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AOL Mystery Flyer: US Airways Report Card
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Over the next few weeks, I'll be traveling coast-to-coast on ten of our country's busiest airlines as AOL's Mystery Flyer. And I'll be looking to answer one really important question: Is there a price for nice?
Read on to see how US Airways scored on yesterday's flight to Tampa, FL.
After each of the ten flights I'm taking over the coming weeks, I'll judge the airlines on six areas of customer service, using a scale of one to five. My goal along the way is to be an average passenger with normal travel requests and questions. In no way am I going to bother flight attendants and airline personnel with unusual demands; I know these are very busy people. I'm not looking to push airline staff to the limit, but simply to judge their friendliness during the most common travel interactions faced by the flying public on a routine flight.
Here's how to decipher my 1-5 rating system:
1/5 means a flat out rude reaction to my requests
2/5 means an unfriendly reaction, although not necessarily rude
3/5 means a neutral reaction to my requests
4/5 means a friendly reaction with a smile
5/5 means friendly customer service that goes that extra distance
4/5: A few hours before my departure time, I received two conflicting emails and voicemails from US Airways about a potential flight delay. I called the 800 number to see what was going on. The operator was efficient and answered my questions in a polite and patient way. She gave me the bad news that I had a middle seat for the first leg to Charlotte and said the only other available seat was in the middle as well.
2. Friendliness of the ticketing agent during the check-in process at the airport.
4/5: In the interest of engaging staff at check-in, I stood in the full-service line with my carryon bag. There were a few people in front of me. When it was my turn, I approached an empty counter, and the ticket agent waved me to the self-check in, even though it was clear that I was looking for him to check me in. I said: "Actually, I was hoping to give you my confirmation number so you could check me in." He said that was fine. The rest of our interaction was friendly, and he answered my usual questions about in-flight services politely and with a smile. He told me changing my middle seat was not possible since the flight was totally full.
3. Friendliness of the gate agent when I request a seat change prior to departure.
2½/5: There was a short line at the departure gate in Richmond, and a US Airways employee was talking with a passenger whose flight had been canceled due to weather in Philadelphia. His options for flying out the next morning were detailed to him by the gate agent. When the passenger inquired whether the airline would cover a hotel for the night, he was answered quite abruptly and told in no uncertain terms that that was not an option due to the nature of the cancellation (weather). The man was waved off in a 'Sorry, Charlie, nothing we can do about this' manner; then it was my turn with the same gate agent. I prefaced my query by saying: "I'm sort of confused because I've received a few phone calls today and I wonder if my connecting flight to Tampa is delayed." The gate agent was quite abrupt and asked: "Where are you going right now?" I told him and he said: "Well, you're in the right place; it's boarding now." As he tried to shoo me back into the boarding line, I said I had wanted to inquire about a seat change. He was firm but not rude, explaining that the flight was full and there were no available seats. His behavior was neither friendly nor rude, just busy and efficient and slightly harassed.
4. Friendliness of flight attendants to my requests for a blanket, an extra beverage and anything else I might need during the flight.
3/5: When I boarded the plane, the flight attendant who usually greets passengers was using the phone. She neither turned to look at me nor greeted me when I walked onto the plane. She was busy untangling the phone's cord as I stood there and waited to pass. She looked busy, I felt invisible. It wasn't the best way to start the flight. But the rest of the onboard interactions with flight attendants were fine. At one point during the drink service, I asked if our flight was going to be late getting in and the flight attendant said: "I don't know, I'll find out for you." But she never came back with the information; however the captain made an announcement shortly thereafter about our arrival time. When I interrupted the flight attendants at the back of the plane for a second drink, they were very accommodating. In general: there were not many smiles, but all of the onboard services were carried out in a professional, efficient and polite enough way.
5. Friendliness of general interactions between airline personnel and other passengers that I observed during my travels.
4/5: I did see quite a few friendly interactions and joking between the flight attendants and other passengers during my flights, which is why I'm bumping the overall score up to a four. We were delayed nearly an hour arriving into Tampa due to weather. As we exited the plane, I thought the flight attendants were quite friendly with everyone. They were probably as happy as we were to be done for the night, since it was 11 p.m.
6. Friendliness of gate agent upon arrival when I ask for help finding a connecting flight or the baggage claim.
5/5: When I stepped off my initial flight from Richmond into the Charlotte airport, the scene was chaotic and my arrival gate was crowded with passengers. I went up to a gate agent who was obviously busy doing something else to ask where to find my connecting flight to Tampa. (If I were not researching friendliness, I would have just found a screen for the information.) She was very friendly, looked up at me, then looked at her papers, found the information and pointed me in the right direction.
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I was a flight attendant for 36 years (under 3 different names--one because of a bankruptcy, the next after the bankruptcy and the next due to a merger.) I started in the glory days in the 60's and loved flying.
I had to start over with a new airline after the first bankruptcy and wound up commuting 1000 mies (one way) to go to work. That was in the early 80's and things were pretty good then.
Then came the 90's--not too bad and then 2000! By this time the industry and the job were amost unrecognizeable from the "good old days".
I have been retired for several years now and I am so grateful and thankful to be retired. We used to have fun years ago--that's almost non-existant now. Layovers are usually short 9-11 hours on average from the time you LAND to departurec time. Long days 14 hours and not the days off there used to be because of pay cuts, duty period cuts, etc. Benefits cut, etc.
I am so happy to be home in my own bed eating REAL food and out and away from this insane industry and the indigities thrust upon employees by management.
It's insulting to see what the employees are being paid these days and what they have to put up with. If I was flying now, with all my years I'd be lucky to make about $28,000 with expenses..with 2 weeks vacation after 25 years with my last carrier.
Enjoy the service you have now because at this rate in 5 or 10 years the job will pay so little we'll have Wal-Mart type people on the job.
My best to the employees still hanging in there. Don't know how you do it.
Would you people who reply, please learn how
to spell!
I am at the Chairman level with US Air (100,000 plus) miles a year. I make about 90 flights a year witih them. Here are my observations
1. It makes a BIG difference ifyou fly the "West US Air (old America West) or East US Air (old US Air before America West purchased them). West people on average are nicer, especailly on the ground, I am not castigating all
East employees but it is true
ask any US Air frequent flyer. I have to say it is better than shortly after the merger.
2. I have well over 600 flights with them over the past 6-7 years and have NEVER been treated rudely by ANY West staff and was treated rudely only three times by East ground
Staff
Overall a pretty good record in my opinion. And the East staff is much better than it was.
3. I hear casual travelers complaign all the time about air travel, but find 99% of it to be untrue or petty. In all of my flights on US Air I have only been late over one hour about twice a year, tops. Pretty darn good. I have only had two flights canceled in that period of time.
4. Because I fly so much with them I get upgraded to first class 99% of the time. No begging, no asking for an upgrade, no waiting in line to get one. They have a great upgrade system . First class on domestic flights is pretty much the Chevrolet of First class, but at least I get a nice seat and get on and off first. You have about a 15% chance that the FA will take your coat and a 10% they will give it back to you after the flight. You ahve about a 35% chance that you will get a pre takeoff drink. To be fair the FA's are usually quite busy pre-flight and they do what they can, there are some rare exceptions. They have eliminated all entertainment and food from most flights. This is an issue as they are becoming non competitive in this area. I recently flew on Air Tran and has free Wi-Fi very nice. When they do serve food (over 3 1/2 hour flights) it is usually very good.
5. For some reason I am always seated in the first row, I have no idea how this happens, but I get a good chance to observe the cabin and flight crew up close. 99.9% are as nice as can be. The other tiny percentage is indifferent at worst. I find every last one of them to be very professional about their duties. If something were to happen I am confident that they know what they are doing.
6. I do avoid US Airways (even as loyal as I am) on overseas flights. They are one of the worst. Their wide bodies are old and beat up, their cabin crews must be seniority based and are indefferent at best - maybe burned out. They don't have that great an overseas route structure. After your meal service the cabin crews generally lock themselves up and are not to be seen until the next service. Contrast this with some of their partners such as Lufthansa. The worst though is the food. For breakfast on a European trip you get a cup of coffee and what looks like a deep fried twinkie in a plastic wrapper. The first time I got one I thought is was a joke. The poor FA was embarrassed. The second time I got one I kept it, put it in a box and sent it to Doug Parker the CEO - no response but I bet someone in the office had a laugh. I used to be able to use my gazillion miles to upgrade to business, but they took that away. In short, get your miles by flying a partner airline overseas. Luthansa and United are both better in coach. Both airlines have upgraded me several time as a nice gesture without me asking. My own airline refuses to do it for their best customers much less other Star Alliance customers.
In short this is a great domestic airline, not so much overseas. Not bad, but there are much better bets that are usually cheaper (sometimes much cheaper) going abroad. I find the help to be supurb on average and can see how hard they try to be on time, courteous etc.
In the what drives me crazy department I detest customers who feel it is OK to put their feet up on the bulkhead - like they'd do that at home? Even worse are those that feel compelled to take their shoes/socks off and do the same thing. I am blown away by how much some first class customers can drink in one flight. It usually ends up being a bit embarrasing to them. I have customers who are rude to the FA's or desk people because they do the very best that they can. Most bad circumstances are well beyond their control. Lastly the person who has to talk loudly on their cell phone to prove how important they are. These are often times the same people who are not as courteous in their behavior as they expect the employees to be in theirs.
I flew alone on Southwest with my 9 month old baby two times in April 2010. The FA's were FANTASTIC on my flights from Denver to Hartford then Hartford to Denver later that month. They couldn't do enough for me - from pre-boarding to the flights, to waiting for me to exit the plane . There was a Southwest employee patiently waiting for me to exit the plane ( I was at the back of the plane, so almost last) with my stoller already assembled for me to use ! He then helped me get the baby into the stroller and offered to help carry my one carryon into the airport. My family absolutely LOVES SOUTHWEST and we will continue to fly with them whenever possible.In January 2010 I flew on both Delta and American with my baby and both flights/service were medicore at best. No friendliness or assistance from anyone on those flights. Note: I have a quiet baby, but the FA's on Southwest were equally helpful and friendly to the family in the next seats who had two young cranky children. So I didn't get special attention just because my child was quiet !
May 05 2010 at 3:56 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyPeople seem to miss the point that this whole exercise is a survey/test, and that it's
not about actual service or perks, but how the employee responds.
Friendliness costs nothing, why shouldn't everyone expect it? Also,
friendliness begets friendliness, it's better for the employee.
My impression is that USAIR, which used to be not so good, has
improved, and their service has been much better. Before, I vowed I
would never use them, but now that has changed.
I don't expect anything more than what is promised, but someone
said flying is now like being on a bus. That may be, but you can at
least get off a bus, not a plane.
We will have much better and safer flights if the airlines improve on
comfort and friendliness, keeping passengers happy is cost-effective and safer; why does every objective of the airlines
seem to involve trying to make people even more uncomfortable?
I would never want to be a flight attendant, but many people chose that job and want to be proficient at it. It is a shame about the problems, but the economy has forced many changes on everyone.
All in all, I want the airlines to stop nickel and diming, to care about customers, and to just use common sense (nine hours on the tarmac!?)
I have seen how friendly employees can make all the difference for an enjoyable flight, but no matter how much airlines say this, it's clear they do not really care. And why all the complexity and problems with ticketing and changes and customer service?
Frankly if customers would not put up with it and make their voices heard, I believe we would see change, but most people just grin and bear it.
My one complaint with USAIR was one flight they had sandwiches to buy, but it was a greasy wet lump, and I complained to the FA, he said that was all they had. If I am paying for the food, I believe I at least have a right to decent food.
But no question, much better service lately at USAIR.
As a crew member, I try and give my best to the passengers, But there are a few things in here that do stand out. Some one mentioned passengers pay up to 1000 dollars to get from A to B, if that is domestic, that is a steal compared to 30 or 40 years ago, with inflation it would probobly cost around 4-5 grand easy for the cheap seats. but look at it this way, I fly Denver to Salt lake often, fares after tax are around 63 dollars one day before the flight quite often, greyhound bus, 89 dollars. what do you get on the bus? no blanket no crew, no food or drink and a long journey.
So yes things that used to come standard are now ala cart, because face it Everyone is going to fly on who ever is the cheapest, if you found two Identical flights on two airlines and one is 5 dollars cheaper which will you take?
So things along the lines of Checked Baggage are now ala cart you only pay for the services you want.
Now as far as blankets, in reality folks those things were so disgusting i would never want one, they may look clean but the real deal is they are usually cleaned only when visibly soiled. hello swine flu outbreak (which is when my airline removed ours)
Now your crew are working alot more for alot less pay.
Also what most of you dont realize either for flight attendants, the time spent on the ground, we dont get paid. we are paid what is called block time, that is the time the door is closed AND the plane starts moving under its own power. so while we are boarding you and the others were not being paid.
Here are a few things We would appreciate from passengers as well.
when we greet you say hi back or at leaste recognize we exist.
Remember there can be as few of 1 of us to 50 of you, so please order ONE beverage at a time. Don't be an "anna" (coffee anna water anna pepsi anna juice) yes we get it many times every flight.
Please dont remove your shoes and place them on the walls, or decide sudenly at 35000 feet is a good time to clip your toenails. No they dont spell like roses, I would not put my reet on your office walls, and would not give myself a full peddi and amnni in your a restaraunt.
Please remember manners, Remember when mom taught you how to say please and thank you? most people forget that when they get on the plane, and revert to "I want a..." or "give me a....." also please take the cup when we hand it to you, if we set it on your tray some one will choose that time to recline and knock it out of our hands on to you.
The list goes on, It seams people always rag on flight attendants, And I do invite you to come walk a month in our shoes, for our pay, (no we dont make tripple digits we usually make between as little as 14000 a year and your average really makes around 24-27000 a year.
Also many of you say that customer service is our job. Our job is to ensure your safety, and should the worst happen get you out. And if the FAA did not require us, simply put your travel would be similar to that of a bus, just much faster.
Your ticket and your contract of carriage (which no one ever reads) basically guarantees you safe travel From Point A to point B.
I will do my best to ensure it is a pleasent one, but please help me out folks.
I really do empathize with your challenges in that job, but I always wonder why it's seems as if many people in customer service occupations really don't seem to like dealing with people (I'm sure that's not you).
My jobs, I always tried to do my best and respectfully. We should be always able to expect that.
Common complaint: people say the FA said "I will get back to you" -- and never does.
FA's take the brunt, the "face" of the company, unfortunately, but that goes with the job. I don't mind if someone is not having a good day, what gets me is if someone is deliberately rude. That's wrong for an employee, you are supposed to be trained to deal with these situations.
Thing is, good and friendly service is safer and more profitable for all concerned.
But here is the main point, it's about the _customer_. In FA training I'm told that they would ask a question -- what's the worst thing that passenger could do. People would guess everything, but the answer is -- not fly that airline ever again.
Again, if the airlines were doing things right, would these comments and articles and such even exist? The airlines, with a few exceptions, created their own problems, for the most part, by not being creative enough in providing the service and comfort and not seeing, as many other companies didn't, that happy customers are profitable customers.
It's a shame that things ended up this way, but few companies in successful industries would ever think they could make money by treating people the way airlines do.
As a customer service rep for said airline, I just wanna state to our Mystery Traveler that we are supposed to direct all customers to the kiosk unless the specifically ask for a "person"....personally I'd rather wait on you because it makes my day go faster...and I get to talk to the customers. I do find that most "legacy carriers" employee attitudes have a lot to be desired, even in my own station......however...not all of us are like that and after 26 years I still love my job and you will always get a smile and eye contact out of me.
Yeah, we've been beat up, given a lot back to the company, but I'm still paying my mortgage and bills and I still have my job whereas a lot of my buddies are now on unemployment and been looking for a similar paying job.
To the naysayers of USAirways, please try to understand that we have a job that for the last 20 years you are afraid of doing anything because in this industry you could be shut down tomorrow. How do you think you would feel if you went through all this time not "knowing". Some of us know how to handle it better than others!
Til then....I'll continue to help you out, with a smile....and go out of my way to make you want to fly US again!
I believe almost everyone in the good ole USA, is fully aware that they could lose their careers also. It's not only the airline industry. It is everywhere.
October 20 2010 at 3:13 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyONE MORE THING...
FOR YOU FOLKS COMPLAINING ABOUT REGIONAL JETS, GET USED TO IT!
THOSE REGIONAL JET EMPLOYEES MAKE LESS THAN THE MAJOR AIRLINES EMPLOYEES!
THE CEOS GET BIGGER BONUSES FOR YOUR DISCOMFORT ABOUT THESE TUNA CANS!
AGAIN, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!!
I HAVE TO lAUGH AT ALL YOUR COMPLAINTS!
FLIGHT ATTENDANTS, PILOTS AND GROUND STAFF HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS CRAP!
WHEN THE MERGERS ARE FINALLY COMPLETE!
WE WHOULD ALL GET TOGETHER AND SHUT THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY DOWN UNTIL THE EMPLOYEES GET BACK WHAT THEY GAVE UP!
WE ARE TIRED OF SUBSIDIZING LOW COST AIR TRAVEL AND ALL YOU DO IS BITCH AND COMPLAIN!!!
IS THIS A JOKE?
LADY. AIRLINE EMPLOYES HAVE BEEN SUBSIDIZING LOW COST AIRFARES SINCE 2000.
PAYCUTS, BENEFIT CUTS, AND 14 HOUR DAYS ON THE AIRCRAFT!
DO YOU WORK 14 HOUR DAYS EVERY DAY?
TODAYS AIRLINE PASSENGER, ENJOYS AIRFARE'S THAT ARE CHEAP!
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!
NO FOOD!
NO BLANKETS OR PILLOWS, MAY 1si on AA.
PAY TO CHECK BAGS!
PAY FOR SELECT SEATS.
THAT IS WHAT YOU GET ON THE $69.00 NO HALLA FARE!
SO DONT EXPECT SMILES, AND FRIENDLY SERVICE THE WAY IT USED TO BE!
GONE!!!
GONE!!!
GONE!!!
WE WANT LOW COST HEALTHCARE!
LOW COST EDUCATION FOR ARE CHILDREN!
LOW COST PRESCRIPTIONS!
LOW COST HOUSING!
AIRFARE PRICES ARE TO CHEAP!!!
HOWEVER, WITH THE CURRENT MERGERS OF MAJOR AIRLINES, THINGS ARE ABOUT TO CHANGE!
The only thing I care about when I fly is does the pilot know what to do when both of his engines stop running and USAirways pilots do. Remember the water landing in NYC.So when I fly, I will only fly on USAirways, because when it comes down to it. I really like living.
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