A hitchhiker's guide to surviving an airline merger (or not) from DL/NW survivors
May 3, 2010, 9:27 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: CLE
Programs: UA 1K MM, DL Plat
Posts: 982
A hitchhiker's guide to surviving an airline merger (or not) from DL/NW survivors
I thought that a thread on living with an airline through a merger might be instructive here, since I know that there's a lot of NW/DL fliers (like myself) who jumped ship to CO during the Delta debacle of the last year. While any analogies to the CO/UA hookup will be anecdotal at best, until further details emerge, there are certain things that happen with any merger that CO fliers will doubtlessly encounter -- and some salutary lessons that CO/UA management ought to keep in mind while planning their operational strategy.
I was a long-term NW Plat who was absorbed into the Delta family during the merger. I watched as DL single-mindedly dismantled much of the value NW had created in WorldPerks, and tried to replace it with little more than a propaganda machine that (unsuccessfully) tried to convince us that the merger was creating value for us. You can read the DL board for the griping and whining in its entirety -- the lesson here for CO fliers is that if things get too bad during this merger, the probability of other airlines extending the olive branch to lure you away is virtually 100%. The lesson for CO mgmt is to remember that fact; since it would be a shame for them to lose more goodwill now, than they attracted during their highly-successful strategy of courting disgruntled DL FFs last year.
1) Airline IT systems are complex and archaic:
While CO/UA may not be quite as horrible as trying to co-mingle PARS and Deltamatic, it's very likely that there will be some pain as IT systems come together. This will undoubtedly result in some fare weirdness -- remember that ITA and Orbitz can be your friend -- and when push comes to shove, the airline will certainly prioritize getting things working for revenue activity before reward activity. One of the websites will go away, along with the features (or liabilities) that it provides. Buying a revenue ticket at a fair price may become a black art. Buying a reward ticket at a fair redemption rate may become an unattainable dream... Don't be afraid to speak up, and do it loudly. The purpose of a website is to empower your customers, and the purpose of a loyalty program is to build loyalty! If management is going to let IT problems destroy the value that millions of flight-hours has created over decades, that's a big warning sign that customer experience isn't high on the priority list of the new leadership. Take the hint and vote with your feet. Quickly.
2) Don't let the semi-merged airlines use one unit as an excuse for the failings of the other:
The misery of trying to fly on mixed NW/DL itineraries was epic, and there is no excuse for CO/UA not to do better. If the two airlines get into joint itineraries, and then refuse to help customers by blaming the other carrier, that's an enormous warning signal that things aren't going to go well for us, the flyer. From the moment they start selling and running co-mingled operations, you have the right to expect a seamless customer service experience from check-in to baggage claim. If CO tells you that you need to call UA, who tells you that you need to call CO, it's time to pack up for greener pastures. To this day, DL still shafts customers over old certificates and other remnants from the NW era... it is not to be tolerated. If they're ready to sell you a product, they'd better be ready to support it from Day 1.
3) Efficiencies in Customer Service shouldn't mean Worse Service:
Sooner or later, CO/UA will merge their call centers and front-of-house staff. CO people will encounter UA agents that don't know "their" system, terminology and rules. It's to be expected, and some amount of annoyance is unavoidable. The problems start when customer service starts re-writing the rules because management hasn't adequately trained them or set policy. The most common outcome is the infamous "No Waivers, No Favors" scenario, where to avoid inconsistency, management strips front-line agents of the ability to do anything that isn't strictly by the book. As loyal customers and frequent participants in an immensely complex system where a lot of definitely not-by-the-book situations can occur, this sort of draconic response to hide poor management cannot be allowed. Stay on the phone, ask for a supervisor, and don't give up! If you're still being treated unfairly, write a letter, and finally vote with your feet. Don't become the victim of an overly-hasty integration of staff, at your expense. Remember that the merger is creating a new company -- and a new company doesn't automatically have the right to expect your loyalty. Make them earn it, and make sure they know they have to!
4) Keep tabs on your perks, and fight for them:
NW/DL encountered a lot of disconnects between their pre-merger perks, where upgrades, rewards, service expectations, and partner operations were concerned. In most of those cases, DL chose to "temporarily" -- or usually permanently -- drop those benefits from their program, and point to other less-tangible, and usually far more restrictive, items as their replacements. FFs understandably went nuts, and some of these were brought back by management under duress. CO/UA may suffer from this same syndrome, since while they're getting close to merging perks, there are still a lot of differences between the two airlines' packages. Additionally, CO stripped down their front cabin to very few seats years ago -- at least compared to DL or other domestic carriers -- and flies a lot more RJs (and smaller planes in general) on as many routes as possible. So with a theoretical influx of a lot more Elite passengers, upgrades may become the achilles heel of this merger. Platinums can of course choose to bolt to another airline, but maintenance of a reasonable level of perks is something we'll have to fight for if the combined airline is one that makes sense to fly as your primary carrier for the future.
There's plenty more, and I hope that others will chime in as well. I admit that this scares me, as I'm already bone-weary and gun-shy from having lived through NW/DL -- and given it up as a lost cause, to come over here. I don't think I have the strength to shift everything over to OneWorld if this one goes sour!! Very likely I'll just change to a job that requires less travel and rediscover the joy of the great American roadtrip!
CO has been a great airline for many years. I hope they've learned lessons from watching DL -- and I hope that their flyers have as well, so that we can send up the red flag sooner, and keep the Delta Debacle from becoming the model by which CO/UA merge.
I was a long-term NW Plat who was absorbed into the Delta family during the merger. I watched as DL single-mindedly dismantled much of the value NW had created in WorldPerks, and tried to replace it with little more than a propaganda machine that (unsuccessfully) tried to convince us that the merger was creating value for us. You can read the DL board for the griping and whining in its entirety -- the lesson here for CO fliers is that if things get too bad during this merger, the probability of other airlines extending the olive branch to lure you away is virtually 100%. The lesson for CO mgmt is to remember that fact; since it would be a shame for them to lose more goodwill now, than they attracted during their highly-successful strategy of courting disgruntled DL FFs last year.
1) Airline IT systems are complex and archaic:
While CO/UA may not be quite as horrible as trying to co-mingle PARS and Deltamatic, it's very likely that there will be some pain as IT systems come together. This will undoubtedly result in some fare weirdness -- remember that ITA and Orbitz can be your friend -- and when push comes to shove, the airline will certainly prioritize getting things working for revenue activity before reward activity. One of the websites will go away, along with the features (or liabilities) that it provides. Buying a revenue ticket at a fair price may become a black art. Buying a reward ticket at a fair redemption rate may become an unattainable dream... Don't be afraid to speak up, and do it loudly. The purpose of a website is to empower your customers, and the purpose of a loyalty program is to build loyalty! If management is going to let IT problems destroy the value that millions of flight-hours has created over decades, that's a big warning sign that customer experience isn't high on the priority list of the new leadership. Take the hint and vote with your feet. Quickly.
2) Don't let the semi-merged airlines use one unit as an excuse for the failings of the other:
The misery of trying to fly on mixed NW/DL itineraries was epic, and there is no excuse for CO/UA not to do better. If the two airlines get into joint itineraries, and then refuse to help customers by blaming the other carrier, that's an enormous warning signal that things aren't going to go well for us, the flyer. From the moment they start selling and running co-mingled operations, you have the right to expect a seamless customer service experience from check-in to baggage claim. If CO tells you that you need to call UA, who tells you that you need to call CO, it's time to pack up for greener pastures. To this day, DL still shafts customers over old certificates and other remnants from the NW era... it is not to be tolerated. If they're ready to sell you a product, they'd better be ready to support it from Day 1.
3) Efficiencies in Customer Service shouldn't mean Worse Service:
Sooner or later, CO/UA will merge their call centers and front-of-house staff. CO people will encounter UA agents that don't know "their" system, terminology and rules. It's to be expected, and some amount of annoyance is unavoidable. The problems start when customer service starts re-writing the rules because management hasn't adequately trained them or set policy. The most common outcome is the infamous "No Waivers, No Favors" scenario, where to avoid inconsistency, management strips front-line agents of the ability to do anything that isn't strictly by the book. As loyal customers and frequent participants in an immensely complex system where a lot of definitely not-by-the-book situations can occur, this sort of draconic response to hide poor management cannot be allowed. Stay on the phone, ask for a supervisor, and don't give up! If you're still being treated unfairly, write a letter, and finally vote with your feet. Don't become the victim of an overly-hasty integration of staff, at your expense. Remember that the merger is creating a new company -- and a new company doesn't automatically have the right to expect your loyalty. Make them earn it, and make sure they know they have to!
4) Keep tabs on your perks, and fight for them:
NW/DL encountered a lot of disconnects between their pre-merger perks, where upgrades, rewards, service expectations, and partner operations were concerned. In most of those cases, DL chose to "temporarily" -- or usually permanently -- drop those benefits from their program, and point to other less-tangible, and usually far more restrictive, items as their replacements. FFs understandably went nuts, and some of these were brought back by management under duress. CO/UA may suffer from this same syndrome, since while they're getting close to merging perks, there are still a lot of differences between the two airlines' packages. Additionally, CO stripped down their front cabin to very few seats years ago -- at least compared to DL or other domestic carriers -- and flies a lot more RJs (and smaller planes in general) on as many routes as possible. So with a theoretical influx of a lot more Elite passengers, upgrades may become the achilles heel of this merger. Platinums can of course choose to bolt to another airline, but maintenance of a reasonable level of perks is something we'll have to fight for if the combined airline is one that makes sense to fly as your primary carrier for the future.
There's plenty more, and I hope that others will chime in as well. I admit that this scares me, as I'm already bone-weary and gun-shy from having lived through NW/DL -- and given it up as a lost cause, to come over here. I don't think I have the strength to shift everything over to OneWorld if this one goes sour!! Very likely I'll just change to a job that requires less travel and rediscover the joy of the great American roadtrip!
CO has been a great airline for many years. I hope they've learned lessons from watching DL -- and I hope that their flyers have as well, so that we can send up the red flag sooner, and keep the Delta Debacle from becoming the model by which CO/UA merge.
May 3, 2010, 10:07 am
#2
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Nice
Programs: Marriott Titanium, AA Concierge Key, Delta, United, Emorates, and others
Posts: 4,694
Surely rule number one is : Don't Panic!
It's hard to follow rule #1 when somebody tells you that your airline of choice is being decimated to make way for an interstellar bypass. Still, it is not as if we all have not been through these before and imagine that they will not be horribly disruptive.
So, rule number two seems to be: Panic now and run for the nearest non-merging airline! (Oops, that may be easier said than done.)
It's hard to follow rule #1 when somebody tells you that your airline of choice is being decimated to make way for an interstellar bypass. Still, it is not as if we all have not been through these before and imagine that they will not be horribly disruptive.
So, rule number two seems to be: Panic now and run for the nearest non-merging airline! (Oops, that may be easier said than done.)
May 3, 2010, 10:17 am
#3
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Tucson, AZ, USA. UA 1K, reluctant but * best in class * DL FO/MM. Former BA jumpseat rider and scourge of Dilbertian management and apologists. As LX might - and do - say: "....an experienced frequent flyer of international airlines"
Posts: 3,386
This scenario doesn't fill me with nearly as much concern as the DL one.
DL SM was unspeakable even before the merger. A quick read of the DL board was enough to tell any third party that there were serious issues. These of course got much worse, very quickly, because of the DL philosophy.
However, if anything, UA has a better program than CO. With my UA experiences so far, I haven't had CS issues the magnitude of which I've encountered on DL as a Plat Medallion....such doozies as Medallion Services reps, several of them, telling me that SkyMiles can't be redeemed on SQ, period...in direct contradiction to the T&C published on their own airline's website, which I read to them.
Now, I understand that agents may not be aware of all redemption options. But there's a big difference between, O I made a mistake, let me check on that, to the actual DL response... too bad, no, we can't do it!
There are so many other issues, including the utterly notorious bait and switch award redemption scenario, the lack of help during irops that are themselves created by internal DL dysfunctionality, and so on. The merger made all these problems much worse.
I flew FR last week and it was genuinely less hassle and a more satisfying experience than DL.
In the face of that abysmal level of "service" really UA can't do anything worse. SM is so bad, it fails to incentivize my revenue purchases, ever.
I am sure MP is viewed differently. I doubt highly that UA could make MP worse than SM, and for those transitioning from OP, 1K status offers some advantages over CO PE.
I am sure there will be problems. But I doubt they're going to be as severe as DLs.
DL SM was unspeakable even before the merger. A quick read of the DL board was enough to tell any third party that there were serious issues. These of course got much worse, very quickly, because of the DL philosophy.
However, if anything, UA has a better program than CO. With my UA experiences so far, I haven't had CS issues the magnitude of which I've encountered on DL as a Plat Medallion....such doozies as Medallion Services reps, several of them, telling me that SkyMiles can't be redeemed on SQ, period...in direct contradiction to the T&C published on their own airline's website, which I read to them.
Now, I understand that agents may not be aware of all redemption options. But there's a big difference between, O I made a mistake, let me check on that, to the actual DL response... too bad, no, we can't do it!
There are so many other issues, including the utterly notorious bait and switch award redemption scenario, the lack of help during irops that are themselves created by internal DL dysfunctionality, and so on. The merger made all these problems much worse.
I flew FR last week and it was genuinely less hassle and a more satisfying experience than DL.
In the face of that abysmal level of "service" really UA can't do anything worse. SM is so bad, it fails to incentivize my revenue purchases, ever.
I am sure MP is viewed differently. I doubt highly that UA could make MP worse than SM, and for those transitioning from OP, 1K status offers some advantages over CO PE.
I am sure there will be problems. But I doubt they're going to be as severe as DLs.
May 3, 2010, 2:13 pm
#4
Suspended
Join Date: Jun 2009
Programs: CharlesPoedyOB
Posts: 138
Those are some good points you have brought up. Hopefully this isn't going to affect us as much as we think. You never know though
May 3, 2010, 3:17 pm
#5
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: eastern Europe & NC
Posts: 4,527
The main key I will be watching is which airline's key people end up running the merged ff program. If it is the CO team with the CO rules, I will have much more confidence than if it is the UA team and UA rules. In particular, I do not want to see UA's infamous *net blocking.
I am a NW refugee, but would make another jump to AA if *net blocking looks like it will be part of the picture in the merged program.
I am a NW refugee, but would make another jump to AA if *net blocking looks like it will be part of the picture in the merged program.
May 3, 2010, 3:32 pm
#6
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: New York, NY
Programs: UA - 1K 1MM; Hyatt - Explorist; Marriott - Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 1,586
I think the bigger issue here will be that CO top tier is at 75K vs. 100K for UA. There will need to be some reconciliation of that so those of us that really did the time get preference on the upgrades. And please understand, I mean this for CO members as well. Those that put in 100K this year should get a crack at 1K when the merged program hits next year.
May 3, 2010, 8:18 pm
#7
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: WAS
Programs: BA Gold, HH
Posts: 673
as a NW "refugee" also, i agree with many of your points. i am hoping for the best of both programs. that said, i was also hopeful the NW/DL merger. 
you can't win them all. LOL
you can't win them all. LOL
May 3, 2010, 8:33 pm
#8
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: MD
Programs: WN Companion Pass, HH Gold
Posts: 30
On the bright side, with a Continental CEO (who cares about non-executive directory anyway) we can hope that Continental's customer service wins the war of mergings. Granted, unlike many I can assume, I haven't had a single bad UA experience since getting status - even as a low 2P.
--Me
P.S. And hopefully y'all will now get E+
May 3, 2010, 8:56 pm
#9
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: WAS
Programs: BA Gold, HH
Posts: 673
Though I may not be welcome here (being on the UA side of things for the time being), I too am a NW refugee. After NW got eaten, I gave Delta a fair shot, but ended up doing a status transfer to United due to being based close to IAD and because Delta service was miserable and Delta planes always seemed to be late.
On the bright side, with a Continental CEO (who cares about non-executive directory anyway) we can hope that Continental's customer service wins the war of mergings. Granted, unlike many I can assume, I haven't had a single bad UA experience since getting status - even as a low 2P.
--Me
P.S. And hopefully y'all will now get E+
On the bright side, with a Continental CEO (who cares about non-executive directory anyway) we can hope that Continental's customer service wins the war of mergings. Granted, unlike many I can assume, I haven't had a single bad UA experience since getting status - even as a low 2P.
--Me
P.S. And hopefully y'all will now get E+
still trying to be okay with DL but it is not working. from what i have seen so far with UA and CO, both are good. i hope they stay that way after the merger.
May 3, 2010, 9:08 pm
#10
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: IAD/PIT
Programs: UA 2P
Posts: 129
The main key I will be watching is which airline's key people end up running the merged ff program. If it is the CO team with the CO rules, I will have much more confidence than if it is the UA team and UA rules. In particular, I do not want to see UA's infamous *net blocking.
I am a NW refugee, but would make another jump to AA if *net blocking looks like it will be part of the picture in the merged program.
I am a NW refugee, but would make another jump to AA if *net blocking looks like it will be part of the picture in the merged program.
May 3, 2010, 9:33 pm
#11
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: AA LT Plat, UA 1k/1mm+, National EE, IC Plat, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 2,605
Wow! If you think that CO has limited F seats and flies a lot of RJs...you ain't seen nothing yet!
I think the bigger issue here will be that CO top tier is at 75K vs. 100K for UA. There will need to be some reconciliation of that so those of us that really did the time get preference on the upgrades. And please understand, I mean this for CO members as well. Those that put in 100K this year should get a crack at 1K when the merged program hits next year.
I think the bigger issue here will be that CO top tier is at 75K vs. 100K for UA. There will need to be some reconciliation of that so those of us that really did the time get preference on the upgrades. And please understand, I mean this for CO members as well. Those that put in 100K this year should get a crack at 1K when the merged program hits next year.
May 3, 2010, 11:30 pm
#12
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: eastern Europe & NC
Posts: 4,527
It all depends on where you are based and where you fly. For those of us who live and work in eastern Europe, *net blocking dwarfs all other issues combined. If you only fly domestic in the US and never hope to travel to or within Europe, then it might not be important. DL's approach has been to focus on benefits to domestic-only flyers while royally screwing those of us who fly internationally. UA already does that with *net blocking so I hope that will not carry over into the new program. *net blocking was the main reason I chose CO over UA when I fled the DL takeover of NW.