US Airways Exec: ‘We’re Not Easy to do Business With’

[N965VJ]

US Airways Exec: ‘We’re Not Easy to do Business With’
Posted by Matt Phillips, 1-21-09
Wall Street Journal, THE MIDDLE SEAT TERMINAL

We’ve previously highlighted some of the operational improvements that US Airways has pulled off in recent years. The carrier has clawed its way out of the on-time rankings cellar with a combination of new equipment, management and newly inspired airport workers. The airline has also tweaked computer systems and reworked how planes and crews are scheduled, and built a crucial new baggage-screening area in Philadelphia.

Still, US Airways remains in the basement when it comes to consumer complaints, according to the latest report from the Department of Transportation.

The company’s latest employee newsletter offers up a candid explainer on the subject from Kerry Hester, US Airways’ vice president for reservations and customer service planning. Here’s the core of the section:

There are really two major things that we suspect are driving our consistent last place ranking:

1. We’re not easy to do business with: Many of our policies and procedures, designed to fit the systems available to us or to protect our company’s revenue, can be confusing or perceived as inconvenient to our customers.

Linkage to the rest

 

[Bobbie]

Since when did double-dipping equate "Protecting their revenue." I regard it as stealing.

 

[N965VJ]

The bolding of Ms. Hester’s comment above was mine. Just another example of how it’s always someone else’s fault. In this case, the customer’s.

 

[SS255]

If US deems themselves difficult to do business with......why don't they just become easy to do business with? Why would anybody take pride in being difficult to do business with, and think that it is a way to run a company? Is that the image which they want to project to the public, and their shareholders? I am scratching my head over this one.

C'mon, US. Certainly your spin-meisters can do better than that!

 

[EyeInTheSky]

I'll sum up US Airways problems in three words: Lack of loyalty. Until they practice loyalty towards the employees and the customers they'll always be mediocre. Some say that's business, but you can only slide by half-arsed for so long.

Later,
Eye

 

[john john]

Company is borderline paranoid when it comes to their perception of customers "Cheating" them.

It doesn’t stop there

 

[USA9195]

At FFOCUS we stand ready to help US Airways better understand the Frequent Flyer.

Piney I have been reading this board for a while, and I am a FF on US, and your organization will not speak for me, nor would it understand me. I am perfectly content with US, sure they have their problems, but what airline doesn't. Charging for drinks..I don't care, ride the train or the bus...you get nothing free there either. Charging for bags, every airline does it except Southwest, Alaska, and JetBlue...It is called the cost of doing business today.

Sure US has problems, but if we spend more time complaining it is not going to get us anywhere. Companies have a tendency to turn a deaf ear to habitual complainers.

I just finally had to speak up because I do not like it when people try to tell other people how to understand me. We all don't have the same needs

 

[USA9195]

Linkage to the rest

Read the terms and conditions of your ticket. I do...It explains that you have to be on board the aircraft 15 min before departure and doors close 10min before departure. Same rules as Jetblue, Southwest, Delta, NW, United. I was recently in PHL and a pax was at the gate 5 min before departure. This pax was yelling at the agent like it was her fault. She told the pax that his original flight arrived arrived over an hour ago, and he has to be on board the aircraft no later than 10 min before departure as the doors close at that time.

Pax said that he never saw anything indicating this, and the agent replied that it is in the terms and conditions of the ticket. The pax then went on to say that he never read that nor would he agree to those items. Agent then went on to say that he should read the rules for his ticket more carefully the next time, and he did agree to the terms of transportation because he possesses a valid ticket for travel.

Now I understand closing the door 10 min before departure to keep the airline running on-time and planes moving around the system (lets please not get into a debate about schedule padding because I have data that would put alot of things to rest about that). They are protecting their revenue, by running the airline on-time.

Now the move-up fee. I have paid $50 to move to an earlier flight. There is no stand-by for free because if there are seats available (I was told) the system automatically prompts for the charge. Also a friend of mine told me that US agents are getting called into the office every time they wave a fee unless it is for a good reason (ie delay, oversale, flat-tire rule). The alternative I was told by my friend if US didn't do the $50 move up fee, would be a $150 change fee plus difference in fare.

Protecting revenue, you bet. If you owned a business, how many things would you give away for free for the customers convenience?

 

[LCC_#1]

They're not easy to work for either. Just got back from a SFO trip. Got on a/c in SFO with 2 packs of napkins for 169 coach passengers times two beverage services. Pilots call for more. Was told the company no longer has napkins catered out of SFO. That would be fine if the a/c were actually provided adequate paper towels. Half the time the toliets have half of what they need with no extras. Ok, even if given an extra pack, spills happen, people get sick, melted ice leaks onto the floor...the list goes on. Are we so GD cheap that we can't provide freakin NAPKINS!! This kind of nickle and dimming to death is why so many HATE US Airways...including the employees!!

 

[sbtinme]

If you owned a business, how many things would you give away for free for the customers convenience?

The answer to that question would surely be determined by how much of a "cost" it would cause my business to suffer. In the case of a pax who gets done with a meeting in NYC four hours early and heads to the airport immediately in hopes of getting home to JAX or ILM to be with his family a little earlier than planned, I still scratch my head why any airline will charge this fellow an extra $50 for the privilege of getting a middle seat on a flight that still has 33 open seats. (This is true even if his scheduled flight in four hours is overbooked by 8.)

The answer, of course, is because they can. And, that's kind of a crappy answer.

 

[ClueByFour]

Charging for drinks..I don't care, ride the train or the bus...you get nothing free there either.

I can resell most train and bus tickets and change most of them without a fee.

More importantly, I can actually take a drink on the plane or bus. I cannot take more than 3.8oz onto an airliner.

These (typical) defenses don't hold water.

Charging for bags, every airline does it except Southwest, Alaska, and JetBlue...It is called the cost of doing business today.

1 (and potentially 2) of those airlines have something US does not--a sustained record of profitability.

 

[tadjr]

I cannot take more than 3.8oz onto an airliner.

These (typical) defenses don't hold water.

If we're getting technical, you can take whatever size bottle of water or soda you want onto an airliner, it just has to be purchased once thru security.

 

[ClueByFour]

If we're getting technical, you can take whatever size bottle of water or soda you want onto an airliner, it just has to be purchased once thru security.

Which is also a captive market. I can take whatever liquid (within reason) purchased wherever I want onto the train.

 

[US1YFARE]

There's a lesson here. Not sure what it is.

Make sure you have enough toner before the weekend?

 

[jimntx]

The answer to that question would surely be determined by how much of a "cost" it would cause my business to suffer. In the case of a pax who gets done with a meeting in NYC four hours early and heads to the airport immediately in hopes of getting home to JAX or ILM to be with his family a little earlier than planned, I still scratch my head why any airline will charge this fellow an extra $50 for the privilege of getting a middle seat on a flight that still has 33 open seats. (This is true even if his scheduled flight in four hours is overbooked by 8.)

The answer, of course, is because they can. And, that's kind of a crappy answer.

It's also because some airlines, WN included, have gotten smart and are trying to put a stop to the practices that other airlines (like mine, AA) have encouraged. A passenger goes to the Internet and buys a cheapo ticket on an undesirable (time-wise) flight--let's say the 9:30pm flight from DFW to STL. They then go out to DFW and "standby" as a revenue passenger for the 12 noon or 1pm flight. If there is space available on that flight, AA allows them to board for no additional charge--even though if they had purchased that flight to begin with, the fare would have been higher.