For all the complainers and moaners!

[philly rocks]

Been in the big PHL airport during 2 BK's where there were only a handful of agents per shift and no management. We pulled this airline through two major crisis situations and certainly have a go at it again. We must advertise, raise customer service levels to where they use to be before the LCC mentality. We must give perks to preferred customers and ADVERTISE. If we are going to jack up the price of the ticket to 299.00 or more we must consider our elite and star alliance passengers. It pays off in the end but these cracker jacks want it all and sadly we will crumble without a good plan in place to meet everyone in the middle.

Oil prices soaring may mean much higher unemployment levels which means US must get the ear of every politician , lobby and band together with the other large airlines to get some relief from the government.

I hear rumors that KPMG is now on board with us. Will that prove to be good or bad is left to be seen.

 

[ALPO NO MO]

Tip jar! Tip Jar! I'm making some tip jars!

 

[tadjr]

By the way for the “Just Raise Faresâ€￾ crowd!

Had a guy today TPA-PHL $49 plus taxes. Complaining about paying $25 for his second bag. Why dont you guys just raise the fare and quit nickel and diming me? Well for one, if we raised the fare, it would be more than the $25 you just paid for your second bag and two, since you're a family of 6 and only had 2 extra bags, you just paid $50 that if all the fares were raised would have cost you $150. Do the math. :blink: :blink: Or do both! h34r:

 

[ALPO NO MO]

Don't forget St. Jude; patron saint of lost causes

 

[KCFlyer]

I’m just hoping we can all hang in long enough for the government to reregulate the industry ….

That is still going to result in a lot of pain - if the government reregulates the industry, there's going to be shrinkage in the industry. You can't decide a fare that would guarantee a profit between PHL and LAX when 6 carriers are operating the route, so someone (or two) has to go. Chapter 7 bankruptcy would have much the same result.

 

[BuffaloJoe]

Had a guy today TPA-PHL $49 plus taxes. Complaining about paying $25 for his second bag. Why dont you guys just raise the fare and quit nickel and diming me? Well for one, if we raised the fare, it would be more than the $25 you just paid for your second bag and two, since you're a family of 6 and only had 2 extra bags, you just paid $50 that if all the fares were raised would have cost you $150. Do the math. :blink: :blink: Or do both! h34r:

That is the whole thing, People will pay $300 for a flight no problem, but when the fare is $49 then $2 for water, $5 for BOB, $15 for a suitcase. I know I rather be done with fees when I purchase my ticket. I DO NOT want to have to/ or forced to carry Cash on me at all times. And the FA's are going to have proper change right off the bat. Customer Service once meant a thing in this Country, now its Board Member Service. I guess when the Holidays come it will even cost me more when I donate miles to the Fisher House.

 

[Be Careful What You Wish For.]

The government will be happy to see someone go away, like Dogwonder noted-this will solve the overcapacity problem all by itself.

I wouldn't get too comfortable with BK3 since laws have changed.

I do know they've become stricter.

 

[hack73]

Parker and his management team are in over their heads.Why are we always number one on time ? Because this idiot fron NW Eisom has increased the block time on all flights costing the company big bucks.When this all washes out , US will be gone because they don't own anything.Plus parker is a total idiot !

 

[Be Careful What You Wish For.]

Parker and his management team are in over their heads.Why are we always number one on time ? Because this idiot fron NW Eisom has increased the block time on all flights costing the company big bucks.When this all washes out , US will be gone because they don't own anything.Plus parker is a total idiot !

Wow, now thats illuminating.

 

[signals]

Fine. Lets cut to the chase...

LCC is DOA and should RIP! Is that a proper lingo or don't I know what I'm talking about?

LCC stock has gotten sooooo swoooshing low that you couldn't give it away! Can you handle the truth? You're below jetBlue and a few cents from AirTrash! Once you go below the Trash you become a maggot. People don't line up to purchase maggots but they find treasure in trash.

Now you may ask what the hell I'm talking about. Here it is...AirTran is better than US Airways, which means that all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't build the sky king together again! Enjoy the ICU! :huh: <_<

 

[cynic]

All airlines won't go bankrupt.

When the weak ones go away the rest can take advantage of it.

That only works if all of the remaining airlines raise their rates. WN and other real LCCs will continue to to put more seats on the market and keep ticket prices at levels where everyone loses money on the flight.

 

[Be Careful What You Wish For.]

That only works if all of the remaining airlines raise their rates. WN and other real LCCs will continue to to put more seats on the market and keep ticket prices at levels where everyone loses money on the flight.

That, as far as I can tell, is what she was saying.

 

[jerseyfinn]

Some interesting observations are made in this thread. The things which jump out at me are:

• Oil & the cost there of, are not in the control of any single nation or entity, oil producers/refiners, governments, industry, airlines, or consumers. Those prices are spiraling and wobbling all over the place and will continue to do so.
• Conumers and their driving & energy consumption habits are not even close to being where they should be. Aviation may be one of the most vulnerable groups in this respect. There is no quick or easy fix.
• Paradoxically, airlines are responsible for the (flawed) expectations of consumers who now assume that low prices are a "right" not to be debated or challenged. The flawed businiess model has cemented expectations while also locking airlines into pricing and ops habits which are incongruous with these new times ( actually potentially lethal habits ). No surprise that airlines experience difficulty in raising prices or that they collectively lack the guts to heal themselves. Then again, that's one angry mob out there waiting to get their hands on the likes of DP and his band of misfits.
• It adds to the drama that the airline woes occur at the same time during which the economy itself struggles with the sub-prime debacle ( another example of bad behavior in concert by individuals, business, and government ). Airlines are very nearly in a perfect storm sort of scenerio.
• You know you're in trouble when you hear people talking about government assistance and bailouts for aviation. Do you really want a putz like Arlen Spector & his Congressional cronies determining the fate of airlines? Overregulation is already a problem in aviation. But I do agree that in the end, government will be compelled to do something if airlines begin hitting the BK wall, but only because the dysfunction in the industry runs so deep and there is not enough time to whistle Dixie and wait for the clouds to pass.
• So you have pax who are getting hammered at the gas pumps & in the stores with sprilaling prices while the economy shrinks and jobs are cut, wages, diminish, and inflation looms. These folks are not going to want to take their aviation medicine ( higher fares ). Then again, airline execs don't want to take their medicine either. So you guys shrink your product and you diminish service while charging more. A sure fire way to ensure something akin to the bread riots of 1789 Paris occurs ( come here Dougie, lay you head in this choppinig block. . . it'll only take a second ). The paradox is that higher fares are indeed a rational scheme for airlines to pursue. But they also create an impetus for pax to demand better service for the money spent. Congress would love to jump onto this consumer bandwagon. The very same Congress which screws all of the airlines ( and we pax ) by failing to pass funding to provide ATC with better technology to handle our crowded skies. So when summer ops falter, those pissed-off pax paying more money will be mad at the airline and not those DC ejaculates who haven't been doing their job for decades. What a mess indeed!

I do not see a singular solution to any of this. I do believe that some airlines gotta say bye-bye to the friendly skies. Who's it gonna be? Well, US had better run a good race if it wants to hang around. I myself understand the higher fares, but I will be completely unaccepting of any excuse for poor product/service from any airline. It's a two way street even if this is the perfect storm. Time for airline execs to earn their money and take charge ( and responsibility ) for the fate of their own industry. Government will want to meddle, but it can indeed expedite aid/relief provided that airlines adapt to the new reality. As to the pax? You guys trained em to expect low fares and unlilmited everything. Put a product in the sky, do your job, and your pax will also learn to adapt to the new reality. Otherwise this aviation thing is gonna get real ugly.

Just my view from the back.

Barry

 

[flybynite]

Bravo!! Well said.