Ashamed to be an American …
(Frequent Flyer)
Hi Ya, Fellow ‘Net Trenchers!
Did you miss me? I was on vacation in Colorado. My family and I rented a condo in Keystone for a little spring skiing, plus we spent some time with family in Denver. We had a nice, relaxing time … at least as relaxing as possible with a four-year-old and eight-year-old (that have never seen snow or skied before) in tow. Although the weather wasn’t exactly springlike, if you ask me … we had snow every day and a couple of days included 60 mile per hour winds and whiteout conditions. But on the sunny days, you could see the green tips of all the flowers trying to break free of a winter’s worth of freezing temperatures.
A good time was had by all except for a few minor mishaps, including getting stuck on the top of the mountain in a major snowstorm with two frightened little girls and only an open chairlift to get down. As well as another big snowstorm that rolled in the night before we were scheduled to check out of our condo and left the roads an absolute mess (with snow chains required for all commercial vehicles) … not exactly comfortable driving for Florida folks.
But perhaps the worst experience was that we were flying American Airlines and - like hundreds of thousands of other folks - our flights were cancelled …
Thursday started like many of the other mornings … dark grey skies and lots of snow falling. We’d seen the news reports about the American flight cancellations, so I checked American’s website Wednesday night to see if we were affected. As of Wednesday night, our flights were still a go. But as the snowstorm rolled in Wednesday night, another type of storm was taking place over at American Airlines. 500 flights cancelled on Wednesday … 900 more flights cancelled on Thursday …
So as we rushed to beat the snowstorm and get out of our condo on Thursday morning, I decided to check the flight status one last time. Sure as sugar … our flights were cancelled. A quick call to American’s customer service line elicited a busy signal and then another. What should I do!? I quickly hopped onto Expedia.com (as my brother-in-law is yelling in the background “We gotta go if we’re going to beat this storm!”) to check and see if we could rebook on another airline. I ended up booking our return flight on Frontier Airlines. The good thing was it was a non-stop flight. The bad thing was it left at 11:55 p.m. – a red-eye – and it cost more than our total round trip on American.
As we quickly vacated our condo, I started to wonder whether re-booking on my own was the right thing to do. But after seeing thousands of people standing at ticket counters and sleeping in airports all across the country on television … I realized it was.
But our return flight was not to be an easy one. Since I was so paranoid in booking a last minute flight online, I made a call to a Frontier customer service agent. Sure enough, they had overbooked the flight, and, although she could get us seats, none of them were together. Explain that to a four-year-old! The customer service rep explained that we should get to the airport as early as possible to start trying to get seats together explaining that 25% of the seats are actually released at the airport. Thus, once we got there we should have no problem. Yeah, right!
So we did what she said and arrived nearly three hours early. But since the gate agent is the only one that can release the seats, we waited two hours for her to show up. As soon as she showed up, I explained our situation … four and eight-year-old little girls want to sit with their parents. Not perfect strangers. She impatiently told me the flight was overbooked, and she’d do the best she could. So I sat back down and waited … and waited … and waited.
As we wait, they’re starting to board the plane and we still have no confirmation of our seats. I walk back up to the gate agent and ask her whether she’s made any progress. She rudely tells me “I told you I’d call you when I had information for you.” So I thank her for her assistance and sit back down as they continue to board more and more passengers. Frankly, I’m starting to get a little nervous thinking perhaps they’re going to try and bump us because we’re requiring additional assistance.
Finally she calls us back up, and, with the sympathy of a snail, explains she did the best she could but she could only get us two seats together … one child would have to sit alone but in a middle seat directly behind one of us. So we quickly grabbed our stuff and boarded the plane. We found our seats, sat down and waited to take off. My eight-year-old that was sitting alone behind her dad was being very brave.
So after the plane took off, we settled in for what I hoped would be a smooth, three and a half hour flight home. Not!
It just so happened that I was sitting in the seat next to where all the medical equipment is stored. And as I flew east in the dead of night with my youngest daughter dead asleep in my lap and my oldest daughter squirming in the seat one row up and over from me, a ruckus started. First, the flight attendant call button rang. The flight attendant walked up from the back of the plane to the very front and then quickly back again. She opened the compartment with the medical equipment and starting pulling oxygen tanks and AEDs from it. Then the flight attendant made an announcement asking if there were any medical personnel on the plane. A feeling of dread started to form in my stomach.
And as the chaos ensued, the rumors spread to the back of the plane that a passenger had lost consciousness. And I could slowly feel the plane starting to descend. We were making an emergency landing to get this passenger off the plane.
Sure enough, the pilot announced we were landing in Tallahassee, Florida … only 45 minutes from home. Now if anyone has ever been in a position where you have to make an emergency landing in a different airport from your destination, you probably know what that means … you’re stuck on the airplane for hours while they sort things out.
By this point, we’ve all been awake for over 24 hours, as I suspect many of the passengers had. The pilot quickly got the plane on the ground, but it took what seemed like forever to get to the gate and get the paramedics on the plane. All I can say is … don’t get sick or have a serious medical emergency on an airplane. I hate to say it, but your chances aren’t good.
I heard that the sick passenger had regained consciousness right about the time they landed and I never learned exactly what was wrong, but I wish him well. I truly believe for this passenger an emergency landing was the right thing to do.
As for us, we were stuck.
They refueled the airplane and filed new paperwork, and it appeared we were ready to go … it only took two hours and I considered us lucky. Then the pilot announced they didn’t have a tow bar large enough to pull us out of the gate. Tallahassee is a small regional airport that apparently isn’t used to unexpected visits from large jets like the one we were on. The pilot assured us the hunt for the right size tow bar was on. So we waited.
And as we waited, we started to see the announcements on the in-seat televisions that Frontier Airlines had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Passengers started to joke, asking questions like “Can they pay the fuel bill?” Are we ever getting home … or are we going to end up in our own crazy version of the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles?
A little while later, the pilot announces the tow bar cannot be found and that instead we’ll have to push the jetway as far back as possible and pull out on our own. Oh boy, does that sound like fun. So they push the jetway back, and the pilot moves the plane forward and makes a right turn out of the gate. But as he passes the gate, the left wing hits the jetway. Now, I’m thinking to myself doesn’t anyone want to inspect for damage?! But then who listens to me. And as I cross my fingers, we take off, finally on our way after three unexpected hours in Tallahassee.
The flight home was thankfully uneventful. I honestly don’t know how much more I could have taken after being up for 27 hours straight. It took as nearly two full days to recover and actually start to feel normal again. I can now see how sleep deprivation truly is a form of torture.
But what the heck is going on with the airlines … ?
Air Travel, a Necessary Evil
It’s sad to see such a switch in air travel. Customer satisfaction with the airlines is at an all time low. I fondly remember the day when traveling on an airplane was an anticipated and exciting event … one where you got dressed up in your Sunday best. Now it’s no more pleasant than a trip to traffic court. Now the only thing you anticipate is problems, delays, rude people and lost luggage.
With rising fuel and repair costs, increased security measures and the sheer volume of passengers, the airlines have taken the “customer” out of their service completely. And I fear it’s only going to get worse. I’ll never forget the time a colleague of mine asked the flight attendant if she could have the whole can of soda she was pouring and the immediate response was a nasty no.
I’d venture to say that most air travelers would be willing to pay a little more for a better experience. One in which they were treated like “real customers” and not cattle off to slaughter. One in which they were assured a safe flight and their luggage would join them at their final destination and one where friendly reservations agents, gate agents or flight attendants really cared about their customer experience … but then I don’t blame them. Because you know what they say “crap rolls down hill” and frankly, does the majority of airline management really care about their employees on the front line? It sure doesn’t seem that way.
One last quick story and I’ll let you go …
My daughter ended up with an ear infection when we got back, so I made a trip to the pediatrician. I explained we’d been on vacation and flying and that likely contributed to the infection. We got to talking about our flight home, and the pediatrician told me he’d had a similar situation. He’d been on a flight in which a young woman was having a big anxiety attack. The flight attendant somehow knew he was a doctor and approached him to ask if he’d speak to the woman. He left his seat and went to visit the women who it turned out had broken up with her boyfriend right before the flight home. She was naturally distraught and upset. He ended up sitting with her the whole flight.
As the plane landed and he got his stuff to deplane, the flight attendants thanked him for helping the woman. They said they wished they had something they could give him for his assistance, but they had nothing … that is unless he wanted a big box of peanuts!
The airline business model is broken … let’s hope some out-of-the box thinker comes up with a dynamic and exciting way to fix it!
And if you were on an American Airlines (or any recent flight) that was cancelled, I’d love to hear from you. Post your experience in the comments … I suspect it was a doozy.
Have a great weekend.
Until next week,
Julie McManus
Editor, In the ‘Net Trenches
THE TOTAL PACKAGE™
And Web Media Goddess
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15 Comments »
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Comment by Julie Warrens — April 18, 2008 @ 4:29 pm
I am sorry to read of your troubles, but you DID travel to a ski resort….did you not ‘expect’ nasty weather? I live in Colorado and our mountains get big snow storms up until end of May sometimes. I would have thought your conceirge would have had you more prepared for what the day’s weather would hold? I do understand your frustrations with travel, however, I think we as Americans are so used to things going off without a hitch, that when it has that ‘hitch’ we come unglued. I always wonder, what if it had been me in that passengers place that had lost conciousness….I would have hoped those other passengers understood that I needed medical attention, and yes, it was a small blip in your trip, but hopefully not enough to ruin it????
Comment by Marte Cliff — April 18, 2008 @ 4:33 pm
Perhaps if everyone started staying home the airlines would get the message. After all, if a relaxing vacation is made miserable by the trip to and from the vacation spot, doesn’t that cancel out a bit of the rejuvenation you should have gotten from "getting away?"
And as for business travel - my guess is that much of it could be conducted over the phone at less expense and with greater efficiency.
As long as consumers put up with abuse, they’ll dish it out…
Comment by Lara — April 18, 2008 @ 4:42 pm
Julie,I’m so sorry you endured some of our worst winter weather! Having lived in CO for 3.5 years now I’ve come to expect the unexpected in terms of weather here. I’m not sure 60+ mph winds are something you can prepare for however!
Glad you visited and I hope you will come back. Keystone is lovely as is the Snowmass area. In terms of airline treatment, I have to say I’m surprised Frontier treated you so poorly. They are one of the better airlines I’ve flown on. I take about 3-4 trips per year with them and have had good service on all but one of my trips.As a side note, I haven’t had GREAT customer airlines service since way back in the early 90s with Midwest when they served you a full meal on real china. The cost was included in your airfare - can you believe that???Anyway, we all feel your pain. Here’s hoping the industry rights itself and we can get the service we deserve.
Comment by Gerard LeBlond — April 18, 2008 @ 5:21 pm
Your story reminds me of one Jay Abraham recounts in his Nightingale-Conant cassette course called: "Your Hidden Wealth."Imagine, there’s Jay, his wife and his kids. One child is an infant. Since the flight arrangements where made quickly none of the seats were together.Once on the plane Jay tried to switch seats with a man who had a seat assignment right next to the Abraham infant.The guy refused to budge. "I paid for this seat and I’m not moving." Apparently Jay was ready to tell the guy off when Jay’s wife stepped in and plopped the baby near the guy, strapped the baby seat down and handed the guy the baby-bag. She told the guy the name of the baby and gave the guy instructions on what to do if the baby cried. She essentially turned the bull-headed air-traveller into an in-flight baby sitter.Beautiful example of turning a lemon into lemonade.
Comment by Bill Henthorn — April 18, 2008 @ 5:27 pm
Here’s what I see:
the challenge of delivering quality customer
service is gonna grow greater.
Why? The shift to delivering services online.
Lots of businesses, big and small, who are
migrating to an online customer self-service
environment are going to continue to drop the
ball. It’s easy to implement an online vending
machine approach to customer service, but in
itself, it makes it harder to keep your customers.
This means high customer acquisition costs,
lower lifetime value, more pressure to cut
business costs, including customer service costs.
On Marte’s comment above (”As long as consumers
put up with abuse, they’ll dish it out”), I agree.
Adding to it, abuse opens the door to those
businesses who can deliver a quality experience
and in a fair manner grab market share from their
customer-abusing competitors.
I see customer-abusing competitors in our online
businesses - while constantly shifting through
sales intell for competitive advantage. The
biggest advantage I find: the old-fashioned one
called: delivering on the promise (aka integrity).
So guys and gals, keep an eye out for those abusers:
they are opening the doors so their customers can
exit – to you!
Comment by Allen — April 18, 2008 @ 5:45 pm
The best Domestic USA airline I have flown recently is Jet Blue.
On every flight the flight attendants have been extremely friendly. One time when we were snowed in in New York City, I went to the counter and asked what was happening, where the flights were, etc. Just to get an update. And rather than push it off with a typical B.S. answer, they actually told me the expected delays, what was causing them, etc.
I wasn’t pleased about the delay, but what can you do about the weather?
I flew Delta and had a horrible experience, the same with US Air which I avoid.
International to Asia, Singapore is number 1, followed closely by Cathay Pacific. Superb service and friendliness on both.
In fact, it seems to me (I have flown European based, USA based, and Asia based airlines), with the vast majority of USA based airlines all you get is cheapness, combined with piss poor attitude.
They act as if they somehow feel since they are pricing themselves for less than they want they need to hire people who get their jollies from abusing customers, and they find every way to cheapen their service. Though Jet Blue, TED, SouthWest and some others maintain high profits and high levels of service, with reduced prices.
Comment by Dean Kennedy — April 18, 2008 @ 7:22 pm
I feel lucky having read this story because I have very few airline dramas that I’ve experienced in dozens and dozens of trips. One of our domestic airlines here in Australia – Virgin Blue, initially set up by Sir Richard Branson – is an airline I enjoy flying with, from booking time to the flight itself. The staff have a ‘fun’ attitude (at least 90 percent of them anyway) and are pretty switched on. In flight cabin announcements often have a bit of humour in them, eg:
"please remember that if you leave any belongings behind in your seat pocket, we’ll sell them on eBay"; "fit your own oxygen mask first before assisting with small children and your husband"; "smoking is not permitted on this flight including in the toilets, which are fitted with smoke detectors and video cameras. -pause- Oh, yeah, no video cameras, just seeing if you were still listening."
Last flight we had one of the cabin crew was introduced as the karaoke singer; the guy in charge of the announcements was hilarious. They’re funny enough to be memorable!
Even when the flight is delayed, or the plane changed and seats reallocated etc, the staff generally do a good job at reminding us they’re only human and they’re trying to make it fun.
They also showed their true colours recently when a late flight was cancelled at Sydney Airport – a competitor had done that the week before and abandoned their passengers; Virgin Blue dragged the catering trolleys off the plane, fed passengers for free, had staff mingle with passengers and assist them, and find transport/accom for overnight stays.
They’re a little "no frills" in terms of no free meals etc (you pay extra for anything you want to eat or drink, although pricing is good; and you even pay if you want the exit row for extra legroom) but their service and attitude is first class.
Internationally I found British Airways very nice (but it was business class upstairs with only about 6 passengers in the whole section) and Air Pacific (Fiji’s airline) to be nice and friendly too. But if I could I’d look for a Virgin service based on Virgin Blue here.
I’ll be keeping an eye out though when it comes time for US travel!
To me, having the attitude right is what counts the most: even when it comes time for a problem to arise, the Virgin Blue staff are empowered to deal with it better than other airlines I’ve seen.
It was Sir Richard Branson that said: "Mistakes are inevitable. Dissatisfied customers are not."
Comment by Louise — April 18, 2008 @ 7:49 pm
Julie,Now you have had an experience of how it feels to live with either Chronic Fatigue Disorder or Fibromyalgia. I have Fibro and I am have been chronically sleep deprivated as you experienced for 13 years. Both are diseases that are poorly diagnosised and treated. May 12 is National Fibromyalia awareness day in the US. I wish I had both the money to go on holidays and the tolerance to travel but infortunately I don’t. I do totally agree with you are lack of service in the airline industry, however I have also seen some very nasty people when it comes to planes being delayed and airline staff getting blamed and attacked when it is all totally out of their control. In australia last september my 13 yr old daughters plane was delayed for 15 hours and I have nothing but compliments for how Virgin airlines handled a situation totally out of their control.
Regards from Australia Louise
Comment by Katleen — April 19, 2008 @ 8:39 am
I don’t think it’s a good idea to go on a ski trip with a girl aged 4. We have two little boys (aged 2,5 years and 2,5 months) and we stay at home or go for a walking.
Going on a vacation with the plane means stress and it’s not very cleaver to add extra stress to little children. Skiing is luxuery, and the waiting and troubles is the price for it…
Comment by Phillip H B — April 19, 2008 @ 12:09 pm
Hi Julie,
Boy sounds like you had a trip!
Reminds me of my trip via London to Los Angeles in 2006 - Coming from South Africa.
I was going into Heathrow twelve hours after the big bomb scare. Oh Joy I though! The flight to LAX was the next day. And yes, you guessed it - my business partner and I were flying AA.
Same story - Phone and check web sites - all clear, we’re flying out! And we get there only to learn out fate. For the next - oh I forget - 5 hours - I try not to remember - we get shifted from one flight to the next. Each one over-booked. And we didn’t have the luxury of sitting around - NO - we had to go round and round, “booking in” each time. This included the usual search. It was usual by the seventh time. Shoes off and so on and so on.
I’ll keep it short - because of security, we had to put our laptops in our luggage. When we eventually got to LAX, AA lost our luggage! Talk about a Stranger in a Strange land. No one could tell us where our bags were - some said Chicago, some said London. 5 Days later we got everything back. AA is on my [bleep] list since then.
Sorry - did I go off there! Must try and get over it
PH
Comment by James — April 20, 2008 @ 5:52 am
Re: Katleen’s comment about not taking young children skiing, back when I was working on a degree at Texas Tech, we were within a few hours driving of Ruidoso, New Mexico, and would make several trips to Apache Mountain, their ski resort.
There were always young children (as young as three or four) skiing and having a blast. Most skiied better than I did. So being four would not be a hindrance to her attending snow bunny school and quickly learning to ski. I’m pretty sure that being close to the ground, as a four year old would be, makes it easier to ski.
When you have kids, you can’t cheat them out of a vacation just because there’s extra stress when they coma along. We annually visit Anna Maria Island, Florida or Gulf Shores, Alabama, and my six-year old and eight-year old are always with is. You’d swear both are half fish as they’ll stay in the water all day if you let them.
Sure, it’s more work to have to keep an eye on them and they can get cranky as the day wears on and they get tired, but I wouldn’t dream of leaving them behind because of their age and the fact that there’s extra work involved in bringing children on the trip.
As to the airlines, I live in the Dallas area and American Airlines dominates DFW Airport. So when I fly it’s often with them. Customer service is always hit-or-miss with them, in part because management and labor are constantly at odds with one another.
Southwest, whose employees are always friendly and helpful, wasn’t a viable option for years because of the Wright Amendment, which restricted where flights from Love Field could go without passengers having to change planes (and, consequently, forcing passengers trtaveling outside the restricted areas to pay for two flights).
Thankfully, the Wright Amendment is being phased out, much to American’s chagrin since doing so makes them even less competitive than they already are with Southwest.
I’ve got two frequent flyer tickets left with American. When we use them up, I’m probably going to use Southwest almost exclusively.The airline industry is in a very odd place. Most airlines are losing money hand-over-fist because of high fuel costs and the inability to raise prices because of fear of losing customers to lower cost airlines. As you probably know, three airlines have sought bankruptcy protection in the past weeks, with one totally shjutting down.
This has in turn led many airlines to cut back on customer service, leaving a chunk of the population ready to jump ship when an alternative turns up. American has never been known for friendly, customer-centric staff, and it’s only going to get worse.
When your management and your employees are at each other’s throats, the customers inevitablely get caught in the cross fire.
James Sadler
Comment by James — April 20, 2008 @ 5:57 am
Sorry about the typos in the previous message. But I think you can figure it out when you come across them. Wish there were an edit button for after you post and find those buggers.
Comment by Increase Sales Coach — April 20, 2008 @ 1:32 pm
Hi Julie,
Argh!!! I can so empathize with your story. I used to be a corporate road warrior. Your story brought back many a vivid and painful memory of dealing with the airlines.
Your story really tied in well with the new issue of “The Screaming Eagle” about the importance of positioning. Pretty much all the airlines have earned the mean and nasty position for themselves. I think the little jets like Express Jet have a real shot at making it big in the travel industry. The only thing holding them back at this point is they only fly to very limited locations.
Anyway there is a real opportunity for one company to step up to the plate and earn the friendly and we really care about you position. I would gladly pay $500-$700 to fly on a plane where the seats are really roomy, I don’t have to go through TSA, I’m not hassled about my carry on bag, I actually get a nice beverage and meal when appropriate, and the flight attendants treat you like they would a friend.
If I wanted cheap and highly unpleasant I could take the bus:-)
Comment by John Fistonich — April 20, 2008 @ 9:19 pm
Sorry but every experience I have had with American has been poor. I strongly suggest you don’t fly American to Hawaii, it is little more than a bus with wings and the flight we had smelled of urine for the 5 hours we were trapped in there.
One cabin crew member on another flight was being told off by a passenger; the crewman said ‘ Hey look, as far as I’m concerned you’re all just self-loading cargo.’
Comment by Richard — April 24, 2008 @ 11:48 am
I just returned from Western Carolina - round trip with Delta from Brussels. At the end of the flight the crew had the audacity to thank us for flying Delta and invited us to fly again. Right - When I feel really masochistic and want to let them abuse me again. Part of the bad experience is of course TSA! Yes I want to be safe - but having flown on business to Israel dozens of times I know what real airport safety could look like in my homeland - USA.
Having flown often with Cathay Pacific and Singapore I also know what good service is like. Now with Non-USA Airlines able to fly directly to any international airport in the USA the writing is on the wall for rude unfriendly USA Airlines.