Us Airways' May On Time Performance
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jack mama
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What was that BoeingBoy, did you say U was LAST in PAWOB's. Is that 19th? 19th!!!!!!!!
LAST, and it is April! 4 months after the meltdown, still nothing's changed!
I side with Piney on this one! Stop tooting the on time performace horn, it means nothing without bags! I'd rather a plane be 5 mins late and have my bags get there when I do!!!!!!!
LAST, and it is April! 4 months after the meltdown, still nothing's changed!
I side with Piney on this one! Stop tooting the on time performace horn, it means nothing without bags! I'd rather a plane be 5 mins late and have my bags get there when I do!!!!!!!
USA320Pilot
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Jack Mama & PineyBob:
I agree PAWOB's must addressed and it's a problem, a big problem. Here's a comment from yesterday's US Airways Today inter-company report:
New time limit for checked luggage starts Monday
ARLINGTON (US Airways Today) - Effective June 6, 2005, US Airways is increasing its checked baggage cut-off time for customers traveling out of Philadelphia. Customers will need to check luggage 45 minutes prior to departure for domestic flights, and one hour prior to departure for international flights. The new policy is intended to provide sufficient time for security screening, allowing bags to get to planes on time and reducing the number of passengers arriving without bags.
Regards,
USA320Pilot
I agree PAWOB's must addressed and it's a problem, a big problem. Here's a comment from yesterday's US Airways Today inter-company report:
New time limit for checked luggage starts Monday
ARLINGTON (US Airways Today) - Effective June 6, 2005, US Airways is increasing its checked baggage cut-off time for customers traveling out of Philadelphia. Customers will need to check luggage 45 minutes prior to departure for domestic flights, and one hour prior to departure for international flights. The new policy is intended to provide sufficient time for security screening, allowing bags to get to planes on time and reducing the number of passengers arriving without bags.
Regards,
USA320Pilot
tadjr said:
If Donna thinks that this is what will win back customers she's way out of touch. Beating up local management and employees is not the way to win back customers. On time departures and arrivals are nice but what is being ontime worth if you're flying in a filthy plane, literally pushed down the jetway to get the plane out on time, customers not treated like they should be because people like Donna and her protege' Big Al "think" this is the way to win back customers. It's a package deal CCY and you have no clue. They conduct a conference call each morning where all delays are answered for. During this conference call you have "suits" in CCY that have no idea what it takes to make a departure time let alone have to deal with 20 wheelchair bound pax going to any place in Fla you can mention telling local management what they could've done better that could've stopped the delay. Tell me how they know what could've been done better when they've never done it...EVER?? That includes Donna and Al and all their little minions in CLT and PHL. They all need to be let go from the station directors in CLT in PHL right up the ladder. Hopefully AWA will realize this and replace them all.
USA320Pilot said:
Honestly this does nothing but gets the numbers to look better. It just goes to show you they are all about numbers and have no idea how to truly run the airline. This is how they react to a problem at PHL?? Again, the customer is the enemy here and it shifts the blame from CCY to the paying pax. So typical yet so sad.
MarkMyWords
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Jackmama
Just to recap what I posted earlier....here are some numbers comparing Mid April to End May......significant improvement has been mad. Yes there is a considerable distance to go, but the numbers are moving in the right direction.
Mr Aeroman
On time flights and bags arriving with the customers are the top two customer complaints that we receive. Improve those aspects and we will run a better operation and regain customer confidence. If it was found that a major cause of PAWOBs out of PHL were related to check-in and TSA screening, then increasing the Check-in time limit will help to ensure the PHL local bags reach the aircraft on time. This is just one additional step to help reduce PAWOBs and ensuring that the customer experience is a good one. How is this treating the customer as the enemy. It is a reaction to the realitic time to process customers and bags from check-in to TSA to airplane.
Just to recap what I posted earlier....here are some numbers comparing Mid April to End May......significant improvement has been mad. Yes there is a considerable distance to go, but the numbers are moving in the right direction.
MarkMyWords said:
Mr Aeroman
On time flights and bags arriving with the customers are the top two customer complaints that we receive. Improve those aspects and we will run a better operation and regain customer confidence. If it was found that a major cause of PAWOBs out of PHL were related to check-in and TSA screening, then increasing the Check-in time limit will help to ensure the PHL local bags reach the aircraft on time. This is just one additional step to help reduce PAWOBs and ensuring that the customer experience is a good one. How is this treating the customer as the enemy. It is a reaction to the realitic time to process customers and bags from check-in to TSA to airplane.
MarkMyWords
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Where do you read anything about blame in any of the above statements. What exactly do you feel are the core issues? How do you feel that they would be better addressed?
Improving OTP is a core issue to me. Moving airplanes on time is what customers expect. Improving PAWOBs is a core issue to me. When airplanes arrive on time, it increases the likelyhood that the bag will transfer with the customers. These are the 2 issues that have been discussed above. We are not talking about food, amenities, cleanliness here. This topic is about OTP and the excellent job employees (not the executive management) have done to put it back in the top tier in the industry.
Why is everyone so cynical about something that should be so positive?
Improving OTP is a core issue to me. Moving airplanes on time is what customers expect. Improving PAWOBs is a core issue to me. When airplanes arrive on time, it increases the likelyhood that the bag will transfer with the customers. These are the 2 issues that have been discussed above. We are not talking about food, amenities, cleanliness here. This topic is about OTP and the excellent job employees (not the executive management) have done to put it back in the top tier in the industry.
Why is everyone so cynical about something that should be so positive?
jack mama
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MMW,
Do you think OTP is up by sacraficing PAWOBS? ie, pushing back vs waiting on more connecting bags?
And could any improvement in PAWOBs be because people know not to check bags, to the percent of checked bags to pax is getting lower?
The PAWOB number itself is worthless...it should be based on checked bags, not per pax
Do you think OTP is up by sacraficing PAWOBS? ie, pushing back vs waiting on more connecting bags?
And could any improvement in PAWOBs be because people know not to check bags, to the percent of checked bags to pax is getting lower?
The PAWOB number itself is worthless...it should be based on checked bags, not per pax
MarkMyWords
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Absolutely not. OTP is up and PAWOB's are down. Look at the numbers I posted above.....proof positive. Had OTP been up and PAWOBs were up also, absolutely, but the numbers don't support that.
I don't believe that people are checking less bag, overall. Bottom line is that if you are carrying a brief case and a lap top, the garment bag is gonna get checked regardless. People may be a little more selective about what they check, but for the most part, no.
Once again, if your flight arrives on time....chances are 10 times greater that your bags will make the connection too. Where we run into our biggest problem is when we have 15 minutes to connect customers in PHL due to a late flight. The customer may be able to make it from B1 to B17 but it is much more difficult for the bag runner to get your bags (and all of the other connecting bags) to their gate. Hiring additional staffing in PHL was a tremendous boost. Adding additional equipment helped. Increasing the check-in cut off is a good step also. I have seen pictures from the PHL ticket counter where bags are stacked for days trying to get through TSA screening and back into our system.
I don't believe that people are checking less bag, overall. Bottom line is that if you are carrying a brief case and a lap top, the garment bag is gonna get checked regardless. People may be a little more selective about what they check, but for the most part, no.
Once again, if your flight arrives on time....chances are 10 times greater that your bags will make the connection too. Where we run into our biggest problem is when we have 15 minutes to connect customers in PHL due to a late flight. The customer may be able to make it from B1 to B17 but it is much more difficult for the bag runner to get your bags (and all of the other connecting bags) to their gate. Hiring additional staffing in PHL was a tremendous boost. Adding additional equipment helped. Increasing the check-in cut off is a good step also. I have seen pictures from the PHL ticket counter where bags are stacked for days trying to get through TSA screening and back into our system.
MMW,
Just because a plane operates on time does not guarantee nor does it increase the likelihood that their bags will make it with them on the flight they are scheduled on. If you have a very understaffed operation at a hub like PHL and to some extent CLT then that will increase the likelihood that the bags will not be moved as they should. Physically, the men and women working the ramp can only move so many bags. They have limitations and this managements response to that has been to smear and degrade them into performing better. That is their style of management and the reason why so many very talented individuals have left the airline as well as the industry altogether. They put pressure on the front line managers by giving them a no excuse policy for delays when in fact there really are some good reasons to take a delay. I'm not talking about huge delays either. I'm talking about a group of people putting in herculean efforts turning a 75 or a 76 with a full boat both directions and having management bash them because they didn't turn the a/c 10 mins quicker than they did. They bash them about taking X number of minutes to clean it rather than saying, "Hey guys...you did a hellofa job turning that plane and we appreciate your efforts." You'll never hear that from upper management. Only threats and intimidation. Welcome to the world of UAIR management 101.
Just because a plane operates on time does not guarantee nor does it increase the likelihood that their bags will make it with them on the flight they are scheduled on. If you have a very understaffed operation at a hub like PHL and to some extent CLT then that will increase the likelihood that the bags will not be moved as they should. Physically, the men and women working the ramp can only move so many bags. They have limitations and this managements response to that has been to smear and degrade them into performing better. That is their style of management and the reason why so many very talented individuals have left the airline as well as the industry altogether. They put pressure on the front line managers by giving them a no excuse policy for delays when in fact there really are some good reasons to take a delay. I'm not talking about huge delays either. I'm talking about a group of people putting in herculean efforts turning a 75 or a 76 with a full boat both directions and having management bash them because they didn't turn the a/c 10 mins quicker than they did. They bash them about taking X number of minutes to clean it rather than saying, "Hey guys...you did a hellofa job turning that plane and we appreciate your efforts." You'll never hear that from upper management. Only threats and intimidation. Welcome to the world of UAIR management 101.
MarkMyWords
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MrAeroman -
So the OTP improvements have nothing to do with adding hundreds of employees in CLT, DCA and PHL? It has nothing to do with adding much needed equipment? We achieved the change in performance by shear intimidation? Bull. The performance numbers for Dec, Jan, Feb - those are the crappy numbers that they were able to achieve through intimidation. The Christmas meltdown is what they achieved through intimidation. The numbers (that IMPROVED from March to May) are a direct result of action being taken that should have been done long ago.
As for a guarantee on bags making a connection - no one can do that. But operating on time tremendously increases you odds of that happening. If a great number of flights operated 20-30 mintes behind schedule, then it is harder to move the bags.
And lastly.....your comment about management not patting people on the back....just what do you think all of the accolades in US Airways today are for? If you don't get that at a local level, then shame on the local manager. But all this talk of improved performance and kudos to employees is exactly what they are trying to do......Thank the employees that achieved those numbers.
So the OTP improvements have nothing to do with adding hundreds of employees in CLT, DCA and PHL? It has nothing to do with adding much needed equipment? We achieved the change in performance by shear intimidation? Bull. The performance numbers for Dec, Jan, Feb - those are the crappy numbers that they were able to achieve through intimidation. The Christmas meltdown is what they achieved through intimidation. The numbers (that IMPROVED from March to May) are a direct result of action being taken that should have been done long ago.
As for a guarantee on bags making a connection - no one can do that. But operating on time tremendously increases you odds of that happening. If a great number of flights operated 20-30 mintes behind schedule, then it is harder to move the bags.
And lastly.....your comment about management not patting people on the back....just what do you think all of the accolades in US Airways today are for? If you don't get that at a local level, then shame on the local manager. But all this talk of improved performance and kudos to employees is exactly what they are trying to do......Thank the employees that achieved those numbers.
USA320Pilot
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MarkMyWords:
Your last post was excellent and well written. I agree with every word of your post.
Regards,
USA320Pilot
Your last post was excellent and well written. I agree with every word of your post.
Regards,
USA320Pilot
longing4piedmont
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MMWUSA320Pilot said:
Be very very afraid.
Art at ISP
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MarkMyWords said:
Mark my friend,
Great post, but there is a point on which I disagree with you. I know for a fact that station personnel were told to button up aircraft at -5 minutes whether or not all the bags were loaded. The higher ups do not care about PAWOBS--they want the flights on time. I have also seen on one or two occasions crews stop loading before the carts were empty in order to button up on time (I am not saying I know for sure all the bags were destined for the flight but it sure looked that way).
The increased check in times for passengers and baggage at PHL is a bandaid approach and does not begin to address the real issues with PHL. It appears that they cannot or will not address the core operational issues at PHL be it staffing, the bag belts or other inefficiencies, nor are they able to get better performance out of TSA there. Do they really think telling customers to check in earlier so their numbers will be better is the way to go???? Tell you what--if I were a PHL customer I would not be happy...... Remember perception is reality to most people.
While on the subject, I would like to make a relatively simple suggestion which could improve the PAWOB situation significantly. Stop offering 30 minute connections!!! I am sorry but minimum connection times in this system should be 60-75 minutes. 30 minutes, even 45 minutes for a connection at any major hub, ESPECIALLY PHL, is not realistic. It would cost little, and would result in fewer missed bags and fewer ticked off customers.....
That said, off on another trip Tuesday--
My best to you all.....
