DO Q&A: Product and Technology/CO.com
 

I’ll post the questions/answers from the following sessions. These answers are paraphrased because I didn’t get everything word-for-word because it was moving too quickly. Also, it’s possible that I misheard things, so don’t flame me when it’s not 100% accurate. The format isn't perfect, but I was trying to get this up ASAP.

Continental Product #1: Session #1
I was a few minutes late (darn MT2) so I missed a bit

What’s the cost of the Live TV?
$6

Can we get meals for cash at non-meal time?
Not going to happen for several reasons. This would lead to significant customer confusion (when does mealtime end, “last year, you served lunch on this flight now you didn’t. You’re only doing this to make money from me”). Also, the inventory would be too difficult. It would cost money to overstock and would upset customers if they understocked.

They also commented that they plan on going to a cash-less cabin. It’ll be easier for the FAs.

Can we use CO Currency for Live TV?
They are exploring it. Currently, it’ll be a credit card only system. The FAs will be empowered to turn it on universally during long delays!

Live TV has been unreliable on other carriers (DL specifically). What is CO doing to ensure it works?
CO is using newer software and it is much more reliable. Other notes: The Live TV is much more established than broadband and will be better than Internet access would have been at this time. TV will also be enabled gate-to-gate.

Why not include the upgraded meals/TV cost into a ticket purchase?
Fulfillment is difficult (What if you switch seats?). Credit cards require no FA interaction. Also, when people look on travel sites for tickets, they aren’t going to consider the extra services they get from CO. They will see a cheaper price somewhere else and take it.
Follow-up: Can we pick meals at check-in, this ensures everyone gets what they want?
CO is concerned about disappointing customers (what if you change your mind?). It would also be difficult for FAs.

What’s the seat config for the 787?
Plane was ordered in 2004 and won’t deliver until 2011, so seat config isn’t totally set yet. However, it’ll be 2-2-2 up front & 3-3-3 in Y. the BF:Y ratio will be the same as current planes.

We like the Internet… when will we get it?
The “kiteline project” is in the works. It’ll be limited wi-fi (1 MHz spectrum) where you can email, text and have some internet (shopping) capabilities. If it’s a no-goo, full broadband would be the next step. It’d be $10-$13, depending on flight length. CO considers Live TV a “killer app for most people.”

Other airlines (int’l) have folding cupholders and some have holes in tray tables for drinks. Why doesn’t CO?
The folding ones break way too readily. They’d rather not have something than have it broken consistently and upsetting the customers. They didn’t address the holes-in-the-tray-tables part.

The seats are hard and we chose other airlines because of it on long flights. Can this be rectified?
“We’re looking into it” and “we hear you”. But right now, it’s too expensive to do across the board. Average seat life is 6-7 years. TV is more important than seats at this time. The 752 has the new standard seat.

How can we let FA’s know to wake us for meals? Other airlines use stickers.
“Good suggestion. We’ll pass it on.” (Personally, I thought you put your tray table down)

Chautauqua/CRJ is used for CMH (a flight of 2.5 hrs). This is too long to comfortably be on one of these planes. What can be done since we refuse to take the CRJ on a flight of that length?
There are now only 25 CRJs used and they’re flying less and less. (They actually fly 1 735, 1 733, 2 CRJ and 1 ERJ on IAH-CMH. It’s only scheduled as 2:32, so flight time is much less… I’m on it tomorrow. I’ll post the actual airtime in the 735).

Why not put a BF lounge in EWR (like other int’l carriers)?
Jokingly: “because you get good food on a plane”. Seriously, they then said “because it has to be special for BF” and it’s currently a capital issue. It would also have to be large and (like anything else in NY) is very expensive.

What’s the lie-flat seat ratio?
They’re not reducing seats up front b/c they “need to protect revenue.”

Follow-up: BF to Air Mike?
Not now. They reiterated, “We’re proud of our history there.”

There is no face spritz or facial cleanser in the BF amenity kit. Can they put some in the BF lav instead?
They were unaware that it wasn’t in the BF kit and will look into it. (The panel employees seemed very interested in this).

Why can’t we get E+?
We won’t do it unless it’s clear that it’s working at UA. Looking at earnings releases, it’s clearly not. It’s “hard to believe” that it generates more revenue than it costs.

Continental.com & Customer Technology: Session 2

On the panel:
Jarrod: Everything check-in related, customer “self support”, voice automation, EUA
Carla: Product management, understanding business needs from mktg, car/hotel reservations on CO.com
Aaron Heinz: Customer technology

We want BPs without the ads (more clear than it currently is at the bottom in tiny print).
We’ll look into different placement.

Can we get gate passes with our PC card without bothering with agents because they don’t understand the process (AMEN)?
We will leverage the efficiency of the process with time.

Can we get a photo on the PC card for lifetime/3-yr members to bypass the gate pass and not require our ID inside the club?
Would require TSA approval to bypass the gate passes, but corporate security will work with TSA to see if there’s a reasonable solution. The ID requirement is necessary to protect the integrity of the PC… they’ll look into the idea of putting your picture on it.

Can we put CO currency on the mag strip?
Not quick, but it’s in their sights.

When can we use mobile BP’s in all locations?
It’s currently in 8 locations and TSA partnership will help with Star alliance. They’re working on a coordinated effort so each airline doesn’t require a special agreement/process with TSA.

Why are we still on Shares? Will it change with Star?
It’s been around a while and is critical. Moving away is hard. Anything is possible, but it’s not in the current plans. Customers should not see it anywhere, but it still runs the back-end process.

When will we get gate displays for upgrade lists, etc?
IAH will have it in select parts this quarter. They need to be sure that GA’s have the same info as customers. They currently have to pull the info, while it would be automatically on the display, which could be an issue.

They could select flights on TAM, but couldn’t book it. What’s up?
There are improvements coming in the next year.

Can’t get int’l BP online, why? Also, if I’m on (domestic)-EWR-(int’l) I should be able to get the first BP.
You can get int’l BP online, but you must have your passport and info verified/swiped at an airport for the first time to have a stored profile. They used to allow manual passport info entry online but stopped for obvious reasons. The airport check is also required for visa laws at many locations.

Can you improve the online reliability & BF upgrade re-issues?
We’re working on it. There is a swat team working on it because the success rate is not where they want it.

Gmail accounts don’t send info to CO email addresses. And geeks want to save BP’s… don’t go paperless, ever!
They were unaware of the gmail problem. Also, their main goal is to “give you options” not take away options. So don’t plan on going paperless soon.

Can we save exit rows for elites at check-in?
Most customers are now checking in at the 20-24 hour mark. There is very little seat movement in the T-24 hour time frame so they don’t think it’s a major issue. Shares is also supposed to start at back-front to fill empty seats for non-elites, but this can be over-ridden by Gas.

Rewards on AF are cancelled by AF again and again.
They know it’s an issue and are working on it. It requires alliance cooperation to fix.

Why don’t rewards online match what you can get on the phone?
When you call, you have the agent’s years of knowledge and online is suited for easy use. They will work to put more options in our hands (specific connections, airlines, etc)

Why does it show premium award availability when it’s not available on all/the majority of the segments?
They will revisit it. Also, it would prohibit some connections (on planes without FC cabin, etc).

Flight status notification is not up to date and rolling delay info would be nice.
They are working with FSN to improve reliability. Then they will look to add other options.

Thanks! Very informative. I attended OnePass and Alliances and Continental Product and was very curious what were talked about in the other topics.

This is not correct. There are a number of technical issues around some awards displaying (or not displaying).

AS awards, for example, have been problematic for a while -- CO agents can't see them reliably in Shares, but online you can. Just the other day, an agent couldn't see a seat that was there and refused to sell it in manually. I had to build a record with the AS segments only, just to have him modify that and build the rest of what I needed on my record.

Sorry I am missing something here, but what 'gmail problem'?

IAHTraveler, did you miss the Proprietary and Confidential on the title slide?

I was in the first Technology session and the screen was blank the entire time. Granted, our session wasn't nearly as informative as what was posted.

Yeah , there was no structure to our session .

Empirical evidence suggests that this is just plain wrong. The elite section is almost always full (and not just full of elites). The empty seats always seem to be in the back. When I have complained about this in the past I was told that standby seats are filled front to back. Going the other direction would be a BIG improvement.

A lady said that if she sends from gmail to a CO.com email address, it's not received. They didn't really cover this and I've had no problems sending to CO email addresses from my gmail account.

Where was this?!? This was in Larry's session, but I didn't see it on the breakout sessions. If others feel that I'm wrong, please send me a msg and I'll have it removed.


Also, Channa and xyzzy, I don't disagree with you at all. I just put down the panel's answers.

That was only for the Larry and Jeff show, I thought. The smaller breakouts didn't have projections.

That's because everyone was busy making fun of CLE (the "hublet" :D) and shooting raw invective at the EWR guy.

That was the second session (Hubs), my comment was for the first breakout session (Tech and Product)

Ahhh. Glad to know the lack of structure was everywhere. My Alliances and OP session unraveled pretty nicely too.

So true. And, unfortunately, the CO representatives didn't seem to care much about the ideas/problems that were being raised. I sensed a much different tone this year compared to the last DO. :(

I know. I was the one who asked the question. I didn't want to get into a whole, "You're wrong!" argument at the DO.

No problems at all here, I have conversed with Scott via gmail fine,a and get all my boarding passes on gmail in PDF form. Works perfect as an archive!