Suggestions for Small Improvements in Int'l F
Mar 1, 2012, 10:15 am
#46
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My experience of 3 class F wasn't so bad. Actually, every time I've flown F domestic or intl, the FAs have always called me by name, and then I'd have to ask them to just call me by my first name. I can't for some reason get used to "Mr. LastName"
From a customer experience, I think the airline needs to upgrade its crew rest facilities, i.e. they have their own lavs, their own sleeping/lounging areas, their own dining facilities, so that the only crew members present in the F cabin are FAs who are actively serving the cabin. Of course I don't mind pilots being there as I like talking with pilots but I can see how others may be annoyed by it. Definitely Bose headsets should be provided.
I think another thing they could do is kick out the obvious NRSA folks. This means no one in uniform can be sitting in the F cabin, even if they're on a paid ticket out of their own pocket. Kinda like pilots even when off duty flying on a revenue ticket out of their own pocket cannot be seen drinking while in uniform. No passenger should be able to recognize an NRSA pax in the F cabin, unless the pax knows the person from somewhere else.
The best aspect of the 747 F cabin is the exclusivity of it. No one ever walks through the cabin unless it is a FA who is actively serving the cabin. They should take some elements of that and apply it to 767/777 F cabins.
There should always be two lavs available for the F cabin, and there should be something done to differentiate it. From what I remember, it was basically just your ordinary aircraft lavatory, nothing special.
Food should definitely be upgraded. F should be a buffet. Pax should not have to pick from a menu. Pax should see the cart being wheeled out and be able to pick from whatever they want on the cart, and experience say the beef tenderloin being cut just before being served, the salad being made exactly as the pax wants it. Ice cream sundaes being made at the seat, etc. This process could even be customized so if everyone in the cabin just wants a quick to go box, the FA could do that as well.
IMO, the F cabin should be way over catered. C cabin can be a much more utilitarian version of F. All the comforts of F with half the fuss.
The way I see it is, if you want to sleep, that's what C is for. If you want an experience, you have to step up to F. If you just want to go somewhere in one piece, well, there's this ghastly thing called Y...
From a customer experience, I think the airline needs to upgrade its crew rest facilities, i.e. they have their own lavs, their own sleeping/lounging areas, their own dining facilities, so that the only crew members present in the F cabin are FAs who are actively serving the cabin. Of course I don't mind pilots being there as I like talking with pilots but I can see how others may be annoyed by it. Definitely Bose headsets should be provided.
I think another thing they could do is kick out the obvious NRSA folks. This means no one in uniform can be sitting in the F cabin, even if they're on a paid ticket out of their own pocket. Kinda like pilots even when off duty flying on a revenue ticket out of their own pocket cannot be seen drinking while in uniform. No passenger should be able to recognize an NRSA pax in the F cabin, unless the pax knows the person from somewhere else.
The best aspect of the 747 F cabin is the exclusivity of it. No one ever walks through the cabin unless it is a FA who is actively serving the cabin. They should take some elements of that and apply it to 767/777 F cabins.
There should always be two lavs available for the F cabin, and there should be something done to differentiate it. From what I remember, it was basically just your ordinary aircraft lavatory, nothing special.
Food should definitely be upgraded. F should be a buffet. Pax should not have to pick from a menu. Pax should see the cart being wheeled out and be able to pick from whatever they want on the cart, and experience say the beef tenderloin being cut just before being served, the salad being made exactly as the pax wants it. Ice cream sundaes being made at the seat, etc. This process could even be customized so if everyone in the cabin just wants a quick to go box, the FA could do that as well.
IMO, the F cabin should be way over catered. C cabin can be a much more utilitarian version of F. All the comforts of F with half the fuss.
The way I see it is, if you want to sleep, that's what C is for. If you want an experience, you have to step up to F. If you just want to go somewhere in one piece, well, there's this ghastly thing called Y...
Just curious - what is NRSA? I googled it, and came up with "non-revenue space available." If so, how could someone be NRSA on a paid revenue ticket out of their own pocket?
Mar 1, 2012, 10:23 am
#47
Join Date: Oct 2009
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Try the VS Clubhouse at LHR - though I don't want to go too off topic and flog a horse that's been whipped many times over
I like for orders to be taken early, even before departure, within reason (ie, without being invasive or obnoxious in any way). Once you take off, come up, offer me a drink and some warm nuts and perhaps an amuse, and ask me when would I like to eat. If the answer is ASAP, serve as you do today (I usually sit in the front cabin of 777s and can see FAs serving desserts to F pax when we still haven't gotten our mains in the C cabin). On an overnight, that would be my answer. If I'm on a 5000+ daytime flight from Europe to the west coast, and want to have a couple of drinks, and start eating in an hour, at a leisurely pace, indulge me. It costs nothing, and makes all the difference in the world.
Mar 1, 2012, 10:46 am
#48
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: IAH, HOU
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I flew TG F last year from BKK-SYD, and then UA F SYD-SFO. Obviously it's like comparing two different classes of service.
I believe there are a few things that could be done that would make the difference less significant. I think all of these have been said, but it needs to be repeated.
- FA service: Not sure if it was the age difference between the airline crews, but the UA FA's behaved so jaded and spent so much time in their rest area, that it was annoying to have to get up to ask for drinks, vs. having the FA stop by to check if I needed a refill.
- PJs/Slippers: Even AA is doing this now.
- Good Champagne: Would be nice to have some Dom in first, but even if they don't go that far, it'd be nice to have something better than what you get in C
- Caviar: This part of the TG F experience made flying in F different enough from what I was used to in other airlines' C cabin that I would love to see it again.
Hopefully they can implement these changes before my next F flight in May (FRA-IAD).
Off thread, why do we need to use the shoulder strap in F alone?
I believe there are a few things that could be done that would make the difference less significant. I think all of these have been said, but it needs to be repeated.
- FA service: Not sure if it was the age difference between the airline crews, but the UA FA's behaved so jaded and spent so much time in their rest area, that it was annoying to have to get up to ask for drinks, vs. having the FA stop by to check if I needed a refill.
- PJs/Slippers: Even AA is doing this now.
- Good Champagne: Would be nice to have some Dom in first, but even if they don't go that far, it'd be nice to have something better than what you get in C
- Caviar: This part of the TG F experience made flying in F different enough from what I was used to in other airlines' C cabin that I would love to see it again.
Hopefully they can implement these changes before my next F flight in May (FRA-IAD).
Off thread, why do we need to use the shoulder strap in F alone?
Mar 1, 2012, 11:01 am
#49
Join Date: Jul 2008
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It's sad reading through this thread and knowing that despite many of these suggestions being very small and minor, they nevertheless have little to no chance of ever getting implemented.
I'd live with them just training the FAs to walk quietly and softly. It's amazing flying other carriers like SQ and never hearing the FAs walk by. They make the UA FAs sound like elephants in comparison.
I'd live with them just training the FAs to walk quietly and softly. It's amazing flying other carriers like SQ and never hearing the FAs walk by. They make the UA FAs sound like elephants in comparison.
Mar 1, 2012, 11:24 am
#50
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One thing I hate in premium cabins is having to get up to ask for a refill, or wait around. (I know I could press the button, but I always feel weird for doing it.) It's one thing I happen to love about LY F - they always have FAs there waiting for me for anything. They're kind of in the background and not a bother, but they don't just sit around forcing me to get up to them, or do "sweeps" periodically. (They do the sweeps as well.)
Mar 1, 2012, 12:21 pm
#51
Join Date: Sep 2007
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1. In US hubs, make all arrangements permitted by TSA to expedite security. Situation at IAD, at least, is deplorable.
2. For arrivals at IAD, fully research availability of alternatives to putting 1st class pax on that awful mobile lounge to get to immigration. No, Mercedes sedans a la LH not required, but there's got to be an alternative.
3. Improve the FC lounges. I'm sorry, but when I was at the FC lounge at IAD in December, the only vessel for the make tour own coffee was a styrofoam cup. And the atmosphere of these places is depressing.
4. Break all union agreements relating to NRSA's and cabin assignments. I did NOT, on a 8/2010 LHR-IAD in F, appreciate having to wait for a FA to bring me a scotch because this grouchy dragon was too busy yucking it up about labor strife with an NRSA. Completely inappropriate subject matter and completely inappropriate to make me wait.
5. Upgrade the liquor. No, I do not want to be told to refer to Hemispheres to find out that the best scotch I can have is Dewars. And, given that the liquor is free, just pour it from a standard bottle - if I think an FA shorted me, I'll just request more.
6. Provide a decent cheese plate, and I mean a real, "artisinal" cheese plate which has been properly tempered prior to service. Cold bricks of cheese I can get at a decent grocery store are unacceptably cheap and uninspired.
7. Avoid, at all costs, presenting snacks in ordinary commercial wrapping - seeing that all I'm getting is Walkers shortbread, kit kats, or pepperidge farms cheese detracts from the cache of first class travel.
2. For arrivals at IAD, fully research availability of alternatives to putting 1st class pax on that awful mobile lounge to get to immigration. No, Mercedes sedans a la LH not required, but there's got to be an alternative.
3. Improve the FC lounges. I'm sorry, but when I was at the FC lounge at IAD in December, the only vessel for the make tour own coffee was a styrofoam cup. And the atmosphere of these places is depressing.
4. Break all union agreements relating to NRSA's and cabin assignments. I did NOT, on a 8/2010 LHR-IAD in F, appreciate having to wait for a FA to bring me a scotch because this grouchy dragon was too busy yucking it up about labor strife with an NRSA. Completely inappropriate subject matter and completely inappropriate to make me wait.
5. Upgrade the liquor. No, I do not want to be told to refer to Hemispheres to find out that the best scotch I can have is Dewars. And, given that the liquor is free, just pour it from a standard bottle - if I think an FA shorted me, I'll just request more.
6. Provide a decent cheese plate, and I mean a real, "artisinal" cheese plate which has been properly tempered prior to service. Cold bricks of cheese I can get at a decent grocery store are unacceptably cheap and uninspired.
7. Avoid, at all costs, presenting snacks in ordinary commercial wrapping - seeing that all I'm getting is Walkers shortbread, kit kats, or pepperidge farms cheese detracts from the cache of first class travel.
Mar 1, 2012, 1:18 pm
#52
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: The opinion expessed here are not necessarly those of United Airlines or any affiliates or subsidiaries of UAL Corp..
Posts: 768
I know that on LH they also have a selections of teas.
Mar 1, 2012, 1:23 pm
#53
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1K, HH Diamond
Posts: 173
On UA Int'l flts all cabins have a selection of teas (tea bags). Green tea, Oolong. Camomile and a plain tea. In Int'l F there is also Mint, Earl Grey, Lemon Ginger, & Darjeeling tea. (if catering remembers to put them on)
I know that on LH they also have a selections of teas.
I know that on LH they also have a selections of teas.
What brand is the tea?
Mar 1, 2012, 1:23 pm
#54
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: The opinion expessed here are not necessarly those of United Airlines or any affiliates or subsidiaries of UAL Corp..
Posts: 768
That comes from the FAA suggestion that UA has made a rule.
I think it's a non issue since you'll have real glasses for the next 10+ hours
It's been around since the blue coffee mugs (last Feb/Mar ?)
The extra F teas are by Twinings.
I think it's a non issue since you'll have real glasses for the next 10+ hours
The extra F teas are by Twinings.
Last edited by iluv2fly; Mar 1, 2012 at 1:45 pm Reason: merge
Mar 1, 2012, 2:35 pm
#55
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: The opinion expessed here are not necessarly those of United Airlines or any affiliates or subsidiaries of UAL Corp..
Posts: 768
The truck food in SF is way better than anything you're ever likely to get in a lounge or on a plane - but that's just us. Indian burritos in the Haight on Thursday evenings...
Try the VS Clubhouse at LHR - though I don't want to go too off topic and flog a horse that's been whipped many times over
This one's dead simple, as it's just a matter of adjusting the service model and is zero cost. It's called "Eat when you want", "Freedom menu" (again a VS term, but one you'd have thought a US-based airline would have come up with first), whatever.
I like for orders to be taken early, even before departure, within reason (ie, without being invasive or obnoxious in any way). Once you take off, come up, offer me a drink and some warm nuts and perhaps an amuse, and ask me when would I like to eat. If the answer is ASAP, serve as you do today (I usually sit in the front cabin of 777s and can see FAs serving desserts to F pax when we still haven't gotten our mains in the C cabin). On an overnight, that would be my answer. If I'm on a 5000+ daytime flight from Europe to the west coast, and want to have a couple of drinks, and start eating in an hour, at a leisurely pace, indulge me. It costs nothing, and makes all the difference in the world.
Try the VS Clubhouse at LHR - though I don't want to go too off topic and flog a horse that's been whipped many times over
This one's dead simple, as it's just a matter of adjusting the service model and is zero cost. It's called "Eat when you want", "Freedom menu" (again a VS term, but one you'd have thought a US-based airline would have come up with first), whatever.
I like for orders to be taken early, even before departure, within reason (ie, without being invasive or obnoxious in any way). Once you take off, come up, offer me a drink and some warm nuts and perhaps an amuse, and ask me when would I like to eat. If the answer is ASAP, serve as you do today (I usually sit in the front cabin of 777s and can see FAs serving desserts to F pax when we still haven't gotten our mains in the C cabin). On an overnight, that would be my answer. If I'm on a 5000+ daytime flight from Europe to the west coast, and want to have a couple of drinks, and start eating in an hour, at a leisurely pace, indulge me. It costs nothing, and makes all the difference in the world.
Someone else asked being woken up for the last meal. I know for me if you don't give the purser a time ie at 10am I wish to be woken up. I'm not going to wake up someone sleeping on the flight . Too many pax complain later with "Why did you wake me? I wanted to sleep"?
Also some of those loud walkers are your fellow F Pax not just the loud FA's coming up to F
The reason F Pax tend to be on dessert while C is still on their main even with the purser taken F & C orders after take off is due to many of the F cabin ( less people) doesn't select to have everything on the menu all the time . And a good F galley FA
can set everything needed so that 1A can start with their salad while 1K is having soup then salad then main not have them wait for all F Pax to be on the Salad. C orders take longer since the purser has to sort out who will have the second choice. (3/3 that ends) but the movement of the bev cart so that the orders can be taken adds to the time.
If traveling in C and you wish to drink more then the pace set you can always ask for your meal to be served last in your cabin when the purser takes your order.
I've never worked an int'l F flt were the F pax didn't get their meal choice
And yes we can smile more
I'll admit I'm bad at remembering all the C pax names F is easier, they also tend to remove their Bose headsets when I speak with them which helps
I agree that PJ's, a true 1st class boarding not call 1st then as they reach the door the CS is calling C.
Mar 1, 2012, 3:17 pm
#56
Join Date: Mar 1999
Location: Toledo, OH USA
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Could the FA's pass out postage paid evaluation cards with their name on it. Make them easy to fill out. I have had great FA's in F and C and terrible one also. Great ones should be rewarded somehow. At least keep those with bad evaluations in Y or on domestic flights.
Mar 1, 2012, 3:41 pm
#57
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: PGD
Programs: AS 100K, DL DM 1MM, UA 1MM
Posts: 437
First Class Lounge at ORD
Don't get me started about the International First departure lounge at SFO. It is a nice setting, but the food is just lame. Two buckets o' soup a la Safeway deli, shrimp cocktail, and the same little packets of Safeway-level cheddar cheese and baby carrots and crackers that they have at the regular United clubs. Plus some sandwiches that aren't even as good as what you can get from a local lunch truck. This is the only UA F intnl departure lounge i have visited but I have the feeling they are all the same.
I recently flew F ORD-GRU and experienced the F lounge at the headquarters city of the world's largest airline. I was embarrassed at the shoddiness of the furniture, the quality of the food selection (see above) and the run-of-the-mill selection of liquor. The little signs that described the food offerings were extremely worn and de-laminated and were a total turn-off.
It's hard to imagine how UA can offer this sub-standard environment!
I recently flew F ORD-GRU and experienced the F lounge at the headquarters city of the world's largest airline. I was embarrassed at the shoddiness of the furniture, the quality of the food selection (see above) and the run-of-the-mill selection of liquor. The little signs that described the food offerings were extremely worn and de-laminated and were a total turn-off.
It's hard to imagine how UA can offer this sub-standard environment!
Mar 1, 2012, 4:21 pm
#59
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Join Date: Nov 2004
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Some of the suggestions do actually happen from time to time. I'm frequently greeted by name, and when clearing away the dinner some crews will ask "do you wish to be wakened for breakfast."
In terms of my list:
Figure out a way to break the union rules so INTL F FA's can be selected based on their demonstrated superior customer service attitude.
All me to pre-order my meals ala the SK "book the chef" program.
Don't dump a bottle of water at my seat - come through and refill the glasses throughout the flight like they do in C. It isn't disruptive.
Teach them the art of moving quietly - I'm really tired of elephants herding up and down the aisle all night.
In terms of my list:
Figure out a way to break the union rules so INTL F FA's can be selected based on their demonstrated superior customer service attitude.
All me to pre-order my meals ala the SK "book the chef" program.
Don't dump a bottle of water at my seat - come through and refill the glasses throughout the flight like they do in C. It isn't disruptive.
Teach them the art of moving quietly - I'm really tired of elephants herding up and down the aisle all night.
Mar 1, 2012, 6:13 pm
#60
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Denver, CO USA
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Posts: 816
I just laughed so hard I peed.