Transatlantic Flight Envoy Issues - Advice Request

 
Old Feb 21, 2008, 6:17 am
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Washington DC
Programs: US1, AA Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 132
Transatlantic Flight Envoy Issues - Advice Request

So I flew DCA-PHL-DUB on 2/16. Here are some things that I noticed and bothered me a bit.

1. I noticed that the only flights going to PHL from DCA are all RJs, consequently you have to await the shuttle to Terminal A, is this new? So not only no upgrade, no beverage. I must say that as a matter of principle when they say "on request only" i immediately hit the call button and ask for water.

2. I upgraded using the GoEnvoy, paid my money etc and went to teh Envoy Lounge. I got there about 3.5 hours before my TA flight so I settled in to watch movie and enjoy a glass of wine. They had a nice selection of cold cuts and cheese, along with veggies, rolls, cookies, fruit and condiments. However, I noticed that right around 6:00 they stopped refreshing the meat and cheese and removed the platters, there were still several flights arriving and I found that rather odd that they would be so petty as to removed the one thing people seemed to enjoy, other than the alcohol.

3. I boarded the plane and took my seat. The FAs were very nice and chatty. One FA said that they would do the preflight champage service as soon as they got catered with the bubbly. It never happened and we were about 20 minutes delayed in taking off. The catering door never open and no one ever walked past with the champagne, but amazingly, when they were taking dinner/drink orders they had champagne. I asked about the ammenity kit as I was plannin on using the ear plugs and I like to brush my teeth before deplaning. and I was told they were not given any.

4. I flew back on 2/20 but I know for a fact that the DUB-PHL flight was cancelled because friends of mine were rebooked on AerLingus. When I arrived at the gate there were the FAs from the flight that I took over. We chatted for a second that were saying how great it was that they basically had a three day vacation in Dublin. I mentioned that I was in the back this time and one FA asked me if there were any seats in Envoy, I said yes I believe there are five. He said, of good and the female FA said she would not consider taking one as they really should give those extra Envoy seats to passengers who had to stay in Dublin until they could get new flights. Yet, low and behold every one of the FAs from my flight, fresh from there three days of not working, took Envoy seats. Now I personally would have liked one but more importantly should they not have given them to people who had been inconvenieced from the cancelled flight? One FA went so far as to change out of his uniform for the flight and then changed back into it before we landed. With as much trouble as US imposes to upgrade into those seats I felt this was a huge slap in the face of the customers. It just bugged the daylights out of me.

5. The FAs who worked the Y cabin were so unfireidnly that they could not even be bothered to reply to compliments or statements of appreciation. I always remove my headphones when I am addressed by an FA and always say please, may I and thank you. Not once was that comment acknowledged. They came by with water service and the FA literally thrust a pile of cups in my face and said "water", that is it, nothing else.

Now the question, should I share this infomrmation with US customer services?

I should also point out that this is the last flight I will ever take with US, with all the mileage accrual issues, the wretched customer service and the fact the bathroom was so vile on the return flight that the woman who sat next to me wretched every time the door opened (not that I blame her it was pretty disgusting).
Darren64 is offline  
Old Feb 21, 2008, 8:27 am
  #2  
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Center Seat in Coach in a AA A321
Programs: AA Platinum, Marriott Rewards Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 261
I have previously posted about Envoy seats going empty from CLT - FRA despite elite coach customers trying to upgrade for over a month with miles. With the reduced number of Envoy seats and the restrictive policies for elites to get them through any means other than cash you would think the service would be better. Why would anyone pay for such a shabby product?
CLTUSCAPTIVE is offline  
Old Feb 21, 2008, 9:44 am
  #3  
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 739
Originally Posted by Darren64
1. I noticed that the only flights going to PHL from DCA are all RJs, consequently you have to await the shuttle to Terminal A, is this new? So not only no upgrade, no beverage. I must say that as a matter of principle when they say "on request only" i immediately hit the call button and ask for water.
Don't think so - the same route was served by an E170 last week, and we arrived at a C gate. The no beverage policy on that route has been in effect for a long time - at least now they serve something upon request, it used to be that they said nothing.

I got there about 3.5 hours before my TA flight so I settled in to watch movie and enjoy a glass of wine. They had a nice selection of cold cuts and cheese, along with veggies, rolls, cookies, fruit and condiments. However, I noticed that right around 6:00 they stopped refreshing the meat and cheese and removed the platters, there were still several flights arriving and I found that rather odd that they would be so petty as to removed the one thing people seemed to enjoy, other than the alcohol.
I was there from around 7-8 PM, and they certainly refreshed everything regularly. Must have been an exception.

My beef with US is that we incurred a 2 hr delay on the trans-Atlantic return, and then another 2 hr delay for the domestic final leg. Not ONE word of apology from anyone - I guess delays are SOP at US. Contrast that to an intra-Europe LH flight where we had a 25 min delay - 4 aplogies, the GA when boarding, the FA during taxi, the pilot in flight, and then the FA during bye-bye....
Bob'sYourUncle is offline  
Old Feb 21, 2008, 10:21 am
  #4  
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: US CP, *wood Gold, Marriott gold, Hilton something
Posts: 1,458
Darren - I am sorry you had a frustrating trip. I have done the PHL-DUB many times and had mixed results myself. The good part is that you got to experience Ireland - what a great place to visit!

As for your concerns, I think you should write a letter. While many around here, myself included, feel that it may fall on deaf (or uncaring) ears, the only way to get any traction is to inundate them with our comments and concerns. The poor customer service is the direct result of how US treats its employees and I have been clear with them that I will not support an airline who does not support its staff.

The quality of the product is a bit more ambiguous and subjective since some carriers like Arelingus are said to be much worse. Nevertheless, one can often find a US-based carrier that offers a much better product at the same price as US and that does make me wonder. If they want to offer an inferior product, let the free market take care of it, just let them know that it does not suite your expectations and needs.

Finally, the FAs taking Envoy seats bothers me. I have thought about this before, and I do think there is something to be said for the hard work they do and the amount of time they spend on their feet. So I am not upset at them for taking the seats, but at US for not upgrading displaced or elite customers.
I've booked $600 trips to Europe plenty of times and watched 1/2 of Envoy go empty as I've boarded in the back. What does it cost them to bump up a CP or the family who got bumbed the day before? Surely not as much as losing their business.

Good luck, I hope you do get a positive response...but frankly, I dont expect it.
SpaceBass is offline  
Old Feb 21, 2008, 10:21 am
  #5  
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: US CP, *wood Gold, Marriott gold, Hilton something
Posts: 1,458
duplicate removed

Last edited by SpaceBass; Feb 21, 2008 at 10:29 am Reason: removed duplicate
SpaceBass is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.