On June 14th I was scheduled to fly non-stop from Montreal to DC at 2:30pm (arrive at 4pm). Before leaving my hotel I printed out my boarding pass and checked my e-mails…no alerts about weather or delays. I arrived at the airport (YUL) and was told the flight was canceled due to weather. Air Canada reps would only give me an 800 number to call to rebook [Read more]

United Airlines Customer Service on Flight

A Note from HWYF.COM: HWYF.COM believes that the overwhelming majority of airline employees and contracted airline service workers strive to provide the best services to airline passengers. However, U.S. airlines have continued to make staff cutbacks in recent years that have resulted in the deteriorating performance and customer service received by airline passengers, as witnessed by the recent J.D. Power and Associates survey. While the story below is about a UA employee, it illustrates the implications of an industry’s failure to invest in its workforce and to raise standards for both customers and employees.

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On a UA flight from Denver to Austin, a flight attendant was so rude to myself and other passengers that it was more than disturbing. [Read more]

American Airlines flight diverted to LAX after pilots report smoke, smell of fuel

An American Airlines flight from San Francisco to Miami carrying hydrochloric acid in the forward cargo was diverted to LAX after pilots reported smoke in the cockpit. Authorities at first suspected that the hydrochloric acid was leaking, but later said the smoke probably came from the hydraulic system.

HERE is the full story from the LA TImes.
photo credit: Cubbie_n_Vegas

Customer Satisfaction & Employee Satisfaction: Do they Go Hand in Hand with a Profitable Airline?

Is it really the high cost of fuel that is forcing the changes we’re seeing in the airline business today? Or is it something more fundamental? Something so basic most of us learned it in Kindergarten. Treat people as you would like to be treated. Play fair; be honest, trustworthy and loyal to those around you. When your industry has lower Customer Satisfaction ratings than the Internal Revenue Service you have a fundamental problem that overshadows any business climate no matter how severe.

Business school professors who have educated our current crop of leaders often like to pose this conundrum: Which do you put first, your employees, your customers, or your shareholders? Is the answer really all that difficult? Or is it simply common sense? [Read more]

LAX Skycap Story

My name is Henry Watts. I’ve been a skycap at LAX for 20 years. I provide service for Northwest Airlines.

I’m proud to have raised 4 children and been able to provide them with a decent standard of living. I was able to do that because, as a Skycap, I received tips from many passengers. I don’t know how I would have raised my family and provided for their schooling if things were the way they are now.

When the signs about the $2 fee first went up, passengers were coming up to me and saying, “I’m so glad you’re getting what you deserve.” They thought it was all coming to us and they didn’t realize that in fact, we’d had our income cut in half! [Read more]

United Airlines’ Problems Summed Up

Portfolio.com’s business travel columnist, Joe Brancatelli, wrote an excellent article that sums up all of United Airlines’ troubles, perhaps best conveyed in its title: Worst. Airline. Ever.

He offers one of the best summaries of United’s woes in 2008:

Just 29 months removed from the longest, costliest, and least-effective bankruptcy in aviation history, the nation’s second-largest airline is once again facing a financial abyss. United’s first-quarter net loss of $537 million was more than its two main competitors combined. Last month it paid a huge premium to avoid a default on its loan covenants. Its 4 percent decline in passenger traffic in May was twice as steep as that of any of its competitors. Last week’s announcement that it would ground 100 aircraft, reduce capacity by 10 percent, and shed thousands more workers was startling given the huge contraction it already experienced while in bankruptcy. A 19-month search for a merger partner resulted in rejections from Continental Airlines and US Airways, a carrier that was desperate to sell itself to United just eight years ago. The airline’s shares slid into single digits last week from a 52-week high north of $50.

More importantly, he pinpoints United’s failing performances to its 2002 bankruptcy: [Read more]

Skycap at SFO

My name is Patrick Jack. I have worked as a skycap at San Francisco International Airport for nearly 18 years, providing service for American Airlines.

I love working with the public. I work hard to provide a decent life for me and my wife. But it’s hard when the cost of rent, gas, and food keeps going up. My wife has breast cancer and I pay close to $400 a month for her healthcare costs. It has [Read more]

American Airlines flight 988 (March 1, 2008)

This was one of the worst flights I have ever been on. The on-ground employees all appeared to be incompetent, giving conflicting and downright false reports of the status of the delayed/canceled plane through the course of 24 hours [Read more]

Need Oxygen on an American Airlines Flight

I had a nightmare experience flying on an American Airlines flight in July of 2003 from San Antonio to Dallas and then from Dallas to Phoenix. I am on oxygen. I can’t be off of it at all, not for 5 minutes. I paid the extra money to have their tanks for the flight since they wouldn’t let me bring my own. They assured me they would include extra tanks in case the flight was delayed for some reason.

Problem #1 - they would not supply oxygen to be used in the terminal during layover in Dallas. I had to [Read more]

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