TVCMH
Jul 8, 06, 10:40 am
A letter to the management of the NEW USAirways:
I remember a routine from a few years ago where a comedian suggested that nothing could be "new AND improved." If it's truly new then there's no foundation on which to improve. I'd suggest that in the case of the NEW USAirways he's right -- it may be NEW but it's certainly not an improvement over the OLD USAirways.
As a top-tier Chairman's Preferred dividend miles member (or occasionally a "platinum," depending on the America West boarding pass machine's mood) I have encountered a series of frustrations that have me questioning if the NEW USAirways is the right place for this high-yield business traveler. Here, in no particular order, are ten things that need to change if the NEW USAirways wants to keep me as an OLD USAirways customer:
1) NEW boarding procedures at my home airport. The NEW USAirways has four gates at CMH: one for America West operated flights and three for US and US Express flights. Problem is the three NEW USAirways gates are accessed by a single door in the terminal. Although the OLD USAirways ground staff at CMH continues to do a very respectable job at managing this I'd like to know how they're supposed to board a 5:30 to CLT, 5:45 to LGA and 5:50 to PHL through a single door without delays or mass confusion.
2) NEW on-board infomercial, or better yet NO on-board infomercial. Most domestic carriers have some sort of video spiel that includes a preview of their in-flight movie and maybe a Skymall plug, but on my most recent NEW USAirways flight we were forty minutes past wheels-up by the time the pitches for in flight cafe, credit cards, trips to Jamaica, movie previews, a rundown of the Star Alliance benefits and other gratuitous self promotion were complete. The videos were spaced out by a couple minutes of silence, but consider this: on a four segment itinerary I'm subjected to over an hour of NEW USAirways plugs both on the screen and over the PA. With overuse like that is it really any wonder that we're conditioned to ignore the safety announcements?
3) NEW branding and airport signage until things are worked out. The NEW USAirways "umbrella branding" is confusing and misleading for most travelers. I personally understand that the NEW USAirways is really just the OLD USAirways plus the OLD America West. But to a novice flyer it doesn't make sense that there is a separate bank of NEW USAirways kiosks for flights to PHX and LAS and that a gate agent with a NEW USAirways name badge standing in front of a NEW USAirways computer can't help them with their NEW USAirways reservation since it's really an OLD USAirways reservation. How about at least some separation in the branding until the NEW USAirways is really a single entity?
4) NEW updates to the OLD computers to make them recognize status from both carriers. The NEW USAirways offers unlimited upgrades to their OLD USAirways and OLD America West elites. Problem is, the upgrades rarely, if ever, work 100% correctly when crossing between OLD carriers. Case in point: my last trip on OLD America West where only the first three segments upgraded even though the fourth "should have" according to a CP agent and the OLD America West gate agent. This is not the first time an OLD America West gate agent stated that my upgrade "should have cleared, there are a lot of silvers up front." I don't get upset - I paid Y and I'll fly Y, but I don't get the chance to fly mainline much so every time my upgrade doesn't clear because of a computer malfunction it significantly devalues my status. If silvers who the computers recognize are upgraded over CP's who the computers "don't see" then silver becomes more valuable for that particular flight.
5) NEW thinking on the F seating plans. NEW A321 F seating plans and current OLD USAirways 757 F seating configs are an insult. Take a single F seat out of an A321 and you'll essentially be removing me along with it. Also, as long as you're replacing OLD mainline routes with NEW higher-capacity RJ's consider that United Express and Delta Connection fly the same E170 that the NEW USAirways does but with a first class cabin.
6) NEW cabin updates on aging planes. NEW USAirways planes have really, really OLD USAirways interiors. The money crunch isn't as ominous as it was a few years ago... spend a few bucks on the 767's and older 737's and make it at least seem like we're flying a NEWer plane that's seen the inside maintenance hanger in the last ten years.
7) NEW "GO" programs. The GoFirst, GoEnvoy and GoEnvoySleeper programs can all go NEW themselves. The Sleeper seat benefit was one of the extremely lucrative benefits of Trans Atlantic travel for CP's. Kind of like a pacifier persuading me to overlook some of the shortcomings of the OLD USAirways program. If you charge $300 on top of my Envoy fare then you're creating a third class of seating on the plane, and I expect service consistent with other three-cabin international airlines. As far as GoUpgrades: It hasn't happened to me yet, but if a once-a-year tourist bumps me off the F waitlist for $50 you'll see a NEW CP benefit called GoToContinentalTicketCounter.
8) NEW full fare purchase rules. NEW Y fares don't qualify for bonus miles.... Why? Thanks to the NEW USAirways' use of the OLD Amercia West CRJ900 we're stuck with more regional aircraft than ever in CMH. When I buy a last minute Y fare to CLT that prices out at over $1/mile I'm earning the same EQM as when I buy ticket to PHL three weeks out that is priced at under $100 r/t to compete with WN. I'd buy F if I could, but if I got moved up any further on the RJ flight to CLT I'd have to fly the plane. Reward me for paying more.
9) NEW customer service standards. Innovative tip for NEW management: respond to OLD customers. You're in the middle of a confusing and slow-moving merger that isn't exactly the envy of the airline passenger world. At the very least, have the courtesy to write back to us on occasion or even (gasp) consider taking your NEW feedback and implementing changes based on it. Maybe it's my fault for suggesting you not write back unless you had something more than a form letter to reply with, but still -- a customary acknowledgment that the postal service is functional would be a nice gesture to a guy who's spent almost $15,000 with his "backup" carrier YTD.
10) NEW USAirways.com improvements... Simple, user-friendly changes would keep me from clogging up the CP phone lines with routine requests every time my corporate agency books a reservation for me. I can choose a seat and enter my DM number during online checkin, so why not before?
Give me some NEW reasons to "fly with US" or I'll continue to fly with "them" more often.
I remember a routine from a few years ago where a comedian suggested that nothing could be "new AND improved." If it's truly new then there's no foundation on which to improve. I'd suggest that in the case of the NEW USAirways he's right -- it may be NEW but it's certainly not an improvement over the OLD USAirways.
As a top-tier Chairman's Preferred dividend miles member (or occasionally a "platinum," depending on the America West boarding pass machine's mood) I have encountered a series of frustrations that have me questioning if the NEW USAirways is the right place for this high-yield business traveler. Here, in no particular order, are ten things that need to change if the NEW USAirways wants to keep me as an OLD USAirways customer:
1) NEW boarding procedures at my home airport. The NEW USAirways has four gates at CMH: one for America West operated flights and three for US and US Express flights. Problem is the three NEW USAirways gates are accessed by a single door in the terminal. Although the OLD USAirways ground staff at CMH continues to do a very respectable job at managing this I'd like to know how they're supposed to board a 5:30 to CLT, 5:45 to LGA and 5:50 to PHL through a single door without delays or mass confusion.
2) NEW on-board infomercial, or better yet NO on-board infomercial. Most domestic carriers have some sort of video spiel that includes a preview of their in-flight movie and maybe a Skymall plug, but on my most recent NEW USAirways flight we were forty minutes past wheels-up by the time the pitches for in flight cafe, credit cards, trips to Jamaica, movie previews, a rundown of the Star Alliance benefits and other gratuitous self promotion were complete. The videos were spaced out by a couple minutes of silence, but consider this: on a four segment itinerary I'm subjected to over an hour of NEW USAirways plugs both on the screen and over the PA. With overuse like that is it really any wonder that we're conditioned to ignore the safety announcements?
3) NEW branding and airport signage until things are worked out. The NEW USAirways "umbrella branding" is confusing and misleading for most travelers. I personally understand that the NEW USAirways is really just the OLD USAirways plus the OLD America West. But to a novice flyer it doesn't make sense that there is a separate bank of NEW USAirways kiosks for flights to PHX and LAS and that a gate agent with a NEW USAirways name badge standing in front of a NEW USAirways computer can't help them with their NEW USAirways reservation since it's really an OLD USAirways reservation. How about at least some separation in the branding until the NEW USAirways is really a single entity?
4) NEW updates to the OLD computers to make them recognize status from both carriers. The NEW USAirways offers unlimited upgrades to their OLD USAirways and OLD America West elites. Problem is, the upgrades rarely, if ever, work 100% correctly when crossing between OLD carriers. Case in point: my last trip on OLD America West where only the first three segments upgraded even though the fourth "should have" according to a CP agent and the OLD America West gate agent. This is not the first time an OLD America West gate agent stated that my upgrade "should have cleared, there are a lot of silvers up front." I don't get upset - I paid Y and I'll fly Y, but I don't get the chance to fly mainline much so every time my upgrade doesn't clear because of a computer malfunction it significantly devalues my status. If silvers who the computers recognize are upgraded over CP's who the computers "don't see" then silver becomes more valuable for that particular flight.
5) NEW thinking on the F seating plans. NEW A321 F seating plans and current OLD USAirways 757 F seating configs are an insult. Take a single F seat out of an A321 and you'll essentially be removing me along with it. Also, as long as you're replacing OLD mainline routes with NEW higher-capacity RJ's consider that United Express and Delta Connection fly the same E170 that the NEW USAirways does but with a first class cabin.
6) NEW cabin updates on aging planes. NEW USAirways planes have really, really OLD USAirways interiors. The money crunch isn't as ominous as it was a few years ago... spend a few bucks on the 767's and older 737's and make it at least seem like we're flying a NEWer plane that's seen the inside maintenance hanger in the last ten years.
7) NEW "GO" programs. The GoFirst, GoEnvoy and GoEnvoySleeper programs can all go NEW themselves. The Sleeper seat benefit was one of the extremely lucrative benefits of Trans Atlantic travel for CP's. Kind of like a pacifier persuading me to overlook some of the shortcomings of the OLD USAirways program. If you charge $300 on top of my Envoy fare then you're creating a third class of seating on the plane, and I expect service consistent with other three-cabin international airlines. As far as GoUpgrades: It hasn't happened to me yet, but if a once-a-year tourist bumps me off the F waitlist for $50 you'll see a NEW CP benefit called GoToContinentalTicketCounter.
8) NEW full fare purchase rules. NEW Y fares don't qualify for bonus miles.... Why? Thanks to the NEW USAirways' use of the OLD Amercia West CRJ900 we're stuck with more regional aircraft than ever in CMH. When I buy a last minute Y fare to CLT that prices out at over $1/mile I'm earning the same EQM as when I buy ticket to PHL three weeks out that is priced at under $100 r/t to compete with WN. I'd buy F if I could, but if I got moved up any further on the RJ flight to CLT I'd have to fly the plane. Reward me for paying more.
9) NEW customer service standards. Innovative tip for NEW management: respond to OLD customers. You're in the middle of a confusing and slow-moving merger that isn't exactly the envy of the airline passenger world. At the very least, have the courtesy to write back to us on occasion or even (gasp) consider taking your NEW feedback and implementing changes based on it. Maybe it's my fault for suggesting you not write back unless you had something more than a form letter to reply with, but still -- a customary acknowledgment that the postal service is functional would be a nice gesture to a guy who's spent almost $15,000 with his "backup" carrier YTD.
10) NEW USAirways.com improvements... Simple, user-friendly changes would keep me from clogging up the CP phone lines with routine requests every time my corporate agency books a reservation for me. I can choose a seat and enter my DM number during online checkin, so why not before?
Give me some NEW reasons to "fly with US" or I'll continue to fly with "them" more often.