What do the flight attendants want/need onboard

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LCC_#1

LCC_#1

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Nov 16, 2005
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We all know management stalks these boards. I was even quoted in our company newsletter ( :blink: ). So for our flight attendants, we have been listening to what the FF's want. Now, It is a good time to express what the flight attendants want or need to make both our job and the customer's experience better.

Since I started the thread, I guess I should share MY wants and needs. Some will be laughed at and some will get the "we are a lcc" remark, axing the idea from a financial point of view. And PLEASE, guys, let's try to not fight. Just let it be known what you want.

Here goes...

More catering to Dividend Miles members...We must stop the departure of our once loyal fliers to United. They ARE the enemy and it seems we are conceding this important group to a company too willing to satisfy. This means getting that stupid website working at least at the level of an elementary school computer lab. Look at ALL the other airline FF programs and take the best of all. Until First Class in ALL flights are 100% full with full fare customers, upgrading of US1, US2, and US3's should be automatic in that order.

SPEAKING OF FIRST CLASS, U*P*G*R*A*D*E THE SERVICE!!!

Meals aside, do SOMETHING to make the presentation look better. Now, all that gray is boring and downright depressing. Bring back linens..on the tray and around REAL cutlery. At least have a nicer plastic salt/paper shaker. Get rid of the wrigley's gum looking holder. PLEASE...how many more months are we going to wait for glassware? For non glassware flights, how about a plastic wine glass so we don't look COMPLETELY ghetto?
Hot towels..one of the nicest touches one can provide in f/c.
Mints..with all the advertising, I am CERTAIN some company would lend it's name.
Better switch out of snacks.
Give the east the same classier silver trays that west has.
Meal Choices in the following order Full Fare, US1, US2, US3, US4, US5, OneUp, and SA's. All this should be shown on the manifest.
Encouragement of using sir names.
Thanking the customer and shaking hands of our f/c customers. SIDE NOTE: I find it laughable that US is willing to have and pay for Skymall Reps to reward crews that promote the "high revenue" producing product, yet unwilling to value equally the 10% that provide %30 of rev. :unsure:

IF you are going to continue to cheapen the f/c product, either remarket it as something else or LOWER the price to the less value that it IS.

In coach, please provide hot snack choices to sell. We only use 757's on Vegas flts from east. You could probably warm them up in the f/c ovens. The east airbus fleet HAS ovens. Hot rules over cold anytime.

Variety of "tidbit" choices. How sick is everyone of pretzels?
If you want me to NOT serve the entire can, please bring east the party cups that west has.
Please pack out the galleys better. ASK US!! before you just think up something.

Can anyone out there get the pillow/blanket thing right? I have a great idea...
On ALL transcon and longhaul caribbean/Hawaii flts..i pillow/blanket per person. At the end of those flights, remove ALL with fresh ones. If shorter flights, 20/20 on each ac and 40/40 on ac over 160 pax.

Customer Value Packs...Had them in the past for those moments when we need to pamper our customer for really odd moments.

NOTHING says CHEAP like not having kiddy wings for kids. Please bring them back.

I have a hard time believing in this hi tech day that there isn't some company that would kill to have an IE with its name on 350 aircraft. Come on!!

GET THOSE CONTRACTS SETTLED WITH PARITY PLUS A SMALL RAISE!! Nothing says F*U more to your customers than an unhappy work force. Enough!! Time for some payback.

Ok, I have said enough.. Your turn.
 
Give me a Freeking snack basket... I tell you when I dont have one and I serve out of a plastic blue bin it looks trashy or on a White (serving tray) ARGGGGGG!!! :down:

And dont say they are on order/or on the aircraft due to I am on them and have yet to have a snack basket on any of my trips... :shock:

OK off my box. :p
 
LCC_#1 said:
We all know management stalks these boards. I was even quoted in our company newsletter ( :blink: ). So for our flight attendants, we have been listening to what the FF's want. Now, It is a good time to express what the flight attendants want or need to make both our job and the customer's experience better.

Since I started the thread, I guess I should share MY wants and needs. Some will be laughed at and some will get the "we are a lcc" remark, axing the idea from a financial point of view. And PLEASE, guys, let's try to not fight. Just let it be known what you want.

Here goes...

More catering to Dividend Miles members...We must stop the departure of our once loyal fliers to United. They ARE the enemy and it seems we are conceding this important group to a company too willing to satisfy. This means getting that stupid website working at least at the level of an elementary school computer lab. Look at ALL the other airline FF programs and take the best of all. Until First Class in ALL flights are 100% full with full fare customers, upgrading of US1, US2, and US3's should be automatic in that order.

SPEAKING OF FIRST CLASS, U*P*G*R*A*D*E THE SERVICE!!!

Meals aside, do SOMETHING to make the presentation look better. Now, all that gray is boring and downright depressing. Bring back linens..on the tray and around REAL cutlery. At least have a nicer plastic salt/paper shaker. Get rid of the wrigley's gum looking holder. PLEASE...how many more months are we going to wait for glassware? For non glassware flights, how about a plastic wine glass so we don't look COMPLETELY ghetto?
Hot towels..one of the nicest touches one can provide in f/c.
Mints..with all the advertising, I am CERTAIN some company would lend it's name.
Better switch out of snacks.
Give the east the same classier silver trays that west has.
Meal Choices in the following order Full Fare, US1, US2, US3, US4, US5, OneUp, and SA's. All this should be shown on the manifest.
Encouragement of using sir names.
Thanking the customer and shaking hands of our f/c customers. SIDE NOTE: I find it laughable that US is willing to have and pay for Skymall Reps to reward crews that promote the "high revenue" producing product, yet unwilling to value equally the 10% that provide %30 of rev. :unsure:

IF you are going to continue to cheapen the f/c product, either remarket it as something else or LOWER the price to the less value that it IS.

In coach, please provide hot snack choices to sell. We only use 757's on Vegas flts from east. You could probably warm them up in the f/c ovens. The east airbus fleet HAS ovens. Hot rules over cold anytime.

Variety of "tidbit" choices. How sick is everyone of pretzels?
If you want me to NOT serve the entire can, please bring east the party cups that west has.
Please pack out the galleys better. ASK US!! before you just think up something.

Can anyone out there get the pillow/blanket thing right? I have a great idea...
On ALL transcon and longhaul caribbean/Hawaii flts..i pillow/blanket per person. At the end of those flights, remove ALL with fresh ones. If shorter flights, 20/20 on each ac and 40/40 on ac over 160 pax.

Customer Value Packs...Had them in the past for those moments when we need to pamper our customer for really odd moments.

NOTHING says CHEAP like not having kiddy wings for kids. Please bring them back.

I have a hard time believing in this hi tech day that there isn't some company that would kill to have an IE with its name on 350 aircraft. Come on!!

GET THOSE CONTRACTS SETTLED WITH PARITY PLUS A SMALL RAISE!! Nothing says F*U more to your customers than an unhappy work force. Enough!! Time for some payback.

Ok, I have said enough.. Your turn.
Click to expand...
Umm, with all that extra work you are dying to do, shouldn't you be more concerned about a fair contract with adequate compensation, as opposed to hot towels and mints? Keep the wings, towels, wine glasses and hot coach meals and give me a fair contract with a fair scheduling system for all! (RSV and BH...) :rolleyes: I think you should have started with that, rather than adding the fair pay issue as an afterthought at the bottom. :up:

Oh yah, are you willing to subsidize all the additional serving you yearn to do with your paycheck? Because that's the ONLY place it will come from! ;)
 
aredeeyou22 said:
Umm, with all that extra work you are dying to do, shouldn't you be more concerned about a fair contract with adequate compensation, as opposed to hot towels and mints? Keep the wings, towels, wine glasses and hot coach meals and give me a fair contract with a fair scheduling system for all! (RSV and BH...) :rolleyes: I think you should have started with that, rather than adding the fair pay issue as an afterthought at the bottom. :up:

Oh yah, are you willing to subsidize all the additional serving you yearn to do with your paycheck? Because that's the ONLY place it will come from! ;)
Click to expand...


While I agree with you about contracts, I think the topic was what we WANT/NEED on the aircraft. The part at the end was my snipe at management and I apologize if that distracted those out there and led them away from the topic. Feel free to start that topic on another thread. ;) AND I DO think my signature MORE than speaks for how I feel about our contract and the companies feet dragging. It's been there now for weeks.

As far as subsidizing? We are already subsidizing ....right over to United Airlines. You are falling in to the trap that says we are a lcc, giving excuses to trim to the bone and rape the FF. Charge the same price of 10 years ago and offer nothing. Um..great biz model. :unsure:

We are NOT a lcc. We are a CHEAP ASS CARRIER. The most ff's DO have a choice to where they take their high end tickets and ARE vacating US Airways. It's about value. Let me ask you something. Would you spend your hard earned money on a less than superior product when right around the corner is someone willing to give you twice the value for the same price? That's EXACTLY what we are doing. Thats why I said IF IF IF the company insist on cheapening the quality of service, they should either remarket fc as something else or lower the price to match the value.

For many years we offered a true f/c. I have a VERY difficult time believing offering a real F/C financially brought US down.

We can only afford so many once a year ma and pa fliers. We NEED the consistancy of the higher fare customer. THEY are our bread and butter. That's where we differ and NOTHING I write will convince you or anyone else who feels like you.

So, having said that, could we get back on topic? What would you like to see on the a/c that would better your job and the customer experience? :)
 
LCC_#1 said:
While I agree with you about contracts, I think the topic was what we WANT/NEED on the aircraft. The part at the end was my snipe at management and I apologize if that distracted those out there and led them away from the topic. Feel free to start that topic on another thread. ;) AND I DO think my signature MORE than speaks for how I feel about our contract and the companies feet dragging. It's been there now for weeks.

As far as subsidizing? We are already subsidizing ....right over to United Airlines. You are falling in to the trap that says we are a lcc, giving excuses to trim to the bone and rape the FF. Charge the same price of 10 years ago and offer nothing. Um..great biz model. :unsure:

We are NOT a lcc. We are a CHEAP ASS CARRIER. The most ff's DO have a choice to where they take their high end tickets and ARE vacating US Airways. It's about value. Let me ask you something. Would you spend your hard earned money on a less than superior product when right around the corner is someone willing to give you twice the value for the same price? That's EXACTLY what we are doing. Thats why I said IF IF IF the company insist on cheapening the quality of service, they should either remarket fc as something else or lower the price to match the value.

For many years we offered a true f/c. I have a VERY difficult time believing offering a real F/C financially brought US down.

We can only afford so many once a year ma and pa fliers. We NEED the consistancy of the higher fare customer. THEY are our bread and butter. That's where we differ and NOTHING I write will convince you or anyone else who feels like you.

So, having said that, could we get back on topic? What would you like to see on the a/c that would better your job and the customer experience? :)
Click to expand...
LCC,

I could not agree with you more! We are a cheap carrier now! You are right, for many years we offered a true F/C. He!!, for many years PIT made tons of $$$$! We were a totally different airline then. I agree we are losing high yielding pax to carriers such as AA, UA, etc. They offer a much better FC product. If we are still charging the same fares in F as UA and AA on similar routes, sumthin' ain't right!

How many people do you think are still paying $2800 for a first class seat from PHL- LAX? or JFK- LAX for that matter? The whole fare system has changed, and we will probably not see those fares again. Many F pax are elite upgrades, and what we need to do is establish a balance between F and Y cabins that allows us to prosper, while still being able to offer some sort of F product to the elites, (who, I do realize, are our bread and butter... ;) )

In my opinion (which means nothing :lol: ), UA and US are two totally different animals now. We will not see the hot towels, the hot fudge sundaes, the linens, etc... anymore! That is not the direction mgmt is taking us in! If there were people out there faling over each other to purchase expensive F fares, I believe we would be seeing our F cabins expanding and upgrading! It's not happening. Hopefully, mgmt will strike that balance between keeping the elites happy, and packin' 'em in in coach. That's the revenue reality today. I know you want to be out there in that FC aisle carving your roast and passin out the caviar, but time to let it go. This is US, not UA. :(

It does disturb me how many people are worried about hot towels, linens and new uniforms, and not really concerned with the fact that we are at the bottom of the barrel with regards to compensation and work rules, and about to go lower if we are not careful.... :eek:
 
Then why have first class at all? I would rather have NO FC than what I now call "I'm sorry" FC. Yup, you're right...those days are over. <_<
 
LCC_#1 said:
Then why have first class at all? I would rather have NO FC than what I now call "I'm sorry" FC. Yup, you're right...those days are over. <_<
Click to expand...
Umm, for the elites? I mean, the elites that stay and need US and its route structure, not all the millions of elites that are running out the door because we don't have mints and linens....

You are being dramatic. If elites want and need our route structure, the Star Alliance (I know, UA is in that too..), etc, they will stay, and hopefully we can balance out an OK F product at the right price. If the product is just too horrid for them, they will understandably leave.

It amazes me that we have any elites left, what with the baggage debacle(s), PHL factor, and the MAJOR cheapening of the product dating back to 9/11. They must still be here for some reason, and my guess is air transport! :shock:
 
aredeeyou22 said:
It amazes me that we have any elites left, what with the baggage debacle(s), PHL factor, and the MAJOR cheapening of the product dating back to 9/11. They must still be here for some reason, and my guess is air transport! :shock:
Click to expand...
Ya know I ask several of my close friends that still post here that on a regluar basis. The only thing I can think of is comparing it to "battered wife syndrome". :lol: Some of course are stuck because of their flight patterns. I know I used to think that I was before I pulled up stakes and left. For some, they do not want to start over with another airline with no status. I was lucky and was comped to two airlines.

And if you really want to know the truth, most find the front line folks at US some of the best in the air. (notice I did not say on the ground). I know I still miss the FA's on US. I still consider them to be close to the best. (DL FA's are equally good) It's the folks like LCC that still want to try and strive to offer a pleasant experience in the air that keep them coming back, and it is good to see that there are still FA's that want to do that.

One last item may be the CP desk. They were the best and I had my favorite angels which I miss to this day. DL has a premium service desk that I was invited to be a part of, much like UA Global Services, that has made the switch much easier, and has replaced the CP desk in my opinion. My understanding is that the CP desk service has declined considerably in the past year and is no longer the great service it once was.

Hope that helps answer the question from some one who stayed too long for the very reasons listed above. Sorry LCC for taking this futher off topic. I will now go back into my hole.
 
aredeeyou22 said:
LCC,

Come on now. You cannot say this thread was "hijacked" just because you heard things you did not want to hear. ;) Someone has to be realistic! :lol:
Click to expand...


Paging Sense of Humor, Party of One! Watch some Shirley Q Liquor. She'll put a real smile on your face.
 
How about a connecting gate list for US East flights going into PHX and LAS. I know we are on seperate res systems, but there has to be a way to get the connecting gates for all our connecting flights from PHX and LAS.
So many passengers ask for the connecting gate, and all I can tell them is to look at the monitors.
 
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