It’s no secret that airline customer service has taken a beating of late. For every one good story about passengers receiving pizza on the tarmac there seem to be ten travel horror stories in which passengers are treated shabbily, ignored, forgotten, or otherwise neglected. While some people like the CEO of Spirit Airlines may see customer service as an afterthought, others are getting wise to the fact that rebelling air travelers are saying “enough is enough!”

In order to combat their own customer service issues, United has hired Barbara Higgins as their Vice president of Customer Experience. Ms. Higgins is a former Disney employee who hopes to bring a bit of the Magic Kingdom to the Friendly Skies. United sees Ms. Higgins’ Disney experience as a true attribute when it comes to customer service. In a press release, Graham Atkinson, United executive vice president and Chief Customer Officer said:

“Disney is a leader in treating its customers as welcomed guests, and Barbara has spent her career building and leading global organizations to deliver on that promise…”

As someone who has had more than a few Disney vacations (my daughter can’t stay away), I must say I have experienced terrific customer service. Whether Barbara Higgins can instill United customer service employees with that patented Disney energy remains to be seen.

Unfortunately, many of us won’t get to see what effect Ms. Higgins has on United for some time, as most of her initial efforts will be geared towards business class travelers and frequent fliers. SFO is being used as a testing ground of sorts for new customer care policies, and here is what Ms. Higgins had to say about the progress:

“We’re moving huge volumes of guests, we’re providing individualized service, we’re providing individualized meet-and-greet in the airport…We can do that especially well with frequent fliers and provide a more intimate experience.” (San Francisco Chronicle via Consumerist)

Hopefully United’s move to enhance their customer service will catch on with other airlines, and hopefully it will affect coach, business, and first-class passengers alike.