What is A la Carte?

[SolidCactus]

At least Mother Parker's coffee has such a beautiful scent. It makes a great air freshener in the 737 lavs.

Next time someone needs water, you could always give them a cup and send them to the lav MUHAHAHHA.

 

[US1YFARE]

It makes a great air freshener in the 737 lavs.

At Eastern we used towels to wipe the walls with soap. Didn't we Debbie?

 

[HP_JACK]

A letter sent to ask inflight copied from the AFA discussion board.... So its a violation to take water off the plane?

Here is an email copy I sent to Askinflight regarding the beverage sales.

Here is a few items to ponder regarding the upcoming sale of beverages.

1) Lets say a passenger wants to purchase a Cranapple and Vodka. Would that
now be $2 for the Cranapple, and $7 for the vodka totaling $9?

2) Lets say the same passenger wants to add Orange juice and Club soda to
that beverage will that cost them $13?

3) Lets say your working the flight, you consume half a bottle of water,
are you able to take that bottle off the aircraft to consume it on your
overnite? Or will the crew be fired for taking off a half bottle of water?

4) How about the full bottle of water or a can of juice for your overnight?

5) What happens when you sell a passenger a non alcoholic beverage, your
on a 45min flight, just as they begin to drink it, we are now in final
approach and need to prepare the cabin and collect all beverages, will we
now have to argue with the passenger when they refuse to hand over the
beverage that they paid for?

6) How about coffee...will the first cup be $2? and refills another $2? or
will there be unlimited free refills?

Hope these questions help in the preparation for when the pay for beverage
services start.

Thanks
Bob

Their reply:

Thanks for the questions. I've passed them on to Bob and Steve, as we are
working on some FAQs that are more specific to the InFlight workgroup as a
result of the announcements last week. More communication will come out
soon. Others have also asked many of the same questions, so your list was
helpful in preparing the FAQs.

Here's what we know so far:

1. / 2. Mixed drinks (rum and coke, gin and tonic, cranapple and vodka,
etc.) will be priced at $7; this price includes the mixer. No final word on
more than one mixer.

3. / 4. Remember that separate "crew water" has not been provided since
2006, so nothing will change. Taking a can or bottle off the a/c should
also not be occurring today. As far as a crewmember's partially consumed
item, if not finished, it would likely be thrown away anyway. Common sense
and good judgment would prevail in taking a half-full water bottle, for
instance. The concern would be toward taking items off the a/c to supply a
crewmember on the RON, which again, is not current policy.

5. Again, this is no different than today--we sell alcohol on flight to
LAS, and have to collect service items fairly quickly. F/As should simply
remind passengers that he/she will need to collect the cups, etc.
soon/quickly for landing.

6. We will charge for water and coffee (certain exceptions for water, such
as emergency, etc.--F/As are expected their judgment) The question of
charging vs. complimentary refills on coffee is still being considered. We
will look at free refills in the interim until we have some type of premium
coffee to offer.

Please let us know if you think of any additional questions from F/As as we
prepare the FAQs. We appreciate your patience as some of the details
continue to be developed.

 

[Travelpro72]

All of this is a joke and will NEVER, EVER in our lifetime be adhered to. SORRY! ! I'm not trying to be defiant but simply realistic. It's not gonna happen. Ok question.....WHO is going to be responsible for counting all of the beverages if "at this time" flight attendants will not be? Hmmmm caterers? Yeah right, they're not busy enough already? We DO NOT have the infrastructure NOR the ability to track anything or ANYONE. This will not if I dare say FLY!

 

[FlightChic]

AFA RESPONSE TO THE COMPANY PLAN TO SELL NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ONBOARD THE AIRCRAFT

Last week, the Company announced a new business model in an effort to deal with the current high fuel price crisis. The new model is based on a three pronged approach consisting of capacity reductions, furloughs and charging fees for services. The Company believes this new model will, in the short term stem losses and, in the long term, stabilize the industry.

The long term approach is sound and supported by the Union- charge what it costs to fly a passenger from point A to point B. The short term approach to "nickel and dime" passengers is immature and shortsighted.

This week, in various investor and media interviews, US Airways President Scott Kirby stated, "the only way the airline industry is going to survive and prosper is to increase fares." Mr. Kirby went on to say "the planned industry wide capacity reductions will finally allow airlines to do that."

The capacity reductions won't begin to take effect until the fourth quarter of 2008 with additional capacity cuts in 2009. US Airways plans to cut capacity by approximately 6-8% in the fourth quarter. The US Airways capacity cuts are well below the double digit cuts announced by United, Continental, Delta and Northwest. Mr. Kirby blamed existing labor agreements with the Pilots and Flight Attendants of US Airways from allowing the carrier to further reduce capacity. A deal is a deal and in this business- both sides must honor contracts. Mr. Kirby once again lays the blame on its employees. In fact, the real reason the Company can't park airplanes is because most of our fleet are under lease agreements and it is impractical to park an airplane when a lease payment still has to be made. If that were not the case Mr. Kirby would be attempting to negotiate with the two Unions for relief.

Until the law of supply and demand kicks in, and fares are increased to a level commensurate with the cost of producing the product, the Company is planning to aggressively charge for services. Charges for the first and second checked bag, administrative fees for frequent flyer award tickets and the onboard sale of soft drinks are anticipated to generate 300 to 400 million dollars in revenue. The expected revenue increase and the anticipated 100 million dollars in cost savings through furloughs will help the airline lose less money until fares are increased.

It all looks good on paper and, in fact, some of the revenue increases may manifest themselves, but the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) believes the Company's plan to sell beverages will place an insurmountable and unrealistic strain on our members. As much as the Company believes their passengers will accept the new fee for beverages, the Flight Attendants know they won't. In the end, the plan will lead to a mid-air collision between passengers and Flight Attendants in an already highly charged atmosphere.

Basically, the Company plan is a ruse. Rather than take an honest approach, and implement the necessary and inevitable fare increases, the Company has chosen a path that insults both customers and employees.

Everyone knows that in the current economic environment, air fares must increase in order for airlines to survive. If they don't, airlines will go out of business in record numbers. If that happens, the cost to passengers will increase more than necessary. The Union does not want to gouge the traveling public, nor do we want to go out of business and lose our jobs. What the Union encourages is a responsible approach to the business. US Airway's decision to charge for beverages will not solve the problem and we are issuing the following statement to support our position:


ON BOARD SALE OF NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES -

The Company informed us on May 1, 2008 it was exploring the idea of selling soft drinks onboard the aircraft. We wrote US Airways Chairman and CEO Doug Parker a letter (copied below) dated May 8, 2008 strongly objecting to the idea. In response to the letter, the Company arranged a meeting with the MEC Presidents and various Company Vice Presidents and Directors. The meeting was led by Chief Operating Officer Robert Isom who explained because of the dire straights the airline was facing, every possible revenue source had to be considered. We were told if the Company decided to sell soft drinks, "every possible way to minimize the impact on Flight Attendants would be utilized".

The Company's announcement last week to start charging for non-alcoholic beverages onboard the aircraft came approximately one month after that meeting. At the meeting the Company made the assertion that approximately 20 million dollars per year in revenue would be realized by implementing a fee for beverages previously offered for free. Although the Company has failed to address our specific concerns, they now publicly state the revenue figure to be closer to 40 million dollars per year. No plan yet, but a 100% increase in revenue projection-interesting!

We told the Company from the beginning that if we thought the plan would make the difference in the fate of the airline we would support it with all of our efforts. We don't believe it will, even if it generates 40 million dollars in revenue. With a fuel bill of 1.9 billion dollars, 40 million dollars is the proverbial "drop in the bucket." is impossible to monetarily quantify the ill will this plan will produce, but it will be huge. Airline passengers are already fed up with airline service in general and overall customer satisfaction ratings may, in fact, be lower than George Bush's approval rating. This plan will put Flight Attendants squarely in the path of increased customer dissatisfaction and we simply will not accept the Company's position that passengers will grow accustomed to the new world order.

The sheer logistics of the plan are enormous and unworkable. Here are some examples:

The plan is cash based. How many times are Flight Attendants going to be making PA announcements in order to acquire change?'
The Company plans to invest in credit card readers and implement the readers sometime in early 2009. So what- there still will have to a transaction conducted and how long will that take?
Short flights already prove a challenge in delivering a beverage service. Even if only half the airplane purchases a beverage it will not be possible to serve the cabin.
The Company has indicated that Flight Attendants are to use their "good judgment" in cases where a passenger may need a glass of water to take medication or relieve a cough. The Company has also indicated that same "good judgment" should be used when someone requests juice because of a blood sugar condition. So now, we are not only safety professionals and potential Company salespeople, we are also going to be diagnosing the severity or reality of medical conditions in the aisle. It won't be long before media airline gurus and passenger blogs will be telling passengers how to get a free beverage.
How many times have we had to take beverage items away from passengers prior to landing? Now that they own it, they will not willing to give it back. How many debates will this lead to as we prepare to secure the cabin under Federal Air Regulations for landing.
These are just a few of the problems Flight Attendants are going to face if the Company implements their plan. We can think of more and we will. This plan is unworkable and embarrassing. To compare us to Allegiant Airlines, a 38-plane airline, that flies leisure travelers to leisure destinations, is beyond absurd. US Airways is a global airline that is trying its best to overcome unreliable service as a result of the merger and keep its customer base and win back the customers it has lost. In some ways the airline has done a good job doing that, but charging for beverages will not further that cause.

Management claims that a commercial airline flight is the only place in the world where customers get a free beverage and most often use the analogy of concessions sold at a movie theatre. In our letter to Mr. Parker we noted there is an intrinsic difference between Flight Attendants and movie theatre concessionaires.

The difference is this- Flight Attendants are hired to be Safety Professionals trained to save lives and provide passenger service. Movie theatre concessionaires are hired to sell concessions. Unlike Flight Attendants, it is unlikely that movie theatre employees are trained to or could evacuate the theatre in 90 seconds the event of a fire as we are.

In Solidarity,

Mike Flores, President
US Airways Master Executive Council
AFA-CWA

Gary Richardson, President
America West/US Airways Master Executive Council
AFA-CWA


LETTER TO DOUG PARKER, US AIRWAYS CHAIRMAN AND CEO:


Doug Parker, Chairman and CEO
US Airways, Inc.
4000 E. Sky Harbor Blvd.
Phoenix, AZ. 85034


May 8, 2008

Re: Company Plan To Sell Concessions Onboard
Via Fax and US Mail


Dear Doug:

Gary Richardson and I were informed last week by Vice President of InFlight, Sherri Shamblin the Company has decided to sell concessions, pillow and blankets onboard the aircraft. We are compelled to write this letter strongly objecting to the Company's plan.

You simply could not pick a worse time to consider the onboard sale of everything but seat cushions. Neither consumers nor Flight Attendants will put up with a point-of-sale airline. Consumers are fed up with poor service and the "virtual merger" of US Airways and America West. Flight Attendants are working under deplorable conditions that include drastic reductions in pay, benefits and working conditions. With a gun to our heads, we agreed to clean airplanes for nothing, lost our pensions and retiree medical insurance. You have a very unhappy workforce- and now want to exceed the scope of our job- by requiring Flight Attendants to act as salespeople.

Post 9/11, airlines turned to the bankruptcy courts for relief. The courts allowed airlines to abandon debts owed to creditors, and decimated the income and benefits of their employees. Airline executives, ever deft at protecting themselves, negotiated golden parachutes, ridiculous bonuses, stock grants, stock options and merger protection separation packages as their airlines navigated through the bankruptcies.

The events of 9/11 devastated the industry and the lives of airline employees. The attacks did not put any airline CEO or senior management official in personal bankruptcy as it did many of our members. After a period of adjustment (the aforementioned employee givebacks) an industry rebound occurred that produced record amounts of passengers and profits for airlines over the last two years. In a large part the profits were fueled by the low cost labor contracts "negotiated" during bankruptcy protection.

While it is true the industry is suffering from high oil prices and the associated costs- the industry once again turns to labor to solve your problem. Why? - Because you think you can.

Airlines are charging 1997 fares (adjusted for inflation) to fill airplanes and paying 1997 wages (NOT ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION) to staff those full flights.

The Association of Flight Attendants fought very hard during the bankruptcies to protect the jobs of our members and their ability to maintain their profession and earn a living. We kept an eye on the economic realities the industry faced and negotiated in good faith-trying to balance the needs of our members and the needs of the airline. In bankruptcy the cards were stacked against labor- so you got more than you deserved and needed, and we kept less than we deserved and needed.

We are not in bankruptcy now; however, airline executives are using the high price of oil to once again cry poor. The refrain, "this is as bad as 9/11", is repeated by airline executives across the country. Maybe so, but the Association of Flight Attendants is not going to bail you out this time.

The misguided idea to sell products onboard the aircraft-driven by marketing "whiz kids" and finance "bean counters" is not going to be accepted by your customer or the Flight Attendants. The industry is littered with failed attempts at this concept. To liken a "big six" carrier to Allegiant Airlines is naïve and does not demonstrate a successful outcome for this airline should we enter into the business of selling soft drinks and pillows.

The concept of a la carte pricing in the airline should be limited to seat selection and checked baggage. Forcing Flight Attendants to sell soft drinks, magazines, pillows and blankets is an unworkable concept. Flight Attendants are safety professionals- not mall "food court" workers. While we acknowledge the fact we also provide customer service to out customers we are not money takers. If you don't want to provide meals and beverages to your customers then don't.

Please do not tell us that it is up to the Flight Attendants to provide a revenue stream for this company. When we discussed this "idea" with Sherri Shamblin, we talked about the sale of items in the boarding area rather than onboard the aircraft. Ms. Shamblin's response was doing so would infringe on the airport vendors.

It is amazing to us the airline is more concerned with the rights of airport vendors than with the rights of its own employees.

We are not going to allow you to use our members to make money for you by forcing them to be salespeople. We are also not going to allow our members to be cannon fodder for the complaints and abuse that will surely come their way. Airlines always turn to the wrong audience to fix their problems. They have turned to their creditors and their employees for salvation. So far that has worked, but that well has run dry.

The way to solve the problem is to turn to the people who provide the revenue-the customers. US Airways has carried slightly more than 18 million passengers through April 2008.

Airline executives tell us fares can't be raised because demand will fall. We went to college too. We learned about supply and demand and price elasticity. We also learned that a dog will know it is time to eat when the owner rings a bell. It took the dog time to learn that. Airline executives hit the panic button when they raise fares and see a decrease in bookings in the first few days of the increase. Just like the dog, it is going to take more than a few days for passengers to realize what happens when the bell is rung.

Would anybody notice, in the long term, if fares were raised by the same amount the airline wants to charge for soft drink-two dollars? Using the year to date figure of 18 million passengers a two dollar fare increase would have produced an additional 36 million dollars in revenue. We seriously doubt the airline would be able to raise that kind of revenue selling soft drinks. We know this because of the BOB (Buy On Board) meal experience. We also know, according to former VP Ron Cole, the contract with Coke is so good that they are virtually giving the product to US Airways.

We will not support, endorse nor promote your plan that would reduce our members' profession to that of convenience store clerks. Our members will not support you either. We would rather go to jail in support of our members' decision not to participate in the sale of additional items onboard the aircraft than tell them they have to.

During discussion with Ms. Shamblin she attempted to draw the analogy between the airline and movie theatres stating, "movie theatres don't give away popcorn and Cokes so why should airlines". The difference is the intrinsic nature of the employees of both enterprises. The employees at a movie theatre are paid to sell concessions- not watch the movie.

Sincerely,

Mike Flores, President
US Airways Master Executive Council

Gary Richardson, President
America West/US Airways Master Executive Council

 

[lildutchgrl]

This is going to be a good fight to watch. One corner DP and upper management, and in the other corner, MF, GR and the rest of AFA members. I wonder what would happen if flight attendants still gave away soft drink instead of selling them on Aug 1. I can't wait to see how it all turns out!

 

[freedom]

This won’t be a fight , your union has already lost … I think your leaders just don’t know it yet ….



Oppose revue generating streams when we’re expected to take on 1.9 billion dollars MORE in costs this year alone ? :huh:

What is it your AFA leaders want ? for the union that’s got the higher contract to be brought down to the lower union’s levels ? cause if our company can’t correct the losses that’s exactly what will end up happening ….

 

[vantheman63]

One more time....

With the way this product is positioned and priced, I don't care how easy, hard, challenging it is from a labor standpoint....if ANYONE thinks this plan will work...then please, pull all your teeth out 'cause the tooth fairy will be visiting. And go to work on that East Egg hunt....'cause here comes Peter Cotton Tail, hoppin' down the bunny trail.

 

[freedom]

By not working the plan could actually work ….


Say people stop buying drinks … ok we don’t need to A. stock as many drinks on board the A/C thereby keeping weight down and B. we don’t have to purchase as much product from the vendor thereby saving money .

Who knows this plan could be win win no matter what happens .

 

[beachboy]

This might just be a total meltdown. Can you imagine the sick calls in Aug-Sept when people just can't deal anymore with the abuse? Don't underestimate the Flight Attendant group and I have this gut feel this whole idea is going to blow right up in Doug Parkers face. If he wants to walk down this road there is no turning back.
It's going to be a barn burner for sure because you have a workforce that is so over the stupidity they are ready to light the match!

 

[FlyGuyBWI]

F/A's have always had some discretion in giving complimentary mixed drinks or headsets for the purpose of "service recovery" -- late flight, etc. Now, maybe it will be: "Ladies & Gentelmen, since we left the gate 30 sec. late, we want to make it up to you. Therefore, we will not be charging for beverages on this flight. We strive to provide you with reliable, on-time service, and failed this time. Please accept a complimentary beverage as our apology."

 

[YVINTERN]

F/A's have always had some discretion in giving complimentary mixed drinks or headsets for the purpose of "service recovery" -- late flight, etc. Now, maybe it will be: "Ladies & Gentelmen, since we left the gate 30 sec. late, we want to make it up to you. Therefore, we will not be charging for beverages on this flight. We strive to provide you with reliable, on-time service, and failed this time. Please accept a complimentary beverage as our apology."

How about even 1 second?

 

[UPNAWAY]

Notice the similarity to the Unions message and the Dems in Congress reguarding drilling for Oil in the US? We can't drill for oil becuase "it won't really make much of a difference" we would sell sodas but we won't becuase "It is a drop in the bucket". The exact same talking points

 

[freedom]

This might just be a total meltdown. Can you imagine the sick calls in Aug-Sept when people just can't deal anymore with the abuse? Don't underestimate the Flight Attendant group and I have this gut feel this whole idea is going to blow right up in Doug Parkers face. If he wants to walk down this road there is no turning back.
It's going to be a barn burner for sure because you have a workforce that is so over the stupidity they are ready to light the match!

How many FA’s are to be furloughed ? 300 right ? and next year most likely another 350 ? your turn over rate isn’t that high right ?

So a work action would simply accomplish what’s already on the menu anyways …

Why would you even suggest to your fellow FA’s something that would get them terminated in a heart beat while the company smiles with glee? Dang you REALLY want to get off of reserves don’t ya…

Keep planting that seed sister , perhaps some silly FA’s will fall for it and you’ll get to move up the ladder …

 

[beachboy]

You don't get it do you? We are over it! I didn't suggest anything I was just reading the email from AFA and commenting! Hey, you can only poke an animal with a stick so many times before it bites right? Are you scared freedom!? You should be. You have an abused workgroup that is ready to revolt from abuse with little or nothing to loose and to top it off, a management team that is throwing gas on the fire! Don't worry freedom, life will go on with or without USAirways. When the whole thing comes down will you still sing the praise of Doug and the gang? One wonders!
Freedom, there are moments in life that a group has to stand up and say NO MORE. This it the line no matter what. That line with USAirways has been reached. If we fail I know others will look to it in the future.