spin88

I remember c2008 when UA decided to stop giving meals in C on domestic turns. It lasted about 5 days. Then they gave away BOB, that lasted a few weeks, then meals came back. The blowback was just ferousious, and UA realized everyone in those seats was an elite, and they were POed. But, on those flights, the FAs just hid, they were surly and unhappy, and before this "glens little bit o cheer" well IMHO the FAs on those flights are the best.

Ever since I have noticed that when the FAs are given good product and the ablity to make people happy, they generally (and I'm talking all airlines) do a good job. Well when the product goes away, and they have to fight the customers, put up with the constant negative comments, well service goes to crap. I have watched this pattern happen on UA, TWA, NW, and now UA again. The sUA FAs were actually quite happy and supportive, service was good, in 2011, but that went to hell after 3/12.

I don't blame the FAs, they are in the line of fire. Fix the soft and hard product, everyone's demeanor will improve when they are happy to come to work in the am (see DL as an e.g.).

username

For the casual traveller, things like ontime status, baggage fees, food/drink onboard and service probably determine their impression. For us, it is probably the same thing + frequent flyer program, computer system, irrops handling and consistency.

What bothers me is consistency - from how meals are prioritized to how many drink services are offered to enforcement of safety rules. You really don't know what to expect as a lot of it is crew-dependent. Sometimes you have really good flights and sometimes you have terrible flights. I have to say the good flights seem to outnumber the bad ones a lot this year - even though my upgrades don't clear much anymore.

iquitos

United ranks last among big airlines in increasingly important metric.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...513-story.html

... United, the largest carrier in Chicago, ranked last among six North American airlines in customer satisfaction, according to the study, though the company can point to a number of recent improvements it has been making to improve the passenger experience. ...

Alaska Airlines, Delta and American all rated above the industry average.

skidooman

With free booze TATL and TPAC, people will great them better next time. Booze makes everything look better.

If the food is more palatable, another bump!

spin88

no one cares about soft or hard product or service quality, its a "commodity," or so some people on this board have been saying. Cheapen product and wait for the $$$$ to roll in since people have to fly UA is "savvy friendly"

I like this counter quote from JD Power:

""Many airlines realize that they are not in a commodity business and that hospitality and service go a long way in differentiating them from the other airlines," said Rick Garlick, global travel and hospitality practice lead at J.D. Power. And better service breeds loyalty, he said.

Hospitality can mean such amenities as food and beverages, in-flight entertainment or Wi-Fi. It can also mean pleasant interactions, such as a friendly crew or keeping passengers informed with announcements at the gate or on the plane.

Airlines with a solid reputation tend to have passengers who are more forgiving of problems. "When the airline provides good service, passengers are generally less critical when there is a departure delay or a late arrival," Garlick said.

This is exactly what a bunch of us have been saying (and DL and AS and VX doing) since Jeff took over and went with the "savvy" commodity approach...

entropy

Certainly welcome changes, but I'm more worried about their inability to run a schedule.

JT_BOS

Strangely, the lack of counterargument is deafening. Hello, is there anybody "savvy" out there?

transportprof

Case in point - a friend of mine was on vacation to IST a couple of weeks ago on a UA award ticket. He had to be hospitalized for several days due to a blood clot that formed on the flight over. He thus needed a different flight back home.

He tried to deal with Mileage Plus from the hospital in Istanbul, and got the 'there is nothing I can do' routine. UA pushed him to TK and TK said that UA would have to reissue the ticket.

He called DL, where he's a mid-tier elite and they sold him a fairly priced one-way ticket IST-AMS-JFK, and he threw away the UA return tickets (for him and his wife).

He's CEO of a small foundation that does work across the US. Guess which airline is on his no-fly list for the forseeable future?

BearX220

For years we heard from the "savvy" management's amen corner that branding, marketing, service, and amenities make no difference -- almost everyone shops for low price and best schedule.

Now that UA finishes dead last among major airlines in every quality survey, and consistently underperforms DL on the fiscal side, we typically hear those surveys are fake or don't matter, and we're reading the fiscal reports wrong. Those voices should be along shortly.

CJ99

Remember when they floated the idea of eliminating free meals in coach on longhaul int'l flights? Rarely had it been so clear how much they hated their customers.

spin88

To be fair to the old UA management, they were loosing massive amounts of revenue with the 2008 crash (which hit SF and LA very hard) and fuel costs had massively spiked, and were trying to keep the lights on. It was also only IAD to Europe flights, not longer flights. They though saw the light (as with removing meals for domestic C flights) when the blowback hit. That is the difference between the current "savvy" UA management that sticks to its plan, and never backs down and the old management that would respond (sometimes quickly) to pressure.

I view these moves very differently than the "savvy" cuts Jeff did - when revenue was on the upswing - such as removing snacks or free booze from international Y, or tanking the food/booze/coffee quality. Jeff made his cuts to service/product because he thought he could save money and have no impact on revenue. He assumed the world was like IAH/EWR. Well it turns out people noticed United was now the skank to be avoided, and revenue has badly trailed. The plan has also destroyed UAs reputation.

skidooman

Well, that is important too.

But people tend to look at the overall package. For example, if they keep to their schedule, that is all fine and good but then if they have the "service" of Ryanair, people may still be grumpy.

Different people also have different priorities. For my, I fly long distances, so time is not that critical most of the time. The ability for my body to endure, and perhaps even relish, the experience, even in Y, becomes important as well.

skidooman

Allelluia!

This is how Singapore Airlines can charge more. They are a classy airline. When you are on board, you are treated well, even as a kettle. Beer? Wine? No problem. Decent food? No problem either.

They charge a bit more? As long as you have a decent travel plan, that becomes a no-brainer.

Of course, United cannot be Singapore Air. But be more classy? Sure. But the cuts that management implemented were counterproductive.

Finally, they start realizing their error.

halls120

My experience is generally the same as yours - I get lots of smiles and great service on most flights. Then there was that one FA on our flight home from the UK last month who was a first class grump the entire flight. I think her fellow FAs were embarrassed by her demeanor.

halls120

Excellent point. This afternoon I flew IAD-SFO for the first time since the front cabin meals were upgraded, and I was shocked as to how good it was. The problem is that it's going to take a long time for these upgrades to overcome the impact of things like Bette Midler making fun of the previously pathetic offerings in social media.