Dave,
Again you miss the point. I could care less about whose name gets into the paper, and I do not consider myself better than the next guy. There are others on this board who get what we're about and understand our mission. Feel free to read the mission statement on our website if that is not clear.
To be honest, things have changed somewhat, but our primary goal is still the long term survival and GROWTH of US Airways as an ongoing concern. While we started as a passenger advocacy group, we kind of added employee advocacy at some point. I won't get into the details on here but would be delighted to run through it with you via PM or email.
We never said we had "great" achievements to report, but we have made a difference. Again, some of the ideas we have discussed with CCY have taken form in one way or another--not to say they were our idea in the first place, but we got them to look at alternatives.
When a number of clubs were closed, we contacted US management and got them to explain their reasoning. I had numerous discussions with Consumer Affairs and with Marketing regarding clubs, and they were aware of the fact that business travelers were not happy. Do you want to call the reopening of the LAX club an accomplishment? It is, but I won't claim that we had a direct influence on that, but it's possible we did.
Were we responsible for the return of hot meals to F on transcons? I doubt it but we did pound the message home to them shortly after that happened.....We made them aware of the potential revenue loss from frequent fliers defecting for that reason.
Bottom line Dave, I don't want any credit, and I don't care if my name is in the paper....but when the reporters call, I will probably talk to them...As long as things improve, then our mission is accomplished--regardless of whether or not we had anything to do with the improvement.
Finally, in no way do we think we are more loyal than the next Chairmans Preferred member...that was never said or implied. But whether you choose to join us or just remain on your own, you show your own loyalty as you see fit. We would welcome you or any other customer or employee as a member without reservation...but you must agree that the Chairmans' Preferred group does constitute US' most loyal customer group....
So I will go on saying thank you to the front line employees who continue to shine in spite of everything, and to occasionally bring them some candy and offer kind words...and I will continue to fly US Airways.
Feel free to contact me via PM if you'd like to know more...and I'd love to meet up with you in PHL some time and buy you a drink.
Best,
Art