Ya'know what's funny? Of all the "...since the merger" type complaints, this one (increased call-handling time) is by far the most on-target/legitimate and factual.

All sorts of new pressures have been put on phone agents including (just as one example) the amount of time they can take between calls to finish up, make notes, double-check the reservations they made (such time was variable based on elite status-- longest for CK, then EP etc.) and has been completely eliminated.

Morale and working conditions, needless to say, is absolutely in the toilet and it's really a very bad situation with hold times for a EP/CK agent routinely being much, much longer than historical-- yes, pre-merger-- standards.