Inflight Promotions OUT OF CONTROL

[700UW]

Well I wanted to say that, but I did not want the wrath of the mods.

 

[trvlr64]

I need to chime in here.......SHUT THE F$#&K UP ! Get us from point A to point B or C but quit already with these stupid promotions.

My CLT-PIT flight yesterday was chock full of promotions; the BoA Visa (F/A made 4 announcements during the flight), USAirways vacations, barf bags with advertising, trays with advertising.

HONESTLY if DP can't run an airline without all this fracking advertising then he needs to look for another line of work. Or better yet find a marketing department that has some first hand knowledge of marketing.

US has a captive audience with us trapped on a plane. I don't need to hear some F/A begging us to fill out a credit card application anymore than you need to hear me #### and moan about the poor excuse of an airline US has become and continues to be.

 

[Travelpro72]

I believe the line in the sand should be drawn NOW. Just how far will the company push the envelope with flight attendants selling? What, have us wearing t-shirts with car company advertisements on them next? Teaming up with another company to promote your product is a very good idea but not all of this on an aircraft. There MUST be a limit. It is not industry leading nor the way of the future. Other airlines are making a profit without having to resort to the tactics Usairways has in MANY areas. Again, I don't care who already made this agreement but I WILL NOT be doing it. I'm sure I won't be alone. If I wanted a job in sales I would have applied somewhere else. I'm NOT doing it.

 

[700UW]

Your new uniforms will resemble a NASCAR Driver's Firesuit with all the patches with their sponsors.

 

[ALCARLOS]

Your new uniforms will resemble a NASCAR Driver's Firesuit with all the patches with their sponsors.

An excellent idea !

 

[SKY HIGH]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi...hi-business-hed

.........Story has hit the media.



only stating opinions

 

[songbirdstew]

I believe the line in the sand should be drawn NOW. Just how far will the company push the envelope with flight attendants selling? What, have us wearing t-shirts with car company advertisements on them next? Teaming up with another company to promote your product is a very good idea but not all of this on an aircraft. There MUST be a limit. It is not industry leading nor the way of the future. Other airlines are making a profit without having to resort to the tactics Usairways has in MANY areas. Again, I don't care who already made this agreement but I WILL NOT be doing it. I'm sure I won't be alone. If I wanted a job in sales I would have applied somewhere else. I'm NOT doing it.

I couldn't agree with you more. At People's Express when the company introduced something new that the F/A group didn't want to do then they just didn't do it. Eventually the company backed of and quit trying to push whatever product it was......

Same thing with these new crappy $3 bags of carbohydrates that we are pushing. Why are we doing that ? It's junk and we are getting no kick back. I say give the pax as many bags of pretzels as they want and tell them to save their money. If I wanted to work for a food vendor I would be.

 

[sharktooth]

Well this is typical of what I've come to expect from you. It's getting REALLY REALLY old trying to use that piece of Feces web site so how about this??? You're not allowed to complain about the complainers or a "Union Mentality" until that crackerjack web team of yours pulls its head out of its collective assets and develops a functioning website.

Just remember while there is indeed no "I" in team there is however a "ME" located there.

Amen!

Neglecting the very public face of the website in favor of extracting every last penny from customers is a quick way to the chapter 7 pool. It attracts the cheapest of the cheap and turns away the crowd with money as well as intelligence. Marketing to the lowest end of the gene pool doesn't take much in the way of expertise.

Hey DP, see what you can do!

 

[trvlr64]

Amen!

Neglecting the very public face of the website in favor of extracting every last penny from customers is a quick way to the chapter 7 pool. It attracts the cheapest of the cheap and turns away the crowd with money as well as intelligence. Marketing to the lowest end of the gene pool doesn't take much in the way of expertise.

Hey DP, see what you can do!

Hey Shark !

Here's an example of the fabulous marketing department at USAIRWAYS! Maybe they should have forwarded this email to that crack team in the IT department instead. I'm sure they can use the expertise in networking instead.

Earn up to 15,000 bonus miles from Network Solutions


Network Solutions can help you get your business online with a custom Web site & search engine marketing! Let our experts build you a custom Web site with our Do-It-For-Me Web site service. Then, apply Search Engine Marketing to help to get you found online in a variety of search engines. Sign up for both services and earn up to 15,000 bonus miles:

Do-It-For-Me Custom Site

A one-of-a-kind site design created just for you
10 professionally built pages
3 revisions to your design
1 hour each month of updates to your site
Search Engine Visibility

Submission of your site to national and local search engines and directories
Automatic re-submission monthly
Expert analysis of your site to increase search engine indexing
60 minutes of personalized search engine optimization recommendations
In-depth Web site visitor and traffic analysis
Setup and configuration of reports by a search engine marketing expert
This is a special offer for Dividend Miles members. Offer available by phone or e-mail only through December 31, 2006. Call 866-273-0053 today or email us at [email protected] and let our experts help you get started.

Or click here to check out our other exciting products!


Instead of having a website that actually WORKS, Tempe gives away frequent flyer miles to entice it's customers to continue to fly US. Just like the "everything counts" promotion, it's showing your customers that US is grasping at staying alive instead of providing the service necessary to really be an airline people should fly.

 

[NAPAUS]

Besides a few catchy ads and maybe a cutsie commercial with a dad and son watching a plane fly, Usair/US airways has never really had that great a marketing department. The last thing before the merger.....those ugly coffee cups that looked like my 7 year old nephew drew on them.... They can take those Coldstone coupons and stick them where the sun don't shine. This "selling" is NOT in our job description and is NOT considered serving. Unlike the cashcow program that many are falling over themselves for this will NOT fly I'm sure. I say Sheri hang out on Dec 24th and Dec 25th since the airports will be packed and hand some out. Yeah, there ya go.

U know embarrassing but true. Once upon a time, they tried to market themselves, but never finished the job they started. As for now, well they are startin to make SW look good...and they are the (SW) white trash of the airline industry. US badly needs an image re-d0, new uniforms, and something to make their employees proud of.Oh yeah and Sheri, geez, US east had a Sheri who pulled lots of CRAP on the f/a's...whats with Sheri's and inflight!

 

[HP_JACK]

If we are playing the "level off" video.. i do not make skymall or credit card announcements. If we are playing the "level off" video I only put it on volume 1. If we are hocking a $3 snack I say it only one time that they are available and if you are interested in purchasing one to let us know during beverage and will place a few on the cart. I usually end up selling 1 or 2. When it comes to these cold stone coupons.. don't be surpised if they end up in the trash. In addition I refuse to participate in the skymall scheme. After being yelled at about our advertisements..I'm tired and am done with it. I'm tired of being whored out by west management with no raises and we are continually told... well this generates revenue for the company. ... well where is our raise.. where is our respect? I'm a west flight attendant and have been on east flights meny times. I have warned my east brothers and sisters... just remember whose inflight it taking over here. I just was hoping with the merger they would give us all a fresh start.. give inflight a new look. In our dreams. Its the same crap they have been handing down on the west side for years.

In addition on the west we are prohibited from reading anything but company material and we are strictly forbiden from sitting in passenger seats. God forbid if we are on a flight thats wide open and sit in the last row to eat our food like a human being!

 

[songbirdstew]

Your job is just like everyone elses in the business world. To do what your company wants you to do. The old (at least 30 years behind it's time) east coast union mentality needs to go away real soon or else the company will be back to your normal way of never making money. It is getting real old to hear you people complain aboyt everything too!!

So we do what the company wants us to do but our pax are just as sick of it as we are ???????? I won't take the blame for driving pax away that want a peaceful flight .....the company does that themselves just fine. It's almost borderline harrassment if you fly three flights on us in one day and have to listen to it over and over !

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Is it really necessary for US Airways to huckster credit cards on its flights?

On all four legs of a round-trip journey I took last weekend to the Bahamas, extended, hard-sell pitches were made for the Dividend Miles credit card through recorded messages and readings by flight attendants. After each spiel, a smiling attendant strolled down the aisle offering each row an application.

On the last flight, the attendant stopped and asked the young woman who was seated next to me how old she was.

"Twenty-three."

The attendant said that was good. "You have such a baby face, you might be 15, in which case I shouldn't be offering you credit."

Call me cranky, but this practice seems to me to be a significant step backward, both in terms of passenger respect and the air travel experience.

I have no problem with ads for credit cards in in-flight magazines or promotions at sales kiosks set up in the airport concourse. In those situations, uninterested passengers can simply turn the page or walk on by.

But forcing every member of a captive audience to an involuntary, aggressive sales pitch seems to be crossing a line, especially when airline personnel are actively enlisted in the effort.

Airline passengers these days are expected to put up with plenty of inconveniences, from being asked to check in ever earlier for flights to adapting to new regulations for carry-ons and (truth be said) demeaning security procedures, to being herded onto planes and packed into narrow seats with scant leg room and little in the way of in-flight entertainment or amenities. Now we're asked to sit through multiple sales pitches for credit cards!

Coffee, tea or credit?

In fact, on the two shorter flight legs I took, attendants offered only cold beverages and tiny bags of pretzels. When I asked for a cup of coffee, I was informed the trip was too short to brew hot beverages. There was no time for coffee or tea, but plenty for the cabin staff to huckster credit cards offering bonus mileage and free trips.

Randy Petersen, editor and publisher of Inside Flyer, shares my annoyance with these aggressive credit card sales.

"I was on a flight [on U.S. Airways] to the West Coast recently and got the same thing. It's a tactic other airlines have tried in the past and dropped, either because of passenger protest or lack of success."

Another irony is that this is happening at a time when it's become harder and harder to cash in accumulated mileage credit for free flights.

"Availability of free seats has been a particular issue for US Airways since its merger [with America West Airlines]," Mr Petersen said. "The two systems haven't been fully integrated. East Coasters are looking for flights to the West Coast, and West Coasters want to fly east. That's put a crunch on their inventory, especially for the companion tickets, which can be the toughest seat to land."

Regarding the credit card push, we also wonder what this sales effort accomplishes. Considering the flood of credit card offers the average American already receives, how many passengers don't already have a wallet full of plastic? Does the potential income from a few new credit customers justify the effort, not to mention the annoyance of all the other passengers in the cabin? And is it really necessary for an airline to de-professionalize its flight staff by turning them into sales people?

"That's ironic," Mr. Petersen noted. "For years, flight attendants have been working to establish themselves as being there for passenger safety and comfort. Selling product for a bonus certainly undermines that effort."

In full disclosure, since I already have a Dividend Miles credit card, I felt even less responsive to the sales pitch. But this raised another issue I found puzzling. Exactly what credit card is US Airways offering us?

The plastic in my wallet is a MasterCard issued by Juniper Bank, which Barclays Group has now purchased. I've had that card for about a year, but the card being pushed in-flight is a Visa Signature Card from Bank of America.

Curious, I checked www.usairways.com. On my first visit, the banner ad in the lower left corner exhorted me to "Earn More Miles" with the New US Airways Dividend MasterCard. Several minutes later I refreshed the page. This time, the banner ad in the same place advised that I could, "Get there sooner with 25,000 bonus dividend miles," with US Airways Visa Signature.

Somehow, it seemed odd for the airline simultaneously to be promoting two different credit card programs. Although the programs are generally similar, there are differences in annual fees -- MasterCard's is $79, with the first year free; Visa's $90 -- as well as interest rates, bonus miles and other benefits. For a side-by-side comparison, check the option box under Dividend Miles on its Web site and decide for yourself.

Choice is good, but rather than making the selection contingent on a seemingly random draw, shouldn't potential customers be advised of the existence of both programs? Mr. Petersen explained that the existence of the two programs is also a result of the merger. The Bank of America had a long-standing relationship with US Airways, but Barclays provided substantial funding for the airline to emerge from bankruptcy and wanted the credit card business. He said Bank of America is resorting to these aggressive sales tactics to sign up as many customers as possible before its affinity contract expires at the end of 2007.

This information was confirmed by a US Airways representative, who also explained that the in-flight pitches by flight attendants are a voluntary incentive program established by Bank of America. She noted that staff who choose to participate earn an incentive bonus for each application that is approved. Reportedly, the program has been successful for Bank of America and is gaining popularity among US Airways staff who can supplement their income with the incentive payments. They get no income from either the annual fees or interest payments.

Admittedly, these are relatively minor matters, but guerrilla marketing and sales practices offer little evidence of a carrier that has much respect for its clients' sense and sensibilities.
And that is another issue entirely.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Post-Gazette travel editor David Bear can be reached at 412-263-1629 or [email protected]. )

 

[Dog Wonder]

"Availability of free seats has been a particular issue for US Airways since its merger [with America West Airlines]," Mr Petersen said. "The two systems haven't been fully integrated. East Coasters are looking for flights to the West Coast, and West Coasters want to fly east. That's put a crunch on their inventory, especially for the companion tickets, which can be the toughest seat to land."

Talked to a customer this week who had accumulated 500,000 miles on his US Airways credit card. He tried to book flghts for himself and his wife next May. No seats available. The suggestion was to pick another place to go on vacation.

He donated the miles to charity and now uses a Southwest card.

 

[Travelpro72]

Well for all of you that "tastfully" push your BOFA card push harder because all good things come to an end.

 

[ALCARLOS]

As the job of the Flight Attendant is redefined to include a sizable amount of Sales, it would seem reasonable that their compensation be reallocated to include commissions.