First Class standards of service

[Jacobin777]

I'm less worried about the F service than I am the ground experience...

If the Admirals Club starts to look like the Presidents' Club, I'm done.

Same thing for the bag handling on arrival... AA's really cleaned that up in the last two years -- my bag is consistently out within the first dozen or so when the premium tags are used.

I've got my million miles and the card to show for it, all earned before the closing. The second million miles? Those depend entirely on what happens with the integration.

 
I'm basically in the "same boat" so-to-speak. I'm 1+ million and will see how things turn out. If things go bad I'll probably fly on AS and other AA codesharing partners such as BA, CX, etc.

 

[jimntx]

furthermore it is indicated on the manifest/FC seating chart with pax names no reason they shouldn't be delivering the ordered meal 100% of the time.

Josh

Yeah, and after 5,000 years of fighting among those Semitic first cousins, there's no reason we shouldn't have peace in the Middle East 100% of the time. But, the reality is that we don't. And, the caterer is not always loading the meals that are specified. And, since AA has gotten rid of most of the caterers in most of the out stations, I guess they're afraid that the DFW caterer can't be held accountable for their mistakes. We write up mistakes on the catering papers all the time, but the same mistakes continue to happen over and over. And, if the catering is the last thing to arrive at the plane (which it often is), the company is not willing to delay the flight to see that the correct catering is provided.

 

[737823]

Yeah, and after 5,000 years of fighting among those Semitic first cousins, there's no reason we shouldn't have peace in the Middle East 100% of the time. But, the reality is that we don't. And, the caterer is not always loading the meals that are specified. And, since AA has gotten rid of most of the caterers in most of the out stations, I guess they're afraid that the DFW caterer can't be held accountable for their mistakes. We write up mistakes on the catering papers all the time, but the same mistakes continue to happen over and over. And, if the catering is the last thing to arrive at the plane (which it often is), the company is not willing to delay the flight to see that the correct catering is provided.

There is more to AA than just DFW, many other airports have catering and sufficient catering is onboard yet F/As continually disregard procedure despite mentioning and seeing my request is indicated and allocated onboard. Again I am raising this because it speaks to the attitude of some F/As especially those whom when asked about pre-order respond "I don't do that, we aren't set-up for that yet and it's easier to ask everyone onboard". Again this isn't about the five dollar airline meal but more about the attitude and (lack of consistency) from F/As in service standards.

Josh

 

[john john]

If the Admirals Club starts to look like the Presidents' Club, I'm done.

What about your friendly agents that like to fix your tickets

 

[eolesen]

What about your friendly agents that like to fix your tickets

The only agents that fix my tickets work for American Express, are non-union, salaried, home-based, and happen to love their job.

I've had the same two travel agents for the past seven years. They know what airlines I prefer, the type of fare to book because of the inevitable changes that will happen, where I like to sit, and where I like to sleep. And I gladly pay $50 per booking because it's worth it to know that whoever answers the call will be able to do what I want any BS.

With any airline's call center, I get a different person every time, and there's hardly any consistency, and way too much corporate policy. The websites? Geared to sell cheap seats to tourists, and too difficult to find out which fare really isn't refundable or doesn't incur a change fee later.

 

[737823]

If the Admirals Club starts to look like the Presidents' Club, I'm done.

Not sure what you referring to here. You mean Continental Presidents Club to sarcastically refer to what are now known as the United Clubs? I'd be more concerned the Admirals Clubs start to look like the US Airways Clubs both in terms of quality of the furniture and finishes and attitude of the agents/club reps. The CO presidents clubs in their day were actually quite good with very capable agents, especially at the FLL and IAH clubs.

Josh

 

[RJcasualty]

On the regional side, beverage drawer configurations have been changed in a bone-headed attempt to match   the mainline. The proven regional beverage drawers are now an illogical mish-mosh of brands and brand ratios that don't conform to regional customer preferences. While such a change might seem trivial to the casual observer, it impacts the flight attendant in terms of on-the-job safety by requiring un-necessary pre-positioning on the ground and in-flight. It impacts the customer in terms of a timely service and brand preference--- the former critical with short regional flight segments and quick turns. I suppose you can draw your own conclusions on this management style--- now and in the future.

 

[jimntx]

RJcasualty, if it's any consolation, they've been doing the same thing on mainline. The soda inserts on Boeing a/c hold 21 cans of soda. The Airbus inserts only hold 20 cans. The "solution" was to pack only 20 cans in the Boeing inserts. Seems it saves the company money if all inserts are the same. The fact that one can of something that mainline customers wanted has been eliminated is of no consequence to anyone except the flight attendants and the passengers.

 

[RJcasualty]

Maybe it's time to bring back the dreaded customer surveys. Remember those?

 

[eolesen]

I still get surveys from time to time as an elitist. I send emails more often than I see the surveys, though...

 

[RJcasualty]

Quite possible the on-board survey has met the fate of the post card. On the other hand, I think the immediacy of a uniformed employee handing you a piece of paper in-flight to vent or compliment might reflect a more accurate picture of the customers opinions. The fact that the company is only interested in the frequent flyer is a depressing sign of the times. I pride myself in offering a knowledgeable, friendly, personal, first class service to everyone on my all coach 50 seaters. A passenger who might have been manhandled by the time he reaches my door, is guaranteed to be smiling as he deplanes. My job has become more challenging. I've witnessed a total dumbing down of the travel experience over the years. I attribute it to the well-intentioned democratization of travel made possible by de-regulation. The casualty becomes the concept of traditional service and those who were trained to provide it. Both of those, including myself are dying out.

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

RJcasualty, if it's any consolation, they've been doing the same thing on mainline. The soda inserts on Boeing a/c hold 21 cans of soda. The Airbus inserts only hold 20 cans. The "solution" was to pack only 20 cans in the Boeing inserts. Seems it saves the company money if all inserts are the same. The fact that one can of something that mainline customers wanted has been eliminated is of no consequence to anyone except the flight attendants and the passengers.

 
How can an Airbus insert be smaller than a Boeing one… isn't a cart the same size no matter what galley it is rolled into?

 

[IORFA]

Maybe it's time to bring back the dreaded customer surveys. Remember those?

They still do those. They just email them to the customer and they no longer rely on us to throw them away.

 

[IORFA]

How can an Airbus insert be smaller than a Boeing one… isn't a cart the same size no matter what galley it is rolled into?

No, TW had similar/same carts I'm guessing. They were shorter and thinner. TW S80 carts did NOT go on an AA S80. Big no no. Also, the ovens are like the old TW planes as well. Many short racks. Should be fun in business.

 

[jimntx]

How can an Airbus insert be smaller than a Boeing one… isn't a cart the same size no matter what galley it is rolled into?

Obviously, all the voting we did on Flight Service website as to the various combinations we could have on the new packing was either before your time, or you didn't access Flight Service website often enough to see it. We had 4 different soda insert packing arrangements to choose from in the reduction of one can per insert--"with 2 Cranapple, minus one club soda/1 cranapple, keep both club sodas, etc." And, no, evidently the carts are not quite the same between Airbus and Boeing equipment.