US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - Attention All Cockroaches

I have been contacted by USA today for a pin and a brief interview regarding our little club. In the interest and fairness I would like some feedback as to what my talking points should be. Irabk is traveling so I will go this one alone. But I sincerely want your comments as this is a national publication and I want us to look good and make sure US is promoted in a positive way. I already told the editor a positve article is the Quid Pro Quo for cooperation and I have assurances to that effect. Hurry please he suppossed to cal tomorrow.

Let's see, we and the employees are really sticking with them because they have great employees but marketing needs to start thinking about getting new people on the plans not dumping on old paxs. Said in a nice way.

Something along the lines of how loyal we have been to US. The fact that we appreciate the employees but don't like the comments that were made because we don't always buy the Full fare tickets they want business people to buy.

We have taken our share of "cutbacks" and we still choose US over other carriers. If we aren't appreciated we can always take our business elsewhere. They need to do something to "reward" our loyalty.

My corporate travel policy prohibits me from booking full-fare tickets. Nonetheless, I travel a lot on business and I choose the carrier that receives my discounted fares. I don't think that my situation is unusual in today's economy. The perks of elite status are what keep me loyal to US Airways.

In Norfolk, VA I have Southwest that will carry me to several of my destinations nonstop. I choose to connect via Charlotte or Philadelphia thanks to some fantastic customer service and because of the perks that Chairman's Preferred gives me that Southwest cannot and does not.

How 'bout a story from someone who isn't "sticking with them".

<rant>
I've got 1.2 Million BIS miles (butt-in-seat i.e., real flown miles), but I haven't flown a single US flight in 2 months, happily living with UA and AA. Their continued s*&(*ing of the customer and yanking of any conceivable benefits, even to 5-yr-running CP cusotmers just drove me away.

My decision was reinforced today when I was informed that I could not upgrade a paid trans-atlantic flight and a co-worker was told his transcon, $2,000+ fare could not be upgraded, even though he is a CP and it's a full-fare ticket (they told him it was 'blocked for upgrades').

One needed to be an expert in fare codes to determine that a VLXS106E fare is not upgradeable - it is not in the Fare Terms and Conditions on USAir.com and there appears to be no way (at least no easy way) to book the non-lowest fare on their website. I was extorted extra $$$$$ to re-issue a ticket to a higher fare to be given the "opportunity" to upgrade. Of course, I never would have known this had I not proactively called them to check upgrade policies.

Bottom line - I don't pay full fare, they hate me, I don't fly them anymore.
</rant>

There....

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by CPRich:
My decision was reinforced today when I was informed that I could not upgrade a paid trans-atlantic flight and a co-worker was told his transcon, $2,000+ fare could not be upgraded, even though he is a CP and it's a full-fare ticket (they told him it was 'blocked for upgrades').</font>

Just for educational purposes, what was the $2k+ transcon fare basis?

Usually, from PIT, something in that ballpark ought to be upgraded into "I." Missing an "I" based upgrade should be pretty rare, even on transcons (unless it is on a Friday evening or Monday morning, in which case all bets are off).

I agree with the sentiment about finding an upgradeable fare across the pond--I find the website tedious for this purpose and usually utilize the CP (or GP/SP) desk.



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Saving the world, one clue at a time.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by safetymom:
Something along the lines of how loyal we have been to US. The fact that we appreciate the employees but don't like the comments that were made because we don't always buy the Full fare tickets they want business people to buy.

We have taken our share of "cutbacks" and we still choose US over other carriers. If we aren't appreciated we can always take our business elsewhere. They need to do something to "reward" our loyalty.</font>


How would they, an airline in bankruptcy, 'reward' us?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by dingo:

How would they, an airline in bankruptcy, 'reward' us?</font>

Speaking for myself only here, they could reward me for my loyalty by making Ben Baldanza call me and apologize for his comments in USA Today.

On a more global basis when they emerge from BK they could gleen their records and EVERYONE who had say 20 or more segments during the BK period could be rewarded with a 500 mile per segment "Loyality" Bonus. Relatively inexpensive and a huge goodwill gesture.

Heck they could hire a telemarketing firm to contact customers and thank them for fllying and offer them an incentive to fly again.

there are hundreds of things they could do

As an attorney who has represented both the media and interview’ees, there are no "'agreements" other than “my comments are off the record.” Don’t be duped by “only my positive comments can be published." It aint so. Be prepared that your real name, address, and comments “in totto” will be published. Welcome to the 1st Amendment. Private email if you have questions.

PineyBob had some suggestions, here are some more. In some cases borrowed from other carriers.

1) Occassionally have the head person at a station come onboard before taking off and thank the frequent flyers

2) I mentioned on another thread getting good microbrewed beer which they can likely get cheap from places that want the publicity.

3) If there are empty seats in first fill them with people, frequent flyers, high fares, random, whatever. Doesnt cost much and people feel great about it (I have seen a UA supervisor at ORD do this for all 50K mile and above FFs. we loved it)

4) Actually pay attention to blocking seats next to FF or full fare passengers when possible, again, UA is much better at this in my opinion.

5) Have the purser, chief FA or pilot come through and thank passengers selected on FF status or fare base. I have even had LH pursers do this to me because of my UA FF level. It matters, it shows they are paying attention.

6) Have some people from Crystal City at the airports and clubs talking to passengers and explaining stuff, asking their opinions, etc. Heck, Tilton did this and Ben is too busy insulting me to do it?

I could go on and on but I grow weary. Someone in HQ needs to learn this is a competitive service business. In addition to making passengers happy things like this would, I suspect, really motivate the great US staff because they want to do a good job and get us to fly more. The front line people get it, its the pinheads at HQ that dont. Saying we're bankrupt, we cant make it better is showing a losing attitude and a lack of creativity. Argg.........

[This message has been edited by GadgetFreak (edited 01-20-2003).]

[This message has been edited by GadgetFreak (edited 01-20-2003).]

I can't agree with CPRich on the transatlantic, it is common knowledge that you can't upgrade any V fare over to Europe.

Regarding a phone call to thank us for our biz, hey, they spammed my work voice mail re: the United club deal, so they clearly could give us at least an automated call (hopefully from Isom or Siegel, not B B B, that would just make my blood boil and skin crawl).

Focus on how far up his butt Ben's head really is. P*ssing off your best customers when you're in Chapter 11 is a truly unique recovery strategy.

Revisit the threads from Black Tuesday to remind yourself of just how tenuous his grip on reality is.

I'm sure I'm skipping over a lot but let us not forget:

Use it or lose it. No exceptions. Including death, military service and jury duty. Among others. Talk about mind numbingly stupid things to say...

No stand-by unless you're on a completely changeable ticket (where SB is redundant.) Ok, how about a (non-refundable) stand-by lottery for $100? Starting in October. Not including tickets that you already bought. Ok, we'll permit "confirmed stand-by" for $100 if you do it at the airport (which you could always do over the phone if inventory was available...). Ok, we'll match Delta at $25 (convienently overlooking all the good parts of Delta's new policy and just matching the price.) Except for The Shuttle.

"An airline ticket is like a sporting event..." (Except you can't give it to your buddy, or get a refund, or walk in late, or ... get a good list, reporters are idiots -- they all regurgitated Ben's tripe the first time around without so much as a batted eyelash.) (Oh yeah, don't forget that your favorite sports team doesn't sell more seats than the stadium holds either...)

"We are an industry of fine print..."

Pay toilets & deplaning fees.

"It's all about price, price, price..." (we cockroaches are proof that this is utterly false.) The incessant whining about how we only buy the lowest fares is especially disingenuous -- try buying something else someday! Even when you want to it's ****ed near impossible! They shove the lowest fare in your face at every turn. It takes a huge effort to find the "better" fare basis and actually buy it. Meanwhile SWA paves the way (as usual) with a website that makes it dead easy to decide to spend more if you're so inclined. I just wish I could buy US tickets on SWA's website. I'd save so much time and effort...

They don't know their customers -- they've never done a survey in all my years of flying with them (unless you count the incredibly lame "isn't our website wonderful!" survey). I've filled out surveys for UA, CO, NW & AA. Airlines that I fly every now and again. I fly US 10x more than all of those guys combined. Never once has US asked my opinion about anything other than the website -- and then with a survey that was obviously designed to prevent anything other than agreement with the pre-determined result.

Ben and his cronies have no idea of why they're failing and even less of an idea of why others (such as SWA et al) succeed. They repeatedly *******ize the worst parts of other airlines ideas into bizzare rules and restrictions (devoid of corresponding benefits -- the airline views this as a "win-win") that nobody understands and then wonder why productivity is so low and customers hate them. Hello! Maybe it's because you've made the process so complex? $150 of labor to capture a $100 fee isn't exactly a recipe for success...

Herb Kelleher probably stays up at night laughing every time some "major" airline mouthpiece attributes LUV's success to "low fares". It's the greatest bit of corporate misdirection since Jack Welch told everyone that you have to be #1 or #2 in your market or you should get out...

Ben's idea of "marketing" is to bludgeon his customers until they go away. Cockroaches however are much tougher than that... We'll be the last customers to get off the last plane.

(BTW -- we're "customers" not "PAX". And that little detail really sums it all up.)

PAX Baldanza?

Heck they could hire a telemarketing firm to contact customers and thank them for fllying and offer them an incentive to fly again.

there are hundreds of things they could do

[/B][/QUOTE]

There are hundreds of unemployed res and airport customer service reps who would love the chance to work from home making phone calls to thank loyal customers like you. I would also accept lower pay and benefits if it saved my job. Just take care of my phone bill.

The reward could be an email, phone call, note something that says they realize that their FF's are valued by the airline.

They have done nothing to make us want to fly their airline and still most of us still fly US.

I want to see US survive and prosper. I also want to feel like they value my business. If I keep getting the feeling that they don't care whether or not I fly US I might just show them how I feel by flying another airline.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by TomBascom:
"An airline ticket is like a sporting event..." (Except you can't give it to your buddy, or get a refund, or walk in late, or ... get a good list, reporters are idiots -- they all regurgitated Ben's tripe the first time around without so much as a batted eyelash.) (Oh yeah, don't forget that your favorite sports team doesn't sell more seats than the stadium holds either...)</font>

Tom
These are great points. I would certainly highlight all of this if I were being interviewed. Comparing airline tickets to sporting events has to be one of the dumbest things I have ever heard. We really need to have them hear that this guy has angered many of us with these inane comments which make no sense at all.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by gardener:
[B]I can't agree with CPRich on the transatlantic, it is common knowledge that you can't upgrade any V fare over to Europe.
[B]</font>


I find it amusing that anything discussed on this board is considered "common knowledge" by anyone.

I had forgotten, Mrs. CP (a gold) had never heard of it, none of my lunch companions, all who travel full time, were aware of it, and my wife's travel agent was unaware of it (although mine was).


Do I sense the Stockholm syndrome? We are siding with US - it's our fault for not understanding the byzantine fare rules, restrictions, fees, etc. US's rules are fare and everyone should be appreciative - we're just wrong for not accepting them and adopting them.

My company has already put US on the unapproved vendor list and we have actively been told not to fly US. They chose not to participate/compete adequately in corporate discount negotiations, feeling that they were worth more then the others or couldn't afford to provide discounts. So we accepted other offers - US will get full, non-discounted fares from us, at 50-60% lower volume than previously.

They are Betamax-ing themselves into oblivion.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by TPA us ff:
As an attorney who has represented both the media and interview’ees, there are no "'agreements" other than “my comments are off the record.” Don’t be duped by “only my positive comments can be published." It aint so. Be prepared that your real name, address, and comments “in totto” will be published. Welcome to the 1st Amendment. Private email if you have questions.</font>

Oh I know that but thanks for the info. I just hope they are men and women of honor. They can be real snakes, that's why I am choosing my words carefully and in advance. He or she can write any kind of article they choose but I am determined to stay on point. I don't want to give them ammunition to hurt US Airways. I think I'll be OK.

I definitely support your position to "accentuate the positive." Good luck with the interview!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by danl08:
Tom
These are great points. I would certainly highlight all of this if I were being interviewed. Comparing airline tickets to sporting events has to be one of the dumbest things I have ever heard. We really need to have them hear that this guy has angered many of us with these inane comments which make no sense at all.</font>

And, by the way, when I missed 2 games to my Pirates parital season tickets - they gave me the flexibility to trade them in for any tickets at any other game of the year. Yes, even after I'd already missed the game.

For full-season ticket holders, they let you do this proactively. Yes, even though you've paid for a specific seat at a specific game (called Future Ticket Exchange Priviledges).

Imagine that....

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by PineyBob:
I already told the editor a positve article is the Quid Pro Quo for cooperation and I have assurances to that effect. </font>

Doesn't sound like the journalism principles I learned in my Intro class.

Then again, it's the McPaper we're talking about.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ClueByFour:
Just for educational purposes, what was the $2k+ transcon fare basis?
</font>

I didn't want to seem to geeky, so I didn't ask, but he booked in last Thursday for travel yesterday, so I'm guessing at best it was a B, if not a Y.

He said he also checked every Monday for the next month and they told him that no upgrades were available.

I told him of my 10-20% upgrade success on transcon Mon am/Fri flights - he was a bit distressed to think about squeezing his 6'4" into coach seats for the next x months.

And not only couldn't he upgrade, he was assigned a middle seat.

There are probably 12 flights in the entire schedule where this is a problem (M/F from hubs to the West) - he and I just happen to hit 2 of them.

They could hire this, hire that and so on...granted. They could make a phone call, send you an email or whatever...not really a 'reward' as I would define it, but that's just semantics. Some of this seems like a frivolous use of cash at a time when cash is the most precious commodity for this company.

Let's face it folks, the airlines, not just US, are having a hell of a time staying afloat. Do I like the way they treat me? Not always. Do I think I could do a better job? Hmmm, I'll never say yes to that one. Do they operate in a really screwy environment with odd cost structures and weird prices? Yep...no fault of the unions though right?

I am thankful that US is still around, that my miles are only at risk and not gone and that I have a somewhat enjoyable experience right now. Would you rather be with UA? Delta? AA? It stinks everywhere.

I came to US after UAL's summer from hell...everyone on strike, crappy service, no concern for customers and use of the worst (I mean WORST) regional jet carriers around. Have you been to Chicago to see how Air Wisconsin tries to get all 20 flights per hour out of one gate? Maybe not that bad...but darned close.

It seems any article detailing how tough US or any airline has it right now is equivalent to saying ice is cold.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by CPRich:
He said he also checked every Monday for the next month and they told him that no upgrades were available.

...

There are probably 12 flights in the entire schedule where this is a problem (M/F from hubs to the West) - he and I just happen to hit 2 of them.</font>

Yep and yep.

Over the past year, I've spent a lot of Fridays and Sundays running back and forth between PIT and SFO (and, to a degree, PIT and LAX) on various carriers. The US flights from the hubs to the west coast on Friday and Monday were so nuts that I started shortening my weekends to about 40 hours (late friday to Sunday noonish) in order to get on the Sunday flight back--and even that became dicey to get upgraded on--worse now that the transcon schedule to PIT has been cut to, well, a pittance.

It got the point where snagging an upgrade would sometime require me to "shop the hubs" looking for flights with G inventory. At some point, I gave up and flew 30 or 40k on AA http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. Then I started burning US20s to lock up the G inventory early (waves to US20 crowd).

This research led me to conclude that it is worth it for a stop in DFW--MRTC will keep you from getting pinched for space, and the flights are not packed to the gills on Friday and Monday.

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Saving the world, one clue at a time.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by PineyBob:
I already told the editor a positve article is the Quid Pro Quo for cooperation and I have assurances to that effect.</font>

Uh huh. And if he does a hatchet job, what recourse do you have?

I have to side with CPRich here, and I taught journalism at the college level many moons ago. If you want a positive story to be written, then tell the reporter a positive story. If you tell the reporter both positive and negative items, you have no way of knowing which ones he/she will find more "juicy."

Other than that, just be personable and be prepared to spell people's names. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

And good luck, Bob.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Just Passing Thru:
Uh huh. And if he does a hatchet job, what recourse do you have?

I have to side with CPRich here, and I taught journalism at the college level many moons ago. If you want a positive story to be written, then tell the reporter a positive story. If you tell the reporter both positive and negative items, you have no way of knowing which ones he/she will find more "juicy."

Other than that, just be personable and be prepared to spell people's names. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

And good luck, Bob.</font>

Actually she was quite nice. The story will run next week. I followed your advice and kept it upbeat and positive. I made it plain that we love this airline especially the front line staff. Told her a few examples of how the front liners went out of there way to help me and contrasted that with some of the comments from senior management. She was shocked to find that some employees are wearing them. All in all I feel good. I'll keep you posted