Back from across the pond and quite disappointed

[JonC]

Well, I finally found a job, unfortunately not with an airline - for less money than I was making at US Airways...but at a company with massive expansion plans in my area, tons of promotion opportunity, a very lucrative profit sharing program and a long history of, * gasp *, making money. Something that the dillweeds that manage airlines can't figure out. (Well, if your CEO is making around a billion, I suppose that doesn't leave much for the airline to operate on. No offense, Steve. Hope you're taking care of the Jaguar that we bought you.)

Anyway, let me get off my soapbox.

Before I started work this week, I went over to London last week. What the hell happened to envoy class?!! The A330, both ways, was filthier than any heavy use MetroJet I ever flew on. Many of the seats and footrests in envoy were broken. There must have been a reduction in the amount of FAs assigned to the class, because I had to look for one pretty hard to get a cup of coffee. Don't get me wrong, the f/as were good, but the aircraft was a disgrace to the business traveller. If that's what envoy has deteriorated to, please tell me why any business customer should pay to sit up there?! Take the seats out and replace them with coach if you aren't going to put up the resources to do it right.

US Airways has a long history of half-a$$sing it. We want a premium transatlantic product, we promise a premium transatlantic product, we charge for a premium transatlantic product - but we are currently delivering a product that is A TOTAL EMBARASSMENT.

 

[CaptBud330]

I fly the 330 every week to LGW and have NEVER seen the interior in the condion you describe.On a rare occasion, a seat is written up as inop but this is indeed a rare condition. The airplanes are imaculate especially westbound out of London. Those people do a remarkable job cleaning the airplanes. As for staffing, we are in compliance with the FAR''s and our staffing is comparable to all othe domestic airlines. The 330 is a marvelous machine.

 

[CLIPPEDWINGS]

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On 5/15/2003 9:34:00 PM CaptBud330 wrote:

As for staffing, we are in compliance with the FAR''s and our staffing is comparable to all othe domestic airlines. The 330 is a marvelous machine.

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How can you sit there and make a comment like that? All you do is sit in the cockpit! Your job is VERY important, but if they could take one of you out of there they would. How would you like having to do that all by yourself. The staffing levels are a joke!!! You try giving good service on FAA min staffing. If all companies had bare bone crews.....
Having those levels DOES NOT provide for excellent service..mediocre at best. We don''t need to be comparable to everybody else. We need to give SUPERIOR service to keep and gain customers. That WON''T happen with these staffing levels.

You voted YES didn''t you?

 

[a320av8r]

[email protected]

 

[a320av8r]

Doesn''t WN provide bare bones service?
That''s what we are striving for...

 

[mrman]

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On 5/16/2003 512 AM a320av8r wrote:

Doesn''t WN provide bare bones service?
That''s what we are striving for...

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You need to fly WN sometime. Their coach project has better service than the full service. Examples include flight attendants that will actually help a customer lift luggage into the overheads, they are required to come back to each passenger and ask for another drink, oh and that cocktail is free if your a FF, very rarely see a FA in the back reading magazines, always have full service, travel HOU-CRP on a 30 minute flight they get one a drink and ask for another. Never hear "since this is a short flight there will be no service or just OJ". I would even go out on a limb and say with their snack pack, their food service beats the lack of food in coach on US

 

[AtlanticBeach]

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On 5/16/2003 7:08:29 AM mrman wrote:

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On 5/16/2003 512 AM a320av8r wrote:

Doesn't WN provide bare bones service?
That's what we are striving for...

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You need to fly WN sometime. Their coach project has better service than the full service. Examples include flight attendants that will actually help a customer lift luggage into the overheads, they are required to come back to each passenger and ask for another drink, oh and that cocktail is free if your a FF, very rarely see a FA in the back reading magazines, always have full service, travel HOU-CRP on a 30 minute flight they get one a drink and ask for another. Never hear "since this is a short flight there will be no service or just OJ". I would even go out on a limb and say with their snack pack, their food service beats the lack of food in coach on US

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Yesterday, I did a round trip on WN since US vacated the route after more than 20 years of mainline or express service. mrman is correct. Another benefit of WN is that the seat pitch is greater than on most of US equipment.

The original post in this thread is not consistent with my experience. Most recent Envoy was PHL-LGW in January and was excellent as were all my previous US trips to Europe. The same could not be said for UA Business Class.

Aircraft cleanliness appears to be an increasing problem on the domestic fleet, but I have yet to see anything less than clean on a 330.

 

[USAirBoyA330]

I am on the A330 a fair amount and must say some are in better shape than others. However, some of our Envoy cabins are looking ragged and beginning to deteriorate. The fabric on a lot of the Envoy seats are fading, tearing and wearing out. Yes, some of the seat controls are also having problems. But still it''s NOTHING compared to the 757s-737s and baby bus fleet. When the A330 was delivered I was VERY impressed with the carpets and the seat fabric choices and I hoped they would eventually change the entire fleet out to the same look, but I guess it really doesn''t matter since they are not taking good care of that either. I must give Delta and AA credit for having very impressive looking interiors and taking good care of them. They look modern, professional and clean. I have never set foot on a AA or Delta plane that I didn''t think...wow...nice. If we would invest a little pride in a new interior and take care of it...I think it would go a long way toward changing our image. If things keep going the way they are, I fear we will end up like TWA in the past few years with FILTHY aircraft. Remember that was the ONE thing passengers always said in an internal survey at TWA was the cleanliness of their aircraft. They even launched a big cleaning campaign to try and change it.
As for the service levels....well don''t expect that to change. Envoy will continue to suffer low service levels until the aircraft is staffed with more F/As. If we want to offer a higher product then you must offer more staff to provide that product. But USAirways has always had a "make do" attitude.

 

[mbmbbost]

I flew home from CDG a couple weeks ago on a 330. Envoy, row 1. The entire cabin was immaculate when I boarded, and as I walked out at the end of the flight I was shocked by the mess left behind in the main Envoy cabin. Service was good, better than when I flew row 1 in First Class in fact.

 

[LavMan]

The whole fleet is looking like crap because they cut the utility man power way too deep. On the average night we in CLT we don't have enough utility to do ron cleaning on the overnights, we complain and complain and all they will staff CLT for on third shift is to SCO one plane,(heavy duty cleaning), but they short staff it and to perform RON cleaning on an additional 13 planes. We have been averaging over 20 RONs a night so a minimum of six planes or more a night in CLT only get a thru flight cleaning and security check.

I have talked to some co-workers in PHL and it is the same story there. I guess Dave, Hartzell, Prestifillipp and Parente dont care. We have complained, written it up, sent faxes and e-mails and we get no response at all.

We need the flight crews to start complaining, cause no one in Maintenance is listening.

 

[flyin2low]

The 330''s are in that shape because of the CRAF flights...........

 

[USAirBoyA330]

Oh common. Whats that mean? The A330s started looking worn and dirty a while before CRAF started. It''s more due to the SJU turn they do that is ALWAYS late as a result LGW is ALWAYS running behind.