US Could Improve First Class by ____.

 
Old Feb 24, 2007, 10:39 pm
  #1  
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US Could Improve First Class by ____.

There are obvious answers to this question, but I'm more curious about the rather affordable, more-service oriented suggestions that our participants may have. We all talk about seats and glassware, but what else?

Some thoughts:

- Brand the experience as 'First' more prominently. Sort of like BA, but without, well lots. Make it something that feels worth PAYING for.

- Hot towels. Is it difficult or expensive? I wouldn't think so, but honestly don't know.

- Linens for our tray tables (btw, the 757 tables don't open if someone has their seat reclined in front of you)

- Carry Mumm Napa on board. Its not expensive and would fulfill a very First Class role. I won't bother asking for Veuve.
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Old Feb 24, 2007, 11:19 pm
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-Actually enforcing the "forward lav is reserved for F passengers" rule. It's not so much that I mind other PAX in the lav; god knows how many people have been in the lav that day, a few more won't hurt. It's the parade of people up and down the aisle that I find distracting and annoying. The aisle in F is not supposed to be a high-traffic area.

-Doing it all the same way. If you're going to place a bottle of water, pillow and blanket on the seat before boarding, do it that way on all the flights.

-A little more variety on the beer selection would be nice. Even if they keep only 4 beers at any one time, it'd be nice to see something other than bud/bud light/the other 2 I forget.

-The FA's should always call us by name.

Of course there's a ton of other suggestions (like don't take any more seats out!!!) but these are just cheap/free ones...
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Old Feb 25, 2007, 6:48 am
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-Recover the seats that some 4 year old has marked up with a crayon or cut up with scissors while playing with her cut out book....i might as well ride cattle class when i have to stare at that....

-as patti said, stop taking out the seats

-being the first off the plane (i.e 757, 767, 321, 330)

-upgrade the food options with some healthier options....one can only eat Cape Cods and that southwest pasta so much!!
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Old Feb 25, 2007, 7:08 am
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-Making sure the best and the brightest F/A's work F, and pass a test to do so (regardless of what the union thinks)

-Ensuring that each F passenger has adequate bin space (as well as enforcing the 1up/1down rule), and can be seated before other passengers are loaded.

-Stop monkeying with the seat and bin configs

-CONSISTENCY! Do it right, but do it the same way in F nationwide. If want a loyal following, give the customer something they know to expect, everytime, without exception. (pillows, hang up coats, rules, 2 liquor bottles, addressing names...not saying do all this, just be consistent across the fleet).
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Old Feb 25, 2007, 7:21 am
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-Calling "F pax preboarding" first...instead of Zone 1/2 and 75% of the plane RUNS to the gate....geeeeeeez...DoUgIe P should fly NW/CO/UA/AA sometime and see how they let the F cabin on first...and this would be FREE!

-Bring back meals on flights of 2 1/2 hours+. I have stated this a billion times, but I fly a LOT...like 250+ segments a year..and do not like to get to the airport an extra hour early to eat. And the cape cod chips on an 8 am flight PHL-MIA just dont cut it!

-Refurb some of the worst seats possible. 'nough said on this!

-Merge with UA and find out exactly HOW to treat F pax!
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Old Feb 25, 2007, 7:54 am
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Originally Posted by fishintheobx
-Making sure the best and the brightest F/A's work F, and pass a test to do so (regardless of what the union thinks)
Yes, Yes, Yes! This was my immediate thought when I read this thread.

It wouldn't cost them anything--they have to have an F/A up there anyway. So, let's make it someone who's been trained and is interested in the FC product and then the "certified" FC F/A works that position.

All the other suggestions--valid as they are--would diminish in their importance if each flight the FC pax experienced a warm, friendly, hospitable, service-oriented F/A each and every time who used their name, thanked them for their business, welcomed them on board, circulated often, etc.

A boy can dream.

I'd love to hear from GalleyWench on this idea.
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Old Feb 25, 2007, 9:30 am
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Originally Posted by EnvoyBoy
Yes, Yes, Yes! This was my immediate thought when I read this thread.

It wouldn't cost them anything--they have to have an F/A up there anyway. So, let's make it someone who's been trained and is interested in the FC product and then the "certified" FC F/A works that position.

All the other suggestions--valid as they are--would diminish in their importance if each flight the FC pax experienced a warm, friendly, hospitable, service-oriented F/A each and every time who used their name, thanked them for their business, welcomed them on board, circulated often, etc.

A boy can dream.

I'd love to hear from GalleyWench on this idea.
I love this idea. I actually have a couple FA's I would like to nominate.
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Old Feb 25, 2007, 10:31 am
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Originally Posted by EnvoyBoy
So, let's make it someone who's been trained and is interested in the FC product and then the "certified" FC F/A works that position.
Yeah...I have always thought this way, that alot of problems would fix themselves if you just had the right people working in F. Unfortunately, can you imagine the backlast from AFA if the company did this?!?
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Old Feb 25, 2007, 10:37 am
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Originally Posted by fishintheobx
Yeah...I have always thought this way, that alot of problems would fix themselves if you just had the right people working in F. Unfortunately, can you imagine the backlast from AFA if the company did this?!?
Not to mention the late night talk show hosts ! "So, I was riding on US the other day, and this 300lb FA in steerage....".
Nice idea, it just wouldn't work.
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Old Feb 25, 2007, 11:07 am
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Bring back the warm chocolate chip cookies.
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Old Feb 25, 2007, 11:42 am
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Originally Posted by EnvoyBoy
Yes, Yes, Yes! This was my immediate thought when I read this thread.

It wouldn't cost them anything--they have to have an F/A up there anyway. So, let's make it someone who's been trained and is interested in the FC product and then the "certified" FC F/A works that position.

All the other suggestions--valid as they are--would diminish in their importance if each flight the FC pax experienced a warm, friendly, hospitable, service-oriented F/A each and every time who used their name, thanked them for their business, welcomed them on board, circulated often, etc.

A boy can dream.

I'd love to hear from GalleyWench on this idea.
This will never happen, the AFA would not allow it. Selecting certain F/A's for F qualification will result in the seniority list being circumnavigated. The only way that this could be done would be for a dedicated Purser position to be created (rather than just a 'lead F/A'), and for that position to be applied for and awarded on merit as an internal promotion.

UA has a Purser programme - but it only applies to widebody fleet. On all narrowbodies - it's the lead F/A on the day who usually works First.

To be honest though - I don't think you need to segregate F qualifed F/A's, particularly on domestic. None of the other majors do it, including UA, and the product doesn't universally stink on those carriers. I used to work for BA and BA does not segregrate except for First on Longhaul 3/4 cabin flights. Anyone can work Club World, or Club Europe.

I've worked on a similar project to upgrade the front end experience in a management capacity at another carrier. IMHO, the key is to:
  • Upgrade the in-flight product, including meal and wine/beverage selections, with a focus on quality meals which are rotated regularly!
  • Upgrade the cabin environment, with refurbished seating, and branded soft articles like quality pillows, blankets, etc
  • Create some "on the ground" benefits like access to the Club lounges for full fare paid F, pre-boarding, extra baggage allowance etc.
  • Create a strong brand identity for the domestic F product. BA does this very well with it's Club Europe, Club World and First brands - and each brand has it's own distinct benefits and a strong market identity and recognition associated with it
  • Finally - train the team! Ground agents and CSA's should be trained to ensure better "on the ground recognition". Res agents should be trained to understand the benefits of the F product, and be able to offer a value proposition to customers - thereby increasing F revenue for US. FA's can do a 2 day workshop which focuses on the brand differentiators, the overall customer proposition, and the key elements / service standards for delivery of the product - and an emphasis on how important their role is in maintaining the overall proposition and product.

I've written and developed service manuals for F/A's, and I usually find that most F/A's actually WANT to provide a good service. The reason it is often inconsistent or the service is poor can usually be attributabed to not providing the right tools for the job, which not only lead to difficulties in physically delivering a good service, but also low morale. A lack of training and development also means many F/A's simply don't know what the company standards are, hence inconsistency.

Once the product is defined, it's very easy to set some key standards, such as "Pre-departure beverage should be served within X minutes of customer being seated. Offer to take jacket and take drink order for up to 4 customers at a time", or "Initial cocktail service should commence within X minutes of the seat belt sign being switched off after departure". It's not rocket science, but putting these standards in place, and following through with an easy to use intuitive service manual, combined with a training workshop - and you'll see wonders.

In my experience - if you follow these steps - you really don't need to segregate F/A's into two groups as to who can and can't work up front.

US - I'd be happy to come down to Tempe and give you a hand with your F Service overhaul and crew training

Last edited by SamuelS; Feb 25, 2007 at 11:48 am Reason: spelling!
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Old Feb 25, 2007, 1:02 pm
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Originally Posted by fishintheobx
-Making sure the best and the brightest F/A's work F, and pass a test to do so (regardless of what the union thinks)

-Ensuring that each F passenger has adequate bin space (as well as enforcing the 1up/1down rule), and can be seated before other passengers are loaded.

-Stop monkeying with the seat and bin configs

-CONSISTENCY! Do it right, but do it the same way in F nationwide. If want a loyal following, give the customer something they know to expect, everytime, without exception. (pillows, hang up coats, rules, 2 liquor bottles, addressing names...not saying do all this, just be consistent across the fleet).
On my one and only upgrade this year, the F/A (a guy probably in his 20's)was talking to the F passengers, he had only been out of training for a month. But he was one of the best F/A's I've seen.

My vote would be to have the number of seats equal to the other airlines, to enjoy the ammenities you have to get there first. They took the 4 seats off the A320, but on a flight I took last month (PIT/LAX) the last row in coach was blocked because of weight and balance. I knew about it because an F/A took a guy's duffle bag and told him she would strap it in that row. So what good did it do to squeeze in the extra coach seats. When I went to the rest room, I noticed the seats in that row were practically touching the seat in front of them. That combined with no recline, it would be hell to sit in that row.

First should be preboarded before the zone 1's, especially considering the bin space problems.
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Old Feb 25, 2007, 6:04 pm
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Originally Posted by PhillyPhlyer40
-Calling "F pax preboarding" first...instead of Zone 1/2 and 75% of the plane RUNS to the gate....geeeeeeez...DoUgIe P should fly NW/CO/UA/AA sometime and see how they let the F cabin on first...and this would be FREE!
I completely concur...boarding process on US, at PHL in particular, is ludicrous.


The return of meals on segments under 3 hours. And I am all for more F seats.
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Old Feb 25, 2007, 6:55 pm
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I shouldn't moan, as I have just had a lovely non-rev trip to the Bahamas.. But I have to say, if I were a paying F class passenger, I'd be somewhat disappointed. We flew on an aged 737, paint peeling off the outside.. not a good look. The F seats were covered in pen marks, the seat rests where drinks are placed was wobbly, flight of 3 hours but only 1 drink and a few nibbles.

Like I say, as a non-rev I DON'T COMPLAIN. However, had I been on holiday as a paying F passenger I would have been hugely unimpressed.

the service was outstanding.. the FA's were constantly attentive and helpful. The general F cabin environment was, though, woeful. It seemed dirty and uncared for.
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Old Feb 25, 2007, 8:12 pm
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Originally Posted by warbo
I shouldn't moan, as I have just had a lovely non-rev trip to the Bahamas.. But I have to say, if I were a paying F class passenger, I'd be somewhat disappointed. We flew on an aged 737, paint peeling off the outside.. not a good look. The F seats were covered in pen marks, the seat rests where drinks are placed was wobbly, flight of 3 hours but only 1 drink and a few nibbles.

Like I say, as a non-rev I DON'T COMPLAIN. However, had I been on holiday as a paying F passenger I would have been hugely unimpressed.

the service was outstanding.. the FA's were constantly attentive and helpful. The general F cabin environment was, though, woeful. It seemed dirty and uncared for.

I was on a 737-300 2 weeks ago and noticed the same thing. I was on N503UW (I think) and I had to work hard not to spill anything when I moved my arm. NOW, nevertheless, I still REALLY enjoyed the preferred upgrade, and the F/A's were outstanding in First that day, drink service the whole 2.5 hours, but it would be nice to improve the seats (in number and qty.)
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