US Airways Commits Suicide !!!

[KeepMyJob]

Tom,
Perhaps you have flown in First Class so much using your comp upgrades that you simply take it for granted or that it is "owed" to you. This industry is full of followers - if one carrier makes a policy change and it "flies"(excuse the pun), chances are the others will follow. Its only a matter of time!

 

[autofixer]

KC Flyer,

Flying benifits are useless. You cannot non-rev. (fly for free) on any flight to any place good you may wish to go! I just took the family to Hawaii last month...paid just like everone else. I looked for and got a great deal on the internet. But to be honest, I drive anywhere I can. You know the saying, "Time to spare, go by air; more time yet go by jet."[]

 

[MrMarky]

You know, up until last year the airline industry was enjoying record profits. They were making billions -- including US. And all that time, U had ridiculously high costs compared to their competitors, excluding low cost competitors, and they did NOTHING about it!

And where did these hundreds of millions in profits U made come from?? I'll tell you where -- it came from your customers. And now that reality has sunk in, they want to extract the ounce of flesh from their bread and butter loyal customers? I don't think so. That's not the way it works. U chose to be in this business and U is as responsible as any other airline for the shape it has taken. Passengers didn't invent FF programs, the airlines did. Passengers didn't invent the archaic pricing and price-gouging system, the airlines did. Passengers didn't invent the perks afforded to the very best customers, the airlines did. And passengers didn't invent the low cost competition, the airlines did.

But just like any other business, it's sink or swim. If you do not wish to be competitive with what your competition is willing to do in order to earn customer loyalty, than screw you! You've been gouging and taking advantage of business travelers for years, and getting away with it because the majors have been in lockstep. Cleverly devised rules were carefully crafted to force the most important customers to pay exhorbitant fares, which in turn, have paid YOUR SALARY.

Service has been diminishing for years, yet the prices haven't. Most of the majors don't even want to feed you unless it's a transcon any more. And when they do, you're lucky to get a "bistro bag". But they still want that two grand if you happen to be a last minute walk-up.

Who cares about doctors and lawyers--it's irrelevant. How about talking about the supermarkets? They operate on the thinnest of margins, like 1 or 2 percent. Yet they bend over backwards to keep their customers happy. If I were treated by airlines like I'm treated by Safeway, I'd be a very happy camper. How long do you think I'll continue to shop at Safeway when they start charging more and giving me less, and making the shopping experience nothing but a big hassle? What if they say, "sorry, no more Club Card discounts"? Well, I can go over to Albertson's and they'll give me the discounts in order to get my business. It's called captitalism 101. If you can't take the heat, get off the tarmac because they'll be someone else there to replace you faster than the blink of an eye. That's the reality, and if you don't understand that than you are dispensible both as an individual and as a company.

Customer service is what drives successful businesses. PERIOD. Fail to learn that at your own peril.

 

[TomBascom]

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On 8/28/2002 8:05:08 PM

Suicide, I don't think so!
Face it, the days of being able to buy a round trip coast to coast ticket for $198.00, accrue DM miles on top of getting a comp upgrade are gone.
This has to be one of the only industries where such "perks" abound - Immagine going to a grocery store, buying a pound of ground beef, and, just because you shop there twice a week, that grocery store will swap out that pound of ground beef for two pounds of filet mignon, potatoes, veggies, and all the rest of the trimmings....plus give you a coupon for another two pounds of filet mignon for free just because you shop there.....all for the price of a pound of ground beef!
I don't think so....Never will happen....why should it continue to happen here?
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You've obviously never flown in F. It's not that wonderful. The best part of it is that you get a reasonably comfortable seat. It's more of a complimentary cheeseburger upgrade than it is a Filet with all the trimmings.

I'll bet you an unused non-refundable ticket that I'll be booking $200 upgradeable flights that earn miles on some carrier for a lot longer than US Airways will be collecting any significant number of $2,000 round trips.

 

[KCFlyer]

Immagine going to a grocery store, buying a pound of ground beef, and, just because you shop there twice a week, that grocery store will swap out that pound of ground beef for two pounds of filet mignon, potatoes, veggies, and all the rest of the trimmings....plus give you a coupon for another two pounds of filet mignon for free just because you shop there.....all for the price of a pound of ground beef!
I don't think so....Never will happen....why should it continue to happen here?

Imagine that same grocery store has a gallon of milk that costs $2.00 if you buy it Saturday, but $1 if you buy it Friday, but if you get home and Saturday morning you discover that the milk is spoiled, you can't get a refund of your $1, nor can you get credit towards the purchase of the $2 gallon of milk, And to top it off, you don't get green stamps (my apologies to those who aren't old enough to remember green stamps) for the $1 milk. That's what U is doing here.

Then imagine if you discover that "American Grocers" or "United Foods" is offering the same deal, only if the $1 milk is spoiled, I can get credit towards the $2 milk. Or even better, if "Southwest Market" is offering the same milk for $1.50, except they are in the solidly middle class neighborhood. It's not swank, but it's a decent part of town. And they offer their milk at that price every day. Who do you think will get the most business?

 

[TomBascom]

The marketing geniuses at SW have their passengers LOVING low levels of service. How often do we read about passengers actually bragging about not getting or needing a meal or seat assignment on a SW flight?

Maybe that should tell you something about what's really important and what the value of some of these services is?

Ben Baldanza seems to think that an assigned seat is worth at least $1,000.

Its all image!! SW has a great Rep and can get away with murder. Who else could get away with a $75.00 fee to Standby on an earlier flight? Or not providing accomodations for bumped passengers?

U is now basically charging $1,000 or more for stand-by.

And U has been getting away with not accomodating pax for quite a while.

And U has been charging $100 for making changes for quite some time too -- something that's free at Southwest.

Everyone is demanding they change their "Broken" system and become more SW like but when they take some baby steps in that direction it causes a riot!

These aren't steps toward Southwest -- these changes are in direct opposition to Southwest's policies. They don't make U more like Southwest -- they make U like the nightmare that U propoganda paints Southwest to be.

US Airways should take the time to study what works about Southwest and then do it better -- implementing customer-hostile rules and restrictions that make it ever more difficult to do business with th company isn't part o the playbook over there.

 

[TomBascom]

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On 8/28/2002 6:28:45 PM
the fares are already low and highly competitve

You aren't comparing apples to apples.

Competitive price is available if you look only at the lowest fares. But that comes with a boatload of restrictions that are not part of the package at Southwest.

The supposedly offsetting "perks" that US Airways portrays as making up for that do not make up for it. To get an equivalent product from US Airways you have to pay many, many times the price of that "competitive" ticket.

This "price is all that matters" kool-aid will kill you.

 

[KCFlyer]

Reality Check - my attorney friend is not family. He's actually a pretty casual acquaintence that I met over the internet. He lives in a different town from me. I met him exactly twice in two years. When my dad passed away, I e-mailed him to ask if he knew any good probate lawyers. He works for a very prestigious firm, but he offered to have his firm do the work. FWIW, his specialty wasn't in probate - so he turned it over to an associate, who treated me as if I were one of their "elite" clients. As I said - don't judge people based on what they make. You most likely will be very wrong.

 

[KCFlyer]

You know, I find it really really odd. When management said something that was the honest truth, such as concessions were necessary, then they are a bunch of greedy, clueless, SOB's. Then, when they make a decision that is alienating a good number of their most loyal customers, they are applauded by the same group calling them clueless just days earlier. It appears that most of the support is coming from the reservations agents. It's a damn good thing you guys aren't on the plane...you'd have a helluva time figuring out which passengers deserved a "Thanks for flying with us" comment. I guess you feel that forcing business to pay a high fare will bring back those needed profits to minimize the time you're working under concessions.

IMHO, what your mangement has done is sped up the timeframe to shut down the airline. Airlines are, after all, a "service" business. Sorry you folks seem to believe that only the 'full fare" passengers deserve any "service" at all. A bucks a buck, and you'll be seeing fewer of them...even if the remaining passengers are paying more. Oh well, take your non rev trips in the next few months...there should be plenty of seats. But don't wait too long - you might not have an airline to nonrev on.

 

[RealityCheck]

Doctors and lawyers are relevant. My analogy stands. The Typical "cast the guilt off self and pot calling the kettle black." Cafeteria politics. Psych 101.

 

[usfliboi]

Well in a blunt way u said it reality ! It is amazing to me the whining i here ! My how fast we forget how many innocent lives were lost on sept 11 and families left daddyless and mommyless, and here we are having perkys taken away and whooaaaa nellie, im taking my buisness elsewhere... hey im happy to be alive well and happy! I have more important things to worry about like will i have a job tomorrow . Life is tooooo short ! Live learn move on ![]

 

[KeepMyJob]

Why?

 

[RealityCheck]

and whoever keeps spreading the propoganda that U is charging higher fares, this is nothing new. Every major sells the same business fares and has done so for years and years and they were just reduced in many markets 20 pct or so last month..so nothing new here.And there are tons of MR, HR, BR type refndble fares that are quite discounted from full fares and qualify for all the needed Viagra benefits.

 

[usfliboi]

You know why people in europe call americans spoiled?[]

 

[TomBascom]

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On 8/28/2002 904 PM

Tom,
Perhaps you have flown in First Class so much using your comp upgrades that you simply take it for granted or that it is "owed" to you. This industry is full of followers - if one carrier makes a policy change and it "flies"(excuse the pun), chances are the others will follow. Its only a matter of time!
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Yup, I'm usually in F. But I spend enough time in coach to know that it's not that big a deal. As for "owed" -- I suppose that depends -- under the rules of the program yes, it is certainly "owed" to me. Is it some sort of entitlement because I'm some kind of uber-flier? No, I'm just a guy who happens to fly a lot. Do I freak if something goes wrong and I don't get the upgrade? Nope. But I work pretty hard to stay out of situations where that might happen -- lots of off peak flights for me. Which also, oddly enough, means they don't cost me or my customers quite so much as some people think I owe the company. [:devil:]

Anyway my bet stands -- if anyone wants to take it. An unused non-refundable is up for grabs here!