America West FlightFund (Discontinued Program) - Thanks to the HP FAs!!

OK, so this may seem like some kind of schmultzy love-fest, but I thought that after seeing how FAs behave on some other carriers I would point out that HP really does have something.

I've been doing a lot of flying on UA recently (international), but have noticed that for the most part the domestic UA FA's are no where near as professional as their HP counterparts (at least the ones working the F cabins).

Recently, on a 55 minute flight PHX-SAN I had an FA who made it a point to greet every passenger by name (and even pronounced mine correctly) and ensure that every need was addressed. From constant drink and snack refills to offering to grab my bag from the overhead after the flight was underway (I was in 1D) I never wanted for anything.

The next day I took a 4 hour UA flight LAX-ORD in F and didn't get much attention at all after the meal service (which was delicious, BTW) was finished.

Of the 100 or so segments I've flown in the last year (ignoring the international ones on NH, TG, and UA) I can think of about 15 different instances of excellent service from HP FAs and zero from any other airline.

To the HP FAs on the board... Many thanks to you and your coworkers for keeping up a high-standard of in-flight service.

... and yes, the FA on my SAN flight got an A&B. She seamed REALLY surprised to get it.

Wow! Thats really gratifying to hear!
Thanks for the good words!

Another great way to thank the better flight attendants is to write a letter to the company. I know it is a bit of a hassle, unfortunately I sometimes forget to follow through, but from what I hear it is really appreciated by the flight attendants.

I recently had a great experience with the gate agents in Oakland... they hustled extra hard to clear a plane and get my flight going so those of us with tight connections, myself included, would make them. I made sure to write HP and tell them to give the two individuals involved A&B coupons (since I didn't have two with me.) Without them, I would probably have missed my connecting flight.

I agree. Given the last second nature of my travel, I get stuck flying a lot of different carriers. Because HP First Class FAs are so good, I do everything in my power to book with HP.

Great service! I've given all of my Above and Beyond certificates out, and am trying to get some more.

OK, so this may seem like some kind of schmultzy love-fest, but I thought that after seeing how FAs behave on some other carriers I would point out that HP really does have something.

I've been doing a lot of flying on UA recently (international), but have noticed that for the most part the domestic UA FA's are no where near as professional as their HP counterparts (at least the ones working the F cabins).

Recently, on a 55 minute flight PHX-SAN I had an FA who made it a point to greet every passenger by name (and even pronounced mine correctly) and ensure that every need was addressed. From constant drink and snack refills to offering to grab my bag from the overhead after the flight was underway (I was in 1D) I never wanted for anything.

The next day I took a 4 hour UA flight LAX-ORD in F and didn't get much attention at all after the meal service (which was delicious, BTW) was finished.

Of the 100 or so segments I've flown in the last year (ignoring the international ones on NH, TG, and UA) I can think of about 15 different instances of excellent service from HP FAs and zero from any other airline.

To the HP FAs on the board... Many thanks to you and your coworkers for keeping up a high-standard of in-flight service.

... and yes, the FA on my SAN flight got an A&B. She seamed REALLY surprised to get it.


You must have an incredibly unique perception of things because even non-frequent flyers know that TG flight attendants are among the best in the industry and there is just no comparison between TG and HP flight attendants. Thai cabin crews are well-known for their hospitality, efficiency, and special care. Then again, it is your opinion and you are certainly entitled to it.

You must have an incredibly unique perception of things because even non-frequent flyers know that TG flight attendants are among the best in the industry and there is just no comparison between TG and HP flight attendants. Thai cabin crews are well-known for their hospitality, efficiency, and special care. Then again, it is your opinion and you are certainly entitled to it.


Once again a negative comment from you based solely on your failure to correctly read the original post properly. The poster specifically said, "ignoring...TG..." Everywhere I go on FT I see your negative posts. Since you have such trouble being civil, please at least make sure that when you are rude, you are at least accurate.

Once again a negative comment from you based solely on your failure to correctly read the original post properly. The poster specifically said, "ignoring...TG..." Everywhere I go on FT I see your negative posts. Since you have such trouble being civil, please at least make sure that when you are rude, you are at least accurate.

Thanks, you beat me to the punch on this one....

For the record the BEST domestic FAs I've ever flown with were on TG where they were able to serve a full hot meal to a full C cabin on an A330... There were also four of them working that cabin.

The BEST FAs overall that I've ever flown with were on NH in first where my wife and I were treated like celebrities for 10 hours.

Having said that, UA's FAs in C on international flights are excellent IMHO... HP's FAs (with the exception of a few bad apples) beat out their counterparts on any US domestic route.

This brings up a question.... What has changed in the HP corporate culture to bring around such improvements in the attitudes of the customer-facing staff? In 1999 I stopped flying HP because I was always running into counter agents, gate agents, and (to a lesser extent) FAs who weren't just in a bad mood, they were rude. Since I started flying HP again (about 2 years ago) I haven't seen this attitude surface again.

This brings up a question.... What has changed in the HP corporate culture to bring around such improvements in the attitudes of the customer-facing staff? In 1999 I stopped flying HP because I was always running into counter agents, gate agents, and (to a lesser extent) FAs who weren't just in a bad mood, they were rude. Since I started flying HP again (about 2 years ago) I haven't seen this attitude surface again.

Simple answer to that one is the new leadership. Doug Parker and his team took over HP from the previous team on September 1, 2001. 10 days later his honeymoon was over. Mr. Parker has assembled the absolute best team and has turned the attitude around at HP. As an employee, I immediately saw the difference. Doug is on the flights, at the airport, involved in community projects and cares for the employees.
I think that was the start and the good attitude continues today.. When I started at HP in 2000 I was hesitant to tell people where I worked (I'm sure you can remember why!!) but that is definetly NOT the case now. I take pride in my company and am proud to tell people what I do!

Simple answer to that one is the new leadership. Doug Parker and his team took over HP from the previous team on September 1, 2001. 10 days later his honeymoon was over. Mr. Parker has assembled the absolute best team and has turned the attitude around at HP. As an employee, I immediately saw the difference. Doug is on the flights, at the airport, involved in community projects and cares for the employees.
I think that was the start and the good attitude continues today.. When I started at HP in 2000 I was hesitant to tell people where I worked (I'm sure you can remember why!!) but that is definetly NOT the case now. I take pride in my company and am proud to tell people what I do!

I'll take it a step further. The previous CEO was Bill Franke, who was not an airline man, but rather a bankruptcy specialist. He never understood that airlines are primarily a people business and that there cannot fail to be adverse reactions if you (the CEO) treat your people poorly.

During Franke's watch we had the outsourcing of many mechanics jobs which eventually came home to roost during the summer of '99, we had problems with the FAA and he had problems with all labor groups. Frankly, had Franke been the CEO on 9/12/01 the company would have failed because labor would not have rallied behind him. Because labor was so happy to get rid of Franke, Parker was able to save the company.

I am so glad that so many people have such nice things to say about us. As a FA who works FC, I am glad we are appreciated and that the public realizes that most of us love what we do.

I'd also like to thank the FA's. Even though I lived in PHX I used to fly Delta because America West, well, really, just plain sucked in the late 90's. I had to use HP twice during that time and both were miserable experiences. I was moved enough to write a letter explaining that I usually fly more than 100K miles/year and lived in PHX but because of the service I received I would not be using HP. If you knew me you'd realize that it is a really big deal for me to write a letter about bad service. I have pretty realistic expectations from the airlines.

Encouraged by many reports of changes in the airline I decided to give HP another try in 2002. I haven't looked back. I've had consistently great service. The flight attendants really seem to care about their job and even though I'm now flying weekly to PHL and my upgrade percentage is nowhere near what'd I'd like, I'm sticking with HP. I've done a couple of trips on US and I just don't find the FA's to be nearly as good.

Instead of creating an entirely new thread, I'll just post it here.

I began my MAD trip by flying PHX-SFO on a HP Y award ticket. Well, by the time I arrived to the gate, I was very tired, and stressed. I wasn't looking forward to a Y flight even in the exit row. So, I asked the GA if I could be placed on the upgrade standby list. To my surprise, she printed out a F boarding pass. I definitely appreciated the upgrade.

So I would like to add a thanks to the GA's as well.