RUNNING AN AIRLINE WITH 2 SEPARATE COMPUTER SYSTEMS

[PBI2FLL]

I DO! And this is supposed to drag on for another 12 to 15 months? I spoke to our international desk today, and they informed me that the SHARES package that HP purchased is very basic and currently will NOT handle or price complicated European and/or Star Alliance partner global itineraries? So, it appears SHARES will need a major upgrade. I'm already seeing major problems with US code share flights booked in Sabre operated by HP with ETKTS not associating in SHARES. It's like an act of congress to get it associated and 90% of the time it seems the HP agents are on the phone with their help desk just to append a friggin' ETKT. God forbid if they had anything really complicated to handle...geesh. That's why I like SABRE, it's more hands on!

 

[Bambi]

So, have you actually worked in shares (QIK)? I haven't worked on Sabre, so I will be the first to admit I am very limited in my knowledge of it.

Let's all remember one thing...US is only 3 months old! That's right. Do babies even sit-up at 3 months? No. Do they walk at 5 months? No. Do they talk at 8 months. (they make noises, but they dont carry on conversations to impress the hierarchy)! No. babies are just that...babies...

Despite being 2 airlines with 2 different systems and cultures, we have combined to create this beautiful new baby. One that will have to learn to crawl, before it walks, and to coo before it talks. Most adults are patient with their newborns, we should be too.

Bottom line...we all have our frustrations, our idiosyncracies,sp?...etc. Just as anything else, we have to deal with it? Why, because just like a baby, despite not being able to do things on its own, we love it! We care for it, but most importantly we nurture it!

Ok, enuf of my "word picture" for the day. Here's to a good week all!

 

[SSRinPHX]

I tell ya Bambi, I sure wish I could see it totally the same way. I have seen too many times when for some reason or another a passenger is told by an agent that they can get their boarding pass in Phoenix, then said pax shows up at the gate and we can't find the itinerary because it is the US flight number booked vs the HP number. I spend an ang of 15 mins a day on the phone with SSC trying to get the ETKT into SHARES so we CAN help this person! Now, ONE person 15 mins a day is not a lot, but when you multiply it by the number of people that have to do this and we're spending WAY too much time on this.
And yes, QIK is going to need a MAJOR upgrade so we can handle real INTL bookings rather than what we can look at now.

 

[john john]

Let's all remember one thing...US is only 3 months old! That's right. Do babies even sit-up at 3 months? No. Do they walk at 5 months? No. Do they talk at 8 months. (they make noises, but they dont carry on conversations to impress the hierarchy)! No. babies are just that...babies...

Well I guess you have a lot to learn some of the US/east have seen all this before. I can’t even remember all the computer systems we used in the pass (systems one, pacer) who knows? In my 28 years I have seen a lot of systems changes not all good but the agents always figures it out someway and get the customers on the planes

 

[john john]

SHARES package that HP purchased is very basic and currently will NOT handle or price complicated European and/or Star Alliance partner global itineraries? So, it appears SHARES will need a major upgrade. I'm already seeing major problems with US code share flights booked in Sabre operated by HP with ETKTS not associating in SHARES. It's like an act of congress to get it associated and 90% of the time it seems the HP agents are on the phone with their help desk just to append a friggin' ETKT. God forbid if they had anything really complicated to handle...geesh. That's why I like SABRE, it's more hands on!

The star alliance is expensive to maintain

 

[tadjr]

Being able to work both systems I can tell you there are some good things and bad things in both. Hopefully the new US IT people will listen to the agents when they tell them something isnt working and get it fixed asap. So far, this has been my experience.
I understand that they are currently working on getting a QIK overlay for Sabre so the US agents can start learning the keypads so when the Sabre is eventually cut over to Shares it wont be a big deal.
Regarding getting US tickets into the HP system and vv. Yes this is a big problem. When the US tickets dont come into the HP system at checkin you have to go in and adjust the eticket to get it to come over (if it is showing in the reservation as US Control). This shouldnt be happening for whatever reason since tickets issued on other carriers do not have this problem and appear as appended to the record normally. One good thing for me though is we have both computer systems available so if need be we just go to the other one to get it done (whichever way it isnt working). We also are able to do this if we have a pricing, or other ticketing problem. (I'm sure accounting is loving us, but it sure beats holding up the line for 20-30 minutes to get the (no)help desk to give us an answer.
Having only worked on QIK/Shares for 4 months, there are a lot of things that I dont feel comfortable doing. I also only got "beginner" training to work the HP flights and dont know if there are things QIK/Shares CAN do that we werent taught or if it is just lacking in things it can do. We cant get anyone to come back to give us a followup class now that we can do more than basic checkin so we learn a little each day and hope that accounting/procedures doesnt get too po'ed at us for however we accomplish what needs to be done.
Now, when I call a US number for a customer to get his miles taken out to upgrade on a US* flight on HP that has seats available and end up with an HP agent who cant do the upgrade cause its a US 037 ticket issue, then we got a problem. I guess I should be glad I just didnt get Manila. I ended up having to apologize and tell the customer that he would need to call rez/DM back and hope he got someone on the US side. ;(

 

[snnus]

I wish they stuck to Sabre, its a good system, have worked shares before and its a very poor system..

 

[PhxMama]

I DO! And this is supposed to drag on for another 12 to 15 months? I spoke to our international desk today, and they informed me that the SHARES package that HP purchased is very basic and currently will NOT handle or price complicated European and/or Star Alliance partner global itineraries? So, it appears SHARES will need a major upgrade. I'm already seeing major problems with US code share flights booked in Sabre operated by HP with ETKTS not associating in SHARES. It's like an act of congress to get it associated and 90% of the time it seems the HP agents are on the phone with their help desk just to append a friggin' ETKT. God forbid if they had anything really complicated to handle...geesh. That's why I like SABRE, it's more hands on!

I agree its more than awkward, its frustrating. Its almost as frustrating to see our turnover due to the number of HP agents making 7.65 an hour. Would you do it for a pittance? In defense of many agents our system has not been working when it comes to calulating the credit left to a tkt and although we can figure it out our Help desk must manually store it(floor agents are not allowed to do this) and either finish the reissue or hand it back to the agents. Unfortunately, with so many new agents and our website biting the dust lately, our Help desks are slammed and hold times can be high. At least the Hp agents are trying to help and unlike the outsourced agents do NOT hang up on you. It is not a rumour as it has happened to me several times and I resent having to call back. We cannot touch 037 tkt stock and have to contact East side to handle pax issues. If we could upgrade with DM we would but we have no access to the accounts and therefore must xfer to EAST side. Its not much fun on this side either and many of our senior agents are looking to leave(The money from raises in the next 2 years is not worth the hassle when you can make almost double at another company starting next week. Talk to your management team and let them know how you feel. I have done that and am tired of hearing we're in a transition phase and it will get better. When? Were in it together and if you have any questions pm me , driftereno, Bambi or PQA as we can all answer questions on our side. Sit tight as it is going to be a loooong year!

 

[tadjr]

My favorite line so far, "Remember we're all US now". Yeah, we're all US now, only different.
They need to get a big PR push at the airports that have both airlines though because it is confusing still as to where you check in (even with the A and B lines). Add to this now the US* thing (check in at HP) and it gets even more confusing. They have little "Pardon our dust" signs here and there and people understand things are not smooth while merging, but people dont know we are still in the merger process since they are being told US, US, US now.
They need to have signs out and maybe something in the magazine that says while we're all US now, we're still in the process of merging FF systems, rez systems, etc and list all the things that still have to be done. Maybe they could list them and once they are done, check them off in the next issue so people can keep track of the progress.
They also need to send out another note to the FFers (on both sides) telling them what they need to do to get the good seat, upgrades, etc because many of them I've had that didnt get what they were supposed to get immediately start with "I knew this merger was going to be a problem". We'll yes and no. It is a learning process, but once you're told what to do and how to do it, it isnt that hard and you'll get what you're supposed to. You just have to know how to get it. I take the time to explain (to the best of my knowledge) what they need to do to get it to work in the other system and try to make a joke of it "yeah, we learn something new every day ourselves".

The only other thing is since HP agents cant touch a US ticket and the US number transfers people to HP rez agents, any way this can be avoided? It's very frustrating (and unprofessional) after waiting for someone to answer the phone to be told, sorry no can do for you. And I know its not the rez agents fault either.

 

[Geek]

I know and understand your pain. I am one of the techs who are doing the actual conversion. Now all I do is make sure the network is up and functional. I do not work with the QIK application itself. So I can't help you there except for what I hear through the grapevine. Please understand this can't happen overnight. We would love it to.
They are pushing us very hard to have this happen as quickly as possible. To us they want it way to fast. Almost impossibly fast. And that is the 12-month window you are talking about. There are almost 13,000 pc's out there not to mention the routers and switches that will have to be changed out. This will happen in stages and the plan they have sounds like a great one.
But the main thing that is driving this is money, plain and simple. The cost of SABRE is astronomical!
There is no way they will continue to pay those costs and be able to keep this company in business. Absolutely no way! I think this is one of the main reasons US Airways ended up in the trouble they were in. We are not talking a few million in difference but a few hundred million! And that is per year! So that is why not only do they have to go to shares but as quickly as possible.
You will be getting up to date equipment that will make your lives much easier.
I know everyone keeps saying this but it is true. Please be patient while we make this change. Please be positive and understand that we are trying to make this company a secure entity so we can all have our jobs for the long term.
Being rude to us when we are in the field doesn’t help. (I have lived this first hand)
We are now one company. This is the direction the company is going, whether any of us peons like it . We have a choice to make, myself included, work together without attitude toward that goal or quit.

 

[kao]

[ In defense of many agentsour system has not been working when it comes to calulating the credit left to a tkt and although we can figure it out our Help desk must manually store it(floor agents are not allowed to do this) and either finish the reissue or hand it back to the agents. ... I have done that and am tired of hearing we're in a transition phase and it will get better. When? Were in it together and if you have any questions pm me , driftereno, Bambi or PQA as we can all answer questions on our side. Sit tight as it is going to be a loooong year!

phxmama why cant "floor agents"-btw-what are these?-store a ticket? Is it a phx thing? Just curious....we do it in the field-in fact we have to know ALL areas in the field excet ramp unless if you are a w/b loadmaster....there are times when I really miss the old shares we used...it is very true that this system is user friendly but it doesnt teach employees what they are doing!! Just push this button-now....at least before you had to know what you were looking to do and know the entry to get you there...I have been told by a higher up that it could get very ugly sooner than later....I heard MSP has such low morale due to their "new" Station manager...keep it mind, i have just "heard" this and do not know if it is true...in cross over stations we all are trying to adjust to our new managers that seem to not adapted to the HP style...maybe they never will...? I am not used to having certain things-like supplies- locked up ect....it is frustrating but, I am trying to hang in..... the counters are very frustrating for the pax...if we have an extra body we try to put someone in the lobby to direct traffic...seems to help...plus we are jammed into one end of a counter since we moved....we lost a position which doesnt sound like much but it makes a diff on a full flight....oh well..enuf ramblin...

 

[PhxMama]

[ In defense of many agentsour system has not been working when it comes to calulating the credit left to a tkt and although we can figure it out our Help desk must manually store it(floor agents are not allowed to do this) and either finish the reissue or hand it back to the agents. ... I have done that and am tired of hearing we're in a transition phase and it will get better. When? Were in it together and if you have any questions pm me , driftereno, Bambi or PQA as we can all answer questions on our side. Sit tight as it is going to be a loooong year!

phxmama why cant "floor agents"-btw-what are these?-store a ticket? Is it a phx thing? Just curious....we do it in the field-in fact we have to know ALL areas in the field excet ramp unless if you are a w/b loadmaster....there are times when I really miss the old shares we used...it is very true that this system is user friendly but it doesnt teach employees what they are doing!! Just push this button-now....at least before you had to know what you were looking to do and know the entry to get you there...I have been told by a higher up that it could get very ugly sooner than later....I heard MSP has such low morale due to their "new" Station manager...keep it mind, i have just "heard" this and do not know if it is true...in cross over stations we all are trying to adjust to our new managers that seem to not adapted to the HP style...maybe they never will...? I am not used to having certain things-like supplies- locked up ect....it is frustrating but, I am trying to hang in..... the counters are very frustrating for the pax...if we have an extra body we try to put someone in the lobby to direct traffic...seems to help...plus we are jammed into one end of a counter since we moved....we lost a position which doesnt sound like much but it makes a diff on a full flight....oh well..enuf ramblin...

Kao, Thanx for responding. At least here on the board there is some interaction between east and west. Floor agents are your sales and service agents. They are being combined into one group as of Feb. These agents sell tkts and reissue tkts along with answer questions that are not too complicated such as ex, flifo, what terminals in each cities, baggage questions etc. I dont know why they cannot store fares except too many mistakes are bound to happen and you need a supervisor sign to access. Its a Phx and Rno thing. Maybe if our agents were not brand new off the streets for the most part, they might be given more leeway in what they can do. Our FF dept also must contact RA for many things and many of them have been with HP less than a year, alot less than a year. Unfortunately, with such high turnover they are moving up to diff depts to help handle calls without the necessary experience or knowlege. Need the bodies. Our DST dept(internet support) can store fares and handle most RA functions but are inundated with internet issues, web has has a multitude of problems and with pax that can barely maneuver thru site, their call volume has been extremely high. Add the ta function from US east and given a 4hr Sabre course along with misinformation about how many of these calls they would be handling(someone forgot to mention a portion that was automated that HP does not have the automation for) and many agents are ready to leave. Someone from management do something!! Even our sups are leaving in droves and there is no coaching for new agents and DST Help desk is fumbling thru all the new info. Trust me, we are feeling for you folks and cannot even begin to imagine atos dealing with pax. We were all just grateful the disruption around the system was minimal this past holiday season and not too many major weather issues but the thought of the next year with all these issues makes going to work miserable. I am not by nature a negative person but we are being given no hope for this being an easy transition. I only hope they are wrong, but know in my heart they arent.

 

[whlinder]

I guess that means the new US won't be joining the Star Alliance Amadeus platform...

 

[a320av8r]

It's temporary!!!

 

[PBI2FLL]

I can't tell you how many times I've ended up doing an HP reissue on the SABRE side (as long as I have access to the orig tkt) because it's much easier and faster. The HP agents certainly appreciate it and from what I've witnessed, it seems to be a big hassle to reissue a ticket in their current system...either that or they're not properly trained in this area...I think it's probably a little of both.