LOST By Joe Brancatelli

December 5, 2006 -- By any rational business standard, John Goldener is exactly the kind of frequent flyer that US Airways can almost never lose. By every logical business measure, John Goldener is also the kind of premium-class passenger that US Airways should never want to lose.

Goldener's disenchantment began when US Airways cut its twice-daily Paris flights back to one. It escalated when he heard that the carrier--alone among major international airlines--is slashing the size of its business class and will soon pull 12 seats from its current 42-seat cabins.

For the rest of the story you will need to visit www.joesentme.com

What a sad commentary . . . especially since US Airways' business class product is profoundly inferior to other international carriers.

I'm still waiting to hear back from them on a piece of my TravelPro luggage that they shredded four months ago.

Wow.

What arrogance.

Dear. Mr. Christ - What percentage of revenue do CP's account for to US' bottom line? On any given trans-atlantic flight, what are the highest profit-margin seats? Who, on average, is sitting in those?

And the most important question, how can a business succeed if it alienates its customers?

If US is really doing what Mr. Christ implies then why don't they do away with the whole Dividend Miles program and elite levels today. We obviously mean nothing to them (although I for one already figured that out...)

longing4 thanks for posting that article!

Longing, thanks for posting this.
I'll preface this by saying that in my recent experience in getting a call from someone in DP's office (there was a sticky about it) things were quite different. I got the sense that Debbie, the person I spoke with, really cared about my business and wanted to help.

That being said, its pretty clear that US intends to be the costco of carriers. And maybe that makes sense for them. There are more people out there who think 'for $300 to pairs, I'll sit in a wooden box for 7 hours..." than "My company or personal finances allow me to spend $1500 on an inferior Envoy ticket". They are catering to a market that clearly makes sense to them.

What makes me frustrated and sad is that their direction is not in keeping with my preferences. I'd like to keep flying US and have them become one of the best airlines in terms of both products and customer service. But it doesnt look that we share the same view. And as long as I'm flying for my job and away from my wife and home every week, I want a good product and good perks. It sounds like US is moving out of that market.

Perhaps the follow up question is: will other airlines follow this pattern? IF there is more money to be made in the LCC market, won't they all go that route? If not, what are my options? I guess thats up to me to sort out...and maybe I'd better do it before 2007 gets here.

Smug arrogance run amok.
Indeed, this airline can't be all things to all people.
It certainly can't be anything to me anymore.

My $0.02:

"We don't arbitrarily give our product away and we think that we offer a good product for a fair price"

Really? I'm curious what AA and UA's answer to that would be with their EVIPs and SWUs. It's called rewarding your most loyal customers. The cost of "giving away" that seat (that may go out empty otherwise) is nothing compared to the loss of a high revenue customer.

The whole Costco vs Nordstroms arguement just blows my mind. Most fares in most markets across most airlines are roughly equal because for the most part, an airplane ticket is a commodity. If you undercut your competition, they'll just match your price to stay compedititve in the market. So does US think they'll just be 10-20% lower than all the other carriers (legacy and LCC) and expect them not to match? Then, when the other carriers with their live TV and flat beds match your price, what incentive do I have to fly with your crappy airline?

And where are these "discount economy fares"? Most fares I've seen over the last few months are for the most part the same as the market rate, or slightly higher. Right now I'm trying to book a BOS-TPA flight in March. DL/CO/AA all have it at $273, at with DL I can fly non-stop. US wants $429. Where's the value there?

Continued things like this are the main reason I have switched to CO. They comped my silver status and on the 4 flights I had with them last week, everyone I had interactions with could not have been nicer. The aircraft interiors were clean and in good condition. I even got fed on 2 of the flights in coach.

Only downside is no power ports and pitch in coach is a little tight. Regardless, CO's getting all the business I can give it.

Only downside is no power ports and pitch in coach is a little tight. Regardless, CO's getting all the business I can give it.

Depends on the aircraft. No power ports on ERJ's. I'm not sure about the 737-500's and 737-300's. However, all of the 737-700/800/900, 757-200/300, 767-200/400 & 777s have Empower power ports in the elite seating area (on the narrowbodies, that's the exit rows and all Y seats in front of them). CO is also undertaking a fleet renovation program to add AC power ports to its fleet over the next year...so no more need for a converter. Also, starting with the 757-200's, CO's longhaul aircraft are scheduled for AVOD upgrade (and not just in BizFirst).

Thanks for the article. I know how that person feels. I don't have the mileage that he does in a year but US is clueless on how to treat a frequent flyer.

What a shame they don't want our business anymore.:(

An attitude of arrogance that will put the airline right back into Ch. 11 or worse. What is it Ch. 33?

Chapter 7 is the one where the whole turkey gets carved up...

Chapter 7 is the one where the whole turkey gets carved up...

so how long do we give them?

wagers anyone?

This article again reminds me why I (and most Delta flyers) are praying that US/HP doesn't get creditors approval for their takeover.

It certainly can't be anything to me anymore.


WELL said!!!!

I recently flew PHL-LGW in row 1. The seat was BROKEN both ways! The service was as bad as a domestic PHL-crew flight. I wouldnt have paid $50 extra for these seats.

LOST By Joe Brancatelli

And he added another fillip: Christ suggested that Goldener should appreciate that he'd been called by the vice president of marketing of an airline. "I know a lot of Chairman's Preferred members would consider that a tangible benefit," Christ said.


Why would that be a tangible benefit to hear him say they are Costco. If Nordstroms has the same price for a product and great customer service, why would I go anywhere else?

I can't believe the arrogance also from US. What are they thinking to alienate their best customers :confused:

I have flown 128K miles with them this year, and highly considering moving my business over to UA or CO, I just can't decide. What makes me most upset is knowing that if I cut my business back from everyweek to zero with US, they wouldn't bat an eye.

Good luck with your Costco business model US :td: And by the way, your business class sucks.

What a sad sad article.

One of the biggest new concepts in b-schools across the country is "don't listen to your customers." I'm not kidding. It goes back to the famous Henry Ford quote to the effect of "If I had listened to my customers, I would have just made a faster horse and carriage."

At the same, you can't alienate your customers. A common flaw in running business is that when faced with losing customers, the vibe is always "well, that's fine - we don't want that type of customer anyway." Eventually your left with no customers.

It really is a shame what US is doing. I'm not sure why they're doing it either. The concept of a low fare carrier that still offers full services (alliance, good FF program, F/C class etc.) is a good one, and one that I think HP was doing nicely prior to the merger. I don't know why after the merger they're trying to move to a level of service below what either of them held.

The inconsistency is what bugs me, and the lack of honesty with loyal customers.

I think they have the same language coach as the Bush administration - call what your doing the opposite of what it actually is in hopes people won't notice. Think "clear skies act" which actually sharply decreases pollution standards on industry, and the "healthy forrests bill" which opens up a lot of formerly protected land for logging.

US' version is "GoEnvoy" - which is actually decreasing Envoy access for loyal, high rev flyers. "Everything Counts" actually makes it harder to use your preferred benefits due to a glut in preferred members. "Low Cost" actually means higher fares in most non-competitive markets. The concept is if you say it with a smile and tout it as an improvement, people will believe you.

I could see it happening ... "In order to improve service and decrease cost to our customers, US Airways has decided to leave the Star Alliance. Members of the award winning Dividend Miles program will still be able to redeem miles to hundreds of destinations served by US, Big Sky, and the GoCarribean Network."

Or even "Great news for DM members! Due to high customer demand, US Airways has decided to eliminate the premium cabin on all domestic flights. Customers will be pleased and enjoy our revamped economy cabins and our award winning in-flight service."

It's all BS, but it's said with a smile. Remember the "richest program in the world"? It's true - it's rich with deceit and hot air.

Actually, the comparison is insulting to Costco, which provides excellent customer service, great products and great value.

I could see it happening ... "In order to improve service and decrease cost to our customers, US Airways has decided to leave the Star Alliance. Members of the award winning Dividend Miles program will still be able to redeem miles to hundreds of destinations served by US, Big Sky, and the GoCarribean Network."


Don't forget Royal Jordanian!!!!!

Actually, the comparison is insulting to Costco, which provides excellent customer service, great products and great value.

I agree. Also, Costco is honest with its customers: we sell in bulk, and have a limited selection, but we are very inexpensive.

US Airways is not.

Unbelievably sad.

Christ's arrogance reminds me of a former technology director at my company. He once told a large multinational customer "You are bloody lucky that <our company's name> chooses to do business with you".

After that he wasn't allowed to speak with customers.

After that he wasn't allowed to speak with customers.

He's lucky that was all that happened to him. He would've been out on his butt before the words finished leaving his mouth if he worked for me.

Unbelievable arrogance.

1. The Costco comparison doesn't fly: As mentioned before, they don't pretend and they sell real Dom Perignon at a discount. US thinks that Envoy is Dom Perignon and sells it at astronomical prices while it is the lousiest product in the business. There is no comparison, even the Dollar Store is honest about what they offer.

2. Many ff got better status thanks to the promo's. Well, that might work against US. Many of those people can now ask for comps at other airlines which provide better service and stick with these. I will certainly divide my business and possibly jump.

3. The US staff is still unhappy, and the majority of studies show that happy staff lead to happy customers, but ofcourse Doug cs know better. Many more unhappy staff will be added if the merger with Delta goes through, so...

4. As long as you read Doug's statements such as " we offer a generous 31 inch in coach in the new Embraer 190", that indicates that he has never sat in one of these seats and doesn't give a hoot about customer service.

USAirways, the new LCC airline: Lousy Customer Care

I spoke to my favorite CP agent today in INT. US Airways has lost 1/3 of its CP's for next year! I can't even begin to think what the rest of the preferreds might be

I spoke to my favorite CP agent today in INT. US Airways has lost 1/3 of its CP's for next year! I can't even begin to think what the rest of the preferreds might be


I can't believe a US employee would disclose that info to a customer. It's not that I don't believe you, but I am amazed at that. Also, I'd like to know how she/he got that info. If it's true Travis Christ or whatever that dude's name is better work on his dollar store resume :D

Why would that be a tangible benefit to hear him say they are Costco. If Nordstroms has the same price for a product and great customer service, why would I go anywhere else?

Seems logical, but people don't work that way.

Walmart is normally priced the same (or higher) than 'respectable' stores on most goods... the same price, yet an inferior experience... and yet people shop at walmart all the time...

I spoke to my favorite CP agent today in INT. US Airways has lost 1/3 of its CP's for next year! I can't even begin to think what the rest of the preferreds might be

1) Mr. Christ should be thrown out on his arse. And probably kicked until he leaves the property.

2) How many of those 1/3 of CPs are "real" and how many are from the wicked promo at the end of the year? I'd bet more than half weren't "full fledged" to begin with...

1) Mr. Christ should be thrown out on his arse. And probably kicked until he leaves the property.

2) How many of those 1/3 of CPs are "real" and how many are from the wicked promo at the end of the year? I'd bet more than half weren't "full fledged" to begin with...

While I see your point about the fake CPs (I'm one of them) I think the number who take advantage of those promo's is not as large as we think. The average CP isn't an FTer, doesn't do MR's and in many cases doesn't even read his FF statement to learn about the promos. They fly a ton on business and take advantage of the obvious benefits of status.

Another measure that I think is quite measurable is how many people who have earned status in 2006 for 2007 won't use it. I am a CP, will qualify for GP and don't plan on flying US. I know I may get stuck on them at some point, irregular op's, etc. and may use a *A carrier or two and thus was close enough it was worth it to go for Gold - a couple gifts through the everything count promo and I'm there. I'm sure I'm not alone in completeing status this year and starting a fresh with a status match/challenge next year somewhere else.

I'm waiting for the "Where have you gone?" letter....oh wait, they don't like us.

Seems logical, but people don't work that way.

Walmart is normally priced the same (or higher) than 'respectable' stores on most goods... the same price, yet an inferior experience... and yet people shop at walmart all the time...


I wouldn't know, I don't shop at WalMart.

My $0.02:

"We don't arbitrarily give our product away and we think that we offer a good product for a fair price"

Really? I'm curious what AA and UA's answer to that would be with their EVIPs and SWUs. It's called rewarding your most loyal customers. The cost of "giving away" that seat (that may go out empty otherwise) is nothing compared to the loss of a high revenue customer.

The whole Costco vs Nordstroms arguement just blows my mind. Most fares in most markets across most airlines are roughly equal because for the most part, an airplane ticket is a commodity. If you undercut your competition, they'll just match your price to stay compedititve in the market. So does US think they'll just be 10-20% lower than all the other carriers (legacy and LCC) and expect them not to match? Then, when the other carriers with their live TV and flat beds match your price, what incentive do I have to fly with your crappy airline?

And where are these "discount economy fares"? Most fares I've seen over the last few months are for the most part the same as the market rate, or slightly higher. Right now I'm trying to book a BOS-TPA flight in March. DL/CO/AA all have it at $273, at with DL I can fly non-stop. US wants $429. Where's the value there?

I'm equally disturbed high revenue flyers leaving US. Something needs to be done about that, pronto. However, statistics show that fares have been significantly reduced in most of the 'New US Airways' markets since the merger. That needs to be taken into account also, when criticising.

I feel bad for this guy, especially if US manages to buy Delta :D . . . somehow :rolleyes:

The reality is Doug's business model of being a LCC and screw the loyal biz traveler is probably an idea that is ahead of it's time. Someone quoted Ford, with the whole "if I had listened to my customers . . ."

Excerpt from cpmairtight's Airline Management Book:

If I were running a LCC airline, I think that if I figured out a way to move the most people to wherever they wanted to go, and they were happy about it, I'd be doing pretty good. It's a volume thing. Take a page from Southwest. The whole, "serving you in the cabin is my ex-wife and her new boyfriend" antics are a big hit . . . . "we're here all week, try the veal!":p

If I were running a premium airline, I think that if I figured out a way to provide super stellar service on fancy planes for a good margin, Then I would be doing pretty good. It's a quality thing. Take a page from any Asian airline it would seem, or perhaps UA's PS from SFO/LAX to NYC. (I've seen airliners.net cabin photos, some of those birds are like flying casinos!).

Just pick one, and "Be the ball Danny!".

BTW: So i missed the whole, "US is leaving the Star Alliance" . . . why was that not a point to beat to death? :confused: is this really true (PM me, no need to hijack the thread). I have to find a new job/airline or something else to do.

US is not leaving the *A (but my guess is if the merger with DL goes through they will). My point was if they were going to do something as large and terribly disruptive to customers such as that, the press release would be a complete sugar coat touting the amazing benefits to the customer and what such great news it actually is.

Here's a link (http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=632025) of people leaving.

It's been clear for awhile that it was "low cost" and not "full service". The question is how long they are able to pretend they have a foot in both camps and if they really can compete in the low cost camp. They apparently have choosen.

They've got a lot of different planes, FC seats, clubs, etc... Can you compete with Southwest who was built from the ground up to be efficient?

They've made a ton of cuts, some of them almost punative, not financial. Like XOXOs, small bottles of water, roll over miles, etc.... and at the same time devalued the FF program (FTD people buying a CP for $5,000, which if FTD pays $0.01 a miles, means US is giving CP status and 100,000 redeemable miles for the low, low price of $1,000). Why make us go through FTD - why not just charge us $1,000 for CP and 100,000 redeemable miles? How does that make someone who actually earned the miles feel? Is Dividend Miles a loyalty program or a revenue generator?

Delta (I think) is a distraction. They know they are falling apart and acquisitions are a way out (a la Enron). We'll see.

All that being said about folks moving, does anyone know what airline would comp me to their highest tier immediately? Any of them? Please don't tell me the only airline that would is Spirit :D

Doug never disclosed the facts underlying his silly 24% reduction assertion of 2 weeks ago, sadly.

He's all too happy to tout to investors that fact that yield (fare per passenger per mile flown) and RASM (fare per seat per mile flown) are up up up, though.

It's a statistical tour de force worthy of Sir Humphrey Appleby at pay rise time... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humphrey_Appleby

LOST By Joe Brancatelli

..."He kept telling me he was trying to be Costco while all the other airlines were trying to be Nordstrom's. I kept reminding him that he charges the same as Air France. But Air France has beds in business class. If I want a bed from US Airways now, I have to pay more than it costs on Air France. How's that Costco?"...

When Costco tries to charge the same prices as Nordstroms for a costco-label quality product--that is the problem...a big problem-for costco at least.

I'm equally disturbed high revenue flyers leaving US. Something needs to be done about that, pronto. However, statistics show that fares have been significantly reduced in most of the 'New US Airways' markets since the merger. That needs to be taken into account also, when criticising.

These "synergies" that Parker keeps blagging on about w/ this riduculous bid for Delta and which you seem to refer to are smoke and mirrors. I challenge your suggestion that the merger helped lower fares (if that indeed is what you imply). I think the point of this thread is that in case you weren't already convinced (I believe most here already do), this management team has an agenda, and that doesn't include taking care of its customers.

Refreshing that we have folks like you, Galleywench, Boeingboy and others who DO CARE and give us feedback on our travel experiences with your company. If only we could vote YOU onto the board, warbo!

Kendall

I have just been reading here until now.

Your "statistics" are false. But, that is a nice lie that Doug started two weeks ago, sadly. According to BTS, US now has a lower lowest fare from 12 months ago on only ONE route, JFK to CLT.


And that's only because of competition from JetBlue (which has done so well in CLT recently that they've gone from flying E190s to A320s). Without anyone else flying CLT-NYC nonstop it'd still be a BloFare market considering all the business traffic between the two cities.

And that's only because of competition from JetBlue (which has done so well in CLT recently that they've gone from flying E190s to A320s). Without anyone else flying CLT-NYC nonstop it'd still be a BloFare market considering all the business traffic between the two cities.

CO and AA also fly CLT-NYC non stop. It's one of the more competitive routes out of CLT, which explains why it's a legitimately low fare.

The perpetual topic. Interestingly, as others have pointed out, the Costco comparison is very bad. Costco has good customer service and costs less. I priced NY-London with a long stay in mid January as an example.

Coach
US - $373 + taxes
AA - $438 including taxes
BA - $438 including taxes


Business
US - $3280 + taxes
AA - $3963 including taxes
BA - about $5500 including taxes


So why with those prices would anyone fly US? In coach AA and BA are the same or less. In business AA is close enough. People spending that much are going to be less concerned about the $400 or $500 difference between them and AA. The products dont compare at all. I wonder why people fly them? It seems like the frequent flyer program has to be one of the only reasons. But how much is that worth? Is the US program competitive wiht AA or UA at the top tier? With them having more or less the same or lower price and a superior product. I dont get it.

When Costco tries to charge the same prices as Nordstroms for a costco-label quality product--that is the problem...a big problem-for costco at least.

Actually, the last time Im checked, which was some time ago, Nordstrom had a low price guarantee on the same product. They wont be undersold. They just carry high end stuff. But the comparison is more Bloomingdales than Costco, and Nordstrom is very competitive on price versus the likes of Bloomies or Saks.

Actually, the last time Im checked, which was some time ago, Nordstrom had a low price guarantee on the same product. They wont be undersold. They just carry high end stuff. But the comparison is more Bloomingdales than Costco, and Nordstrom is very competitive on price versus the likes of Bloomies or Saks.

Actually, I think many department stores will price match their competitors if you ask them to. As an example, a couple of years ago during Nordstrom's semi-annual sale, they had a pair of Ferragamo shoes I wanted marked down from over to $200 to around $125 if I recall correctly, but they didn't have any more in my size. I went across the street to Neiman Marcus, which sold the same shoes. I asked the salesman if that pair of shoes was going to be included their upcoming sale, explaining that Nordstrom's had them on sale. He said that Neiman Marcus price matches and sold them to me for the same price as Nordstrom.

I know of no business model that works without some level of customer satisfaction. Costco is about price, but more importantly, it is customer satisfaction, and quality. They won't sell an inferior product, right down to their frozen yogurt, and if you walk in with a piece of merchandise bought there, it is accepted for return immediately, without discussion, if you are not satisfied (never tried that with the yogurt, however..might be a problem producing the original product). Where it comes unstuck for Parker & Co., is that Costco can emulate Nordstrom, but if Nordies tried going the other way, they'd get killed. It's called branding. Parker seems to forget, he has acquired a full service business (or what passes for it), and is going the wrong way on a one way street. When you do that, you can actually make better time, but eventually you run into something you weren't expecting.:D

Note to Safety Mom. Appreciate your diligence on copyright, but if we just posted the article itself, and sourced it, without offering Brancatelli's whole issue, (a) I am sure he would give permission, and (b) he's smart enough to appreciate the exposure on a more widely read site, as being a nice, free promote. This piece should be read by all US/HP customers, and I urge its restoration in some form. Deleting it was a disservice to everyone, including Joe, who, by the way, appears to have a good relationship with Randy. As well, I'd be surprised if Randy doesn't have some sort of "hold harmless" someplace in the FT boilerplate.

Note to Safety Mom. Appreciate your diligence on copyright, but if we just posted the article itself, and sourced it, without offering Brancatelli's whole issue, (a) I am sure he would give permission, and (b) he's smart enough to appreciate the exposure on a more widely read site, as being a nice, free promote. This piece should be read by all US/HP customers, and I urge its restoration in some form. Deleting it was a disservice to everyone, including Joe, who, by the way, appears to have a good relationship with Randy. As well, I'd be surprised if Randy doesn't have some sort of "hold harmless" someplace in the FT boilerplate.

A note of clarification about the copyright issue: While safetymom took the action, all the moderators of the US forum were involved in this, so I'll address why this action was taken. Randy's mandate to us is clear on the issue of copyright. We are not to reproduce copyrighted material beyond a short lead-in and a link to the original source. When articles are freely posted somewhere online, this is often overlooked. But, when content is available only via subscription, as is the case here, we are asked to be particularly diligent.

In this specific case, we were advised by a third-party that Joe was not pleased by the posting of his copyrighted column here on FT. We didn't confirm that information, but given that its posting is a clear violation of the FT TOS, we felt an obligation to follow the rules.

I agree with you that this is an article that everyone should read. If someone wishes to obtain permission from Joe to re-post it, forward that to one of us and we'll be happy to put it back up.

Please note: I offer this merely as an explanation of the situation. It should not be read as an invitation to discuss or debate the merits of the rule or its enforcement by the moderators. Another rule that Randy is quite serious about forbids debate and discussion about moderators and their actions within the forums. I'm probably crossing a line by posting this at all, but felt it would be helpful in this case to shed some light on it.

AZ

Thank you AZ for explaining the action I took. You stated the facts very well. :)

Furthermore, he has this listed under "Paid members only". I followed the link and received the "sign up now!" page.

Sorry, but IMHO his stuff is not worth paying for. I received it complimentary for a couple of years, and though interesting, I didn't receive any value worth paying for.

YMMV though. I get all the discounts I need through my employer, even private travel. News and insights come from so many free sources, I can't see paying for it, especially when I always first learned about whatever the news was elsewhere.

I thought this was an important article for all to see.

Q: Is it possible to allow Joe to have the full story reprinted followed by a one or two sentence promotion by Joe for his web site?

For example, we'd have the article in its entirety, and then Joe could add "For this and other articles please see...." etc. etc. I know this is probably against TOC, but...

I thought this was an important article for all to see.

Q: Is it possible to allow Joe to have the full story reprinted followed by a one or two sentence promotion by Joe for his web site?

For example, we'd have the article in its entirety, and then Joe could add "For this and other articles please see...." etc. etc. I know this is probably against TOC, but...

you'd still have to ask him for the permission. just doing it would still not be fair use.

I'm equally disturbed high revenue flyers leaving US. Something needs to be done about that, pronto. However, statistics show that fares have been significantly reduced in most of the 'New US Airways' markets since the merger. That needs to be taken into account also, when criticising.

Quote the statistics. Not a US press release. "Statistics" have shown no such things.

Their PRASM has gone up. That is not indicative of falling fares. PRASM data can be found in the SEC filings.

Actually, the comparison is insulting to Costco, which provides excellent customer service, great products and great value.

Agreed. Costco actually provides premium products at very low prices -- they essentially require their suppliers to enable them to sell at the best price point for the quality of product they are selling. they have happy employees (mostly) whom they don't underpay. They have generated incredible customer loyalty and have a great business strategy -- Wal-Mart is having trouble in part because they are trying to imitate Costco. Their promise to the customer is that "you don't have to comparison shop. If we have it, it is priced well. And, we try to ensure that it is a good product." [They do sell high fat foods, but and lots of junky toys, but people want these]. I have noticed that over the years, they have gotten an increasing share of my wallet.

US is so far from the Costco of airlines that the analogy is not only an insult to Costco but shows how incompetent US management must be.

All that being said about folks moving, does anyone know what airline would comp me to their highest tier immediately? Any of them? Please don't tell me the only airline that would is Spirit :D

NOPE, UA will match CP's to UA 1Ks... look up the thread in this forum!

I have resisted posting on this thread, beyond what I already have, so that it doesn't disolve into a diatribe on policing, censoring, first amendment, etc. That said, it's a public forum. Following the deletion of the article, the link then went to a solicitation for subscribers to Brancatelli's webletter. I should think that (by the way, Brancatelli didn't do it) constitutes an ad, which I believe is also a no-no on FT. No regular (past or present) high volume user of USAirways needs to read it, anyway. They experience exactly what the guy in the article did. America West has created a better model, by combining route systems that complemented each other, at a time when capacity and pricing discipline has returned to commercial aviation. Historically, that doesn't last, especially in businesses where there are no barriers to entry. Instead of recognizing, and being grateful for getting lucky, the relatively youthful management team in Tempe has chosen to interpret events as being the result of their superior talent. That's the kind of arrogance that produces poor treatment of long term customers, while failing to correct endemic problems like Philly, and fielding a domestic and international premium cabin product that is an embarassment. Why would someone who thinks serving potato chips at 6 AM, be expected to have any understanding of building a better product, long term? Likewise, our "moderators" (who generally do a good job...these threads remain quite civil) should be mindful that once you start playing policeman, you begin a process that let's the genie out of the bottle. Such ad hoc decisions on deletions can open a can of worms, wherein we start knocking out anything somebody doesn't like. The response will be that I am taking it to a level of absurdity, but the larger question is still, once it starts, where does it end?

Folks,

I have a solution to offer. The change was not intended to be an ad for Joe, the story was removed in respect to an agreement he has with a major newspaper.

Anyone who wants to read the article in its entirety free of charge can email Joe at joe@biztravelife.com and he will get you access to the story.

I hope that is an acceptable arrangement for those who want to read it.

Thank you for your understanding.

As the OP, allow me to explain what has happened here.

I copied and pasted the article in it’s entirety from another web site. I did not know at the time that the article was copyrighted. I learned that Joe did not want the article posted in its entirety here and edited the post as much as I felt it could and still make some sense given the thread was the several post long. I was still in violation of the TOS of this web site and the copyright of the article. The article has been deleted in its entirety from the other web site.

The post was edited to bring it into the bounds of the TOS of this web site. I have no issue with the fact that this was done and in fact, I am in agreement with that decision. The article was copyrighted and Joe has every right to expect that be upheld, regardless of friendships, etc. He makes his living as a writer/reporter and we should respect that fact.