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Welcome speech - attendant discretion or driven by analytics?

Welcome speech - attendant discretion or driven by analytics?

Old Sep 24, 2018, 5:36 pm
  #16  
 
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I find it more offensive when the FAs take their time to thank DMs and Pms but forget about Golds and Silvers.
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Old Sep 25, 2018, 8:22 am
  #17  
 
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Last year, I was heading back to Florida on what was Spring Break getaway day for the GRR local K-12 school districts. I'm guessing 80%+ infrequent leisure travelers on the first leg because the FA on the GRR-ATL flight gave a 2-3 minute talk on the Skymiles program and why you should sign up, Delta miles never expire, etc. and there was surprisingly no mention of the co-branded AmEx credit card involved.

So there apparently are other targeted messages the FAs are encouraged to give.
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Old Sep 25, 2018, 8:33 am
  #18  
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Originally Posted by beachmouse
Last year, I was heading back to Florida on what was Spring Break getaway day for the GRR local K-12 school districts. I'm guessing 80%+ infrequent leisure travelers on the first leg because the FA on the GRR-ATL flight gave a 2-3 minute talk on the Skymiles program and why you should sign up, Delta miles never expire, etc. and there was surprisingly no mention of the co-branded AmEx credit card involved.

So there apparently are other targeted messages the FAs are encouraged to give.
If this is true I think that answers my question. I doubt any FA would normally give that speech of that length and detail out of their own discretion. It seems like there is some sort of prompting that goes on with their devices to tell them what to say/focus on.

Probably too long ago to remember, but did the speech sound "canned" (i.e., read from the device) or was it more organic from memory?
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Old Sep 25, 2018, 8:50 am
  #19  
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Originally Posted by ethernal
I'm not sure how that's relevant to my question. Either it was Delta prompted or it was flight attendant discretion. Presumably if it was a group that she found out was for a memorial service then it would be FA discretion (I doubt Delta's system would have picked up on it whereas I could see it using demographic data).

To answer your question, though, I don't think this is the case. The nametags the folks are wearing are for a company that seems to specialize in leisure tours.
Leisure tour companies often organized tours for veterans groups.
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Old Sep 25, 2018, 9:07 am
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by ethernal
If this is true I think that answers my question. I doubt any FA would normally give that speech of that length and detail out of their own discretion. It seems like there is some sort of prompting that goes on with their devices to tell them what to say/focus on.

Probably too long ago to remember, but did the speech sound "canned" (i.e., read from the device) or was it more organic from memory?
I seem to remember thinking it sounded like she was going down a list of bullet points, so probably something from their tablet/phones being covered.
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Old Sep 25, 2018, 11:37 am
  #21  
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Originally Posted by beachmouse
I seem to remember thinking it sounded like she was going down a list of bullet points, so probably something from their tablet/phones being covered.
could have also been a new/trainee FA. they just read the script that is handed to them. one time on some regional airline (CR200 so only one FA as I recall), there was a huge book she was literally reading out of for the safety speech and all the other nonsense they fill the airwaves with. the more experienced FAs who have the speeches down tend to ad lib a lot more.

that said, i'm confident DL has the ability to push messages/manifestos/canned speeches/what have you to FAs and probably expects them to read it, perhaps even going so far as having "secret traveler auditors" to check if they actually do. whether or not they exercise this ability, i am not sure.
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Old Sep 25, 2018, 2:23 pm
  #22  
 
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Originally Posted by HWGeeks
I find it more offensive when the FAs take their time to thank DMs and Pms but forget about Golds and Silvers.
They are not forgetting anything ...

As for the OP's observation. The more the FA talk the less people listen and will pay attention. People started paying attention to the safety briefing because Delta changed it up enough that it was entertaining to watch.
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Old Sep 26, 2018, 5:56 am
  #23  
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Originally Posted by FlyingUnderTheRadar
They are not forgetting anything ...

As for the OP's observation. The more the FA talk the less people listen and will pay attention. People started paying attention to the safety briefing because Delta changed it up enough that it was entertaining to watch.
Not as entertaining as Turkish Airlines though....

Also I find the new one about the uniforms to be HORRIBLY boring and makes me zone out.

FlyingUnderTheRadar and tvtd like this.
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Old Sep 26, 2018, 8:38 am
  #24  
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Originally Posted by vincentharris
Not as entertaining as Turkish Airlines though....

Also I find the new one about the uniforms to be HORRIBLY boring and makes me zone out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2hCN6cVuqM
Hah - that's pretty funny. Completely off topic but I refuse to fly Turkish though. They're incredibly petty about IRROPS. Paid J ticket connecting to a *A partner in BKK - a maintenance delay in IST resulted in me missing the light. Next flight out to my destination was 16 hours later the next day. Neither TK or TG were willing to rebook me on any of the dozen or so non-S* flights (even in Economy) because their "systems wouldn't let them." I said fine, I'll book it myself and ask for reimbursement. Booked a $156 AirAsia flight (obviously in Economy versus the lie-flat J I had on TG) so I would turn a 16 hour delay into a 3 hour one. Filed for reimbursement and it got rejected (and no refund for the unused portion of the original ticket). What a joke!
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Old Sep 27, 2018, 12:16 am
  #25  
 
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Originally Posted by ethernal
If this is true I think that answers my question. I doubt any FA would normally give that speech of that length and detail out of their own discretion. It seems like there is some sort of prompting that goes on with their devices to tell them what to say/focus on.
I guess you think 45 seconds is a lengthy speech? I hear messages for close to 3-4 minutes on DL all the time and it does sound like they are reading from a script. I don't sit in FC so I cannot see the person making the announcements, to see if (s)he is actually reading from a script, but it does always follow the same patterns.
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Old Sep 27, 2018, 6:07 am
  #26  
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Originally Posted by ethernal
Hah - that's pretty funny. Completely off topic but I refuse to fly Turkish though. They're incredibly petty about IRROPS. Paid J ticket connecting to a *A partner in BKK - a maintenance delay in IST resulted in me missing the light. Next flight out to my destination was 16 hours later the next day. Neither TK or TG were willing to rebook me on any of the dozen or so non-S* flights (even in Economy) because their "systems wouldn't let them." I said fine, I'll book it myself and ask for reimbursement. Booked a $156 AirAsia flight (obviously in Economy versus the lie-flat J I had on TG) so I would turn a 16 hour delay into a 3 hour one. Filed for reimbursement and it got rejected (and no refund for the unused portion of the original ticket). What a joke!
IIRC Turkey follows the EC261 regulations, so you may have been able to get compensation for the delay. Alternatively did you ask them to refund the delayed asegment (check the T&C for this) rather than reimburse you for the new ticket you purchased. You might be able to get a partial refund from your credit card too.
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Old Sep 27, 2018, 6:43 am
  #27  
 
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Originally Posted by vincentharris
Not as entertaining as Turkish Airlines though....

Also I find the new one about the uniforms to be HORRIBLY boring and makes me zone out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2hCN6cVuqM
Oh. My. Gosh. This wins all the inter webs today.
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Old Sep 27, 2018, 7:24 am
  #28  
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Originally Posted by MSPeconomist
IIRC Turkey follows the EC261 regulations, so you may have been able to get compensation for the delay. Alternatively did you ask them to refund the delayed asegment (check the T&C for this) rather than reimburse you for the new ticket you purchased. You might be able to get a partial refund from your credit card too.
Turkish Airlines claims they follow EU261 but have no legal need to do so (unless flying ex-EU). Turkey has its own EU261-like regulation but is very ambiguous about connections. I filed a complaint with the Turkish regulator, followed up three times, and never got a response. So clearly enforcement is lacking - I assume TK is too connected to the increasingly autocratic state for any real regulatory backlash.

To complicate things further, it was UA ticket stock. UA tells me that Turkey is responsible to dole out compensation (and as far as I know they are correct). UA offered me 25K miles or $250 voucher as goodwill but I declined them because they are not responsible. Similarly, a credit card chargeback just impacts UA, not TK - and I'm not about to risk my UA account over $150.

Thai told me that TK is liable but offered me the great circle value of the total price of the ticket I did not fly as a voucher, but my total flight was about 12K miles and the last leg was only 500 miles so it was both trivial and I do not expect to fly Thai again in the next year so I declined the comp.

TK says they got me to my connecting destination "with only a 1h55m delay" and that they took care of me by offering a hotel, food vouchers, and next available flight rebooking (which I declined).

It's partly my fault for a complex itin (UA ticket stock with TK and TG legs) but I was flabbergasted that TK would fight me over a $150 comp claim (which was less than the value of the hotel and food vouchers I was offered). I didn't even try to claim the comp for the taxi trom BKK to DMG.

Point is, cute video but don't fly TK unless it's a nonstop. Sorry to run offtopic!
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Old Sep 27, 2018, 7:29 am
  #29  
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Originally Posted by teddybear99
I guess you think 45 seconds is a lengthy speech? I hear messages for close to 3-4 minutes on DL all the time and it does sound like they are reading from a script. I don't sit in FC so I cannot see the person making the announcements, to see if (s)he is actually reading from a script, but it does always follow the same patterns.
For something completely unrelated to the flight or Delta yes, I think 45 seconds is lengthy (and it may have been longer, just wanted to make it clear it wasn't just a one liner).
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Old Sep 27, 2018, 9:06 am
  #30  
 
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Originally Posted by ethernal
Does anyone know?
It is entirely possible the passenger manifest included military members on official travel. The different military branches go back and forth on uniform requirements when traveling on official travel.
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