GadgetFreak

I truely admire your passion. Im a bit burned out on life and far too cynical even for my advanced age. I dont have that much passion for anything. But I sure respect and admire it when I see it in others. Give 'em hell.

abeflyer

Being from the same small town as wr schwab, I have talked to him repeatedly in person. I had previously told him to hang in there, but I am starting to think it is better if I burned my miles too and moved on like he suggested.

I have been comped to UA and just haven't moved my business. In the next month or so I have 20,000 booked F miles in US and am wondering if I should not just change from my US FF # to my UA FF#.

My most recent contact really is pushing me there.

I was looking to book flights to LGW and FRA from PHL and asked in early March about the TA upgrade certificate. Two weeks later I got my first response from US to five previous emails, saying they would be mailed out separately from the Elite Packets in a week or so. Three weeks went by and no TA. Emailed again no response.

Last week sent snail mail on my firm letterhead to Doug Parker. I got an email from the executive office not responding to why no response, but saying if I wanted the TA upgrade certificate they would come in the mail in late June and if I want them beforehand, I should call a long distance number in Tempe and arrangements could be made. I sepnd my money for their failure to have their act together. (And now I would have less than a year to use them---along with eight months status --June to Feb-- is a year's status to the new US).

They did follow it up with a telephone message after hours at my office with a long distance number to call back. I guess in Tempe they assume everyone in the east works until 8 on Friday nights or maybe they don't know there is a time difference or then again...the customer calls back and then the customer gets to pay to discuss US's failings on their dime. After all US needs to save the money. Poor customer relations!

They did say I was a valued customer, but did not comment or answer my other concerns. Doug Parker supposedly even "reviewed my letter." It surely was not like the old customer service from North Carolina from the old US.

Maybe I am old school, but a written letter should not trigger an email response. Email=email. Mailed letter should equal a mailed letter.

Why bother staying?

bigred93

As I've said in the past, their strategy - to use a prior poster's terminology - is to go after transactional customers, not loyalty-based relationships. They've been so consistent in behaving this way that my gut says that a FFOCUS effort is just so much barking at the moon.

I think if you were to look into what's behind a lot of folks' ire, it's the sense that US is trying to have it both ways: trying to say that they have a top frequent flyer plan, for example, while simultaneously shunning real investment in their most loyal flyers.

Fact is, from their perspective, trying to have it both ways is pretty rational as long as folks let you. After all, this is business, not tiddlywinks. But, also, up until now, they've really been allowed to get away with it on a public basis. It makes me interested to see what might happen if they get challenged.

I don't know that I'd be all that optimistic about positive long-term outcomes, but you never know what might happen in the short term once you start hitting those speed dial buttons.

For the sake of PhoenixFlyer's short position, don't forget to cc Fidelity and Wellington Management on those press releases...

socrates

Thanks Piedmont...but thankfully Bob is one of 2 folks on my iggy list so I'm not able to view his posts and thus unable to respond however since you quoted it you'll notice my post was on topic

Phoenix Flyer

Please make sure that I am on your ignore list as well. And keep breathing Doug's exhaust. There is an inverse relationship between how much one flies and how much experience one has at running a very large successful business, and how much willingness one has for putting up with the extant senior executive incompetence and inevitable failure at US.

socrates

Taken to pvt as this has no place in this thread

PineyBob

Now let's be fair here! The new US team has done a few things right, even if most of them fall into the category of being smart enough to let things work themselves out without management intervention.

They are attempting to harness the seven headed hydra aka PHL with moderate success.

There is much to like and much to loathe with this current bunch. They appear to actually think because they put together a few profitable quarters post 9/11 that they can compete against SWA. What they haven't learned can be summed up by a brief quote from Mr Kelleher regarding priorities. NOTE: quoted text from Strategy & Business Magizine

S+B: Let’s start with some words from your award. You made an “audacious commitment” to putting employees first, customers second, and shareholders third. How did you get away with that for 20 years?

KELLEHER: When I started out, business school professors liked to pose a conundrum: Which do you put first, your employees, your customers, or your shareholders? As if that were an unanswerable question. My answer was very easy: You put your employees first. If you truly treat your employees that way, they will treat your customers well, your customers will come back, and that’s what makes your shareholders happy. So there is no constituency at war with any other constituency. Ultimately, it’s shareholder value that you’re producing.

S+B: One of your values in the mission statement is humility as a corporation. With all of your wonderful results, is Southwest really humble?

KELLEHER: No question. I constantly have warned our people over the years that, as we became bigger and more successful, our primary potential enemy was ourselves, not our competitors. Getting cocky, getting complacent, thinking that the world was our oyster, disregarding our competitors, both new and old. I think humility is very important in keeping your eye on the carrot, keeping focused outwardly instead of inwardly, and knowing when you have to change. An investor in the airline industry some years ago that I was talking to said, “Southwest Airlines is the most humble and disciplined airline that I deal with.” I said, “The two go together.”

Jim_F

Indeed this is a shame. If only these folks knew that Tempe has the LARGEST university in the country, is home to Google's newest corporate office and has been named "All American City" twice in the last 20 years they might think twice before calling those folks in Tempe "idiots"

CLTFlyer

You can have a city full of Nobel Prize winners, Mensa members, and really smart folks, and yet, if there's an idiot there, there's an idiot from that town. I don't think anyone here is suggesting that everyone in Tempe is an idiot, just some of those working at the new US Airways HQ (and by their recent actions, they've given solid justification for being called idiots). I don't think anyone seemed to raise a ruckus when folks at Crystal City (in Arlington, VA) were called idiots on this board. And last time I checked, there were some pretty smart folks in the Arlington/No. Virginia area.

The shame in all this is that US is making stupid mistakes, after handling things well initially, post-merger, and that this board is degenerating into something akin to the WWF on its worst day. Everyone needs to lighten up a bit, and treat each other with some respect. If some folks want to wind everyone up - those that take the bait are just bringing them joy.

SS255

There are idiots in all geographical locations. Most of them don't rise to high level executive positions in corporations. I think we have to make a distinction between the dictionary definition of "idiot" and "people in management who make bad business decisions because they're out of touch with their employees/customer base/whatever." The latter aren't usually idiots. They're just bad managers, and they're rampant in corporate America.

ClueByFour

Folks, there are a bunch of warnings about to go out via PM, but it should be evident at this point that you really want to stay on topic at this point. Personal attacks, OMNIlike discussions, and metadiscussions about moderation are all not permitted. Hit the report post button if you see a problem.

noROCclub

My take: US didn't handle the roll-out well. There is no excuse for not handling reservations right (requiring that the city, state, and airport code be entered). There is also not excuse for not bending over backwards to help those who have had difficulties with the new website or with unintended consequences such as disappearing status. They should give people the benefit of the doubt for the next few weeks.

However, I have some appreciation of the huge task of merging the FF programs. At some point they had to freeze the old databases in order to combine them, while still allowing updates to occur between the freeze date and the "go live" date. It seems that is why miles earned between April 29 and May 20 will not appear online until then. Pessimists may assume that they are lost, but I think they will reappear (the glass is half full).

It is also apparent from reading multiple posts that previous HP (US West) folks have had an easier time that previous US (East) folks. They have not yet merged the reservations systems so I guess that is why reservatiions made at americawest.com are visible, but those made at usairways.com are not. I am willing to accept that inconvenience as long as the reservations are not screwed up.

While I think US needs to go the extra mile to placate inconveniences customers, I am also amazed at who many FT members seem to be taking the problems as a personal affront. I really appreciate the constructive efforts of people like PineyBob who seem to have no ulterior motive. Personally, I am way too busy to be excessively bothered by this fiasco. If the website is not working right by the time I book travel again, I may use another airline, or I may call US reservations and request that they waive the booking fee. Either way, my panties will not be too bunched.

There is one plus (maybe an error?). Last year, I flew 72,600 preferred miles. I emailed US when they announced the new platinum level and requested platinum status when the new program rolled out because I would have flown an extra trip on US had I known of the then program. Poof, I am now platinum (still US2 I guess). Hope it's not an error.

DC-USCP-UAPE

Well said. They claimed to be "full service, low cost", but have clearly sacrificed "full service" for the "low cost". Maybe they are correct and loyality is overrated. Over the last ten years it's been the Southwests and Jetblues of the world that have made money while the "full service" airlines lost money. Of course, that might be a problem with legacy costs, and not the business model. It'll be interesting to see how the Eos and MaxJet's do - new "full service" airlines - full service without the legacy cost hangovers.

In any case, I see no end in sight in swing to "low cost" at the expense of "full service". Although it does seem like they read this board just to see what they can cut next to drive us VFFs away. XOXOs, rollover miles for CP, and now water bottles. Talk about petty cost cuts.

dagwood

I am one of the US Air Frequent Flyers who is truly disappointed with the airline and I am out of here...

This flight to DCA is my last on US Air (I hope). Some moron greased the seat handles and got grease all over the seats....not just one or two, but all of them. At least five people on that flight had permanent stains on their suits and business clothes. This is bad on an early morning flight because I had to go direct to a customer site.

Anyway, that did it for me...but that was merely the last straw. I am tired of delays for up to an hour waiting for some idiot to drive the jetway. I am sick of bags being lost on every connection through PHL (I rarely check a bag). Heck they have even managed to lose my computer equipment they forced me to check because they did not board elites first at this airport (BWI) and instead just called all rows all passengers first.

I have had it and it is really sad, because I use dto think US Air was a quality organization.

I do work in IT in healthcare and I can say that if I performed a migration they way they did, I would be fired on the spot. It is sad and you can talk about complex systems integration, but I have done similar projects with not nearly this many problems.

I am gona try to get a couple of free tickets this year with my miles....maybe I can visit Peoria (for availability).

Anyone have recommendations on who works best from DAY?

I gave them as many chances as I can.

Mrp Alert

Yes - Please see Impportant Dividend Miles Announcement Email thread.