are by no means a LCC, as neither their cost or fare structure conforms to that definition--however their service or product does, despite the efforts of some of the best front line folks out there.
Someone needs to make a damned decision--what's it going to be?
Regarding being a full service airline, it is deficient in every way to major "legacy" airlines. There is no such thing as first class any more--just a wider seat with a nicer snack basket. There have not been any other matches to the anti customer policies and nickel and diming of customers, except by UA on the 500 mile minimum. These are bad decisions, and the effects will come home to roost shortly. And virtually EVERY other airline has a better FF program, better premium product, and many of the LCC's have more seat pitch...so the question is WHY would ANYONE fly US if a competitor can do it better for the same price or less?
You can't offer LCC service and continue to charge legacy prices. The way to attract business is to offer VALUE for the dollar, and in this current economic time, that statement is more true than ever.
I am not going to criticize individuals. I AM going to criticize the group, and accuse them of failure to manage....failure to maintain a competitive product, and failure to manage expectations of customers.
Regarding labor relations, just read the labor boards on here--the fighting, namecalling and immature behavior on those threads is astounding. Sure there are issues-but on more than one occasion I have posted on those boards, observing that if the same effort and energy being used to point fingers and call each other names would be channeled toward TRYING to find a solution, it probably would have happened by now. People CHOOSE to be angry, and no one seems to WANT to fix the situation. The consequences of that, I fear, will be dire in the long run.
The fact is, neither US or HP would have likely survived without this merger. But three years later, the merger is nowhere near complete, and the longer it stays like this the poorer the long term outlook.
It's time for someone to step up, take charge, and get the job done.
My BEST to you all...
