Got a very interesting comment in response to my recent blog post on flight delays, and I thought Id share it with you:
Hank says,
Folks, I work for a major airline, and I chuckle when you say that you will pay more for more legroom, better food, wider seats, etc. A few years ago, we invited our Platinum and Gold Medallion passengers to a luncheon to garner their suggestions as to how we can improve our customer service.
They suggested these same things, plus better airport lounges, better onboard entertainment systems, faster check-in procedures, improvements to frequent flier programs, and so on. My airline spent millions based on these suggestions only to learn that the customer will only follow the lowest priced ticket. So based on our experience – yes, you would certainly like for us to provide all of these things to you; BUT, you will fly AirTran if they have a cheaper ticket.
Hank, you have a point, but I also have to say, as a “Whistle Blower” you left a serious cookie crumb to your airline identity. Hmm, Medallion…Could that possibly be Delta? And surely many of us know that AirTran is one of the competitive thorns in Deltas side.
That said, I have to agree that your comments were well-taken; you only have to look at all those small-town stores that had to shut down because customers flocked to the uber-cheap Wal-Mart. Its not always convenient to shop Wal-Mart; most of the stores are on the outskirts of town, but no one seems to mind, as long as the price is right!
So where does that leave us? Is PRICE the only thing? Could airlines add some comfortable touches without raising prices, and create new brand loyalty? Will we have to pay for every bit of customer-service?
I’d like to hear from readers: is price all you care about? This question fascinates me, because I get so many conflicting responses, I’d love to get a big discussion going on this.
At age 62, I don’t fly that often but I start by looking at lowest price. Once I flew to NYC in January to get to Denver to save $40. Ridiculous. I would not do that again!
I look for lowest price but yes, I will consider convenience sometimes. I assume that every plane will be safe because I assume the pilot and crew want to fly safely and that the airline wants safety.
Last week I flew to Alaska on an airline that was serving a hot meal in first class and a spicy pack of crackers in coach (but I had eaten clam chowder in Seattle). Oh, and my bagggage did not arrive with me. It would arrive at midnight. We only had to drive thirty miles back to get it so we went the next day. There’s not a lot of choices to Fairbanks. I had seen lower fares to Anchorage but that’s a six hour or so drive.
I do like to accumulate flyer miles but still, price is my FIRST consideration. I don’t really care for making a bid then having to take whatever. I like to make a choice.
I don’t agree with the airline employee that price is the only thing. I fly mainly from Europe to the U.S. and Continental is ALWAYS 40-50 dollars more than comparable flights from Paris, Madrid, London, etc. Continental generally has better service and I think most people know it. Otherwise, why would people fly Cont. if it is always a little more?
Maybe this only applies to long flights as it doesn’t matter much for short flights.
Uhh, Hank: I have flown Delta once or twice a year for the past seven or eight years. So where are those wider seats, and more legroom? Food? What’s that? Ditto entertainment. Faster check-in? I still see folks standing in lines if I don’t use curbside check-in….
Well, yes, they do serve food in first class, but my meager accumulation of skymiles won’t get me there (even though my once-or-twice-a-year loyalty has been in your computers for a while). And the upgrade price usually $300+ puts FC out of my range.
And the planes … no more full-sized jets from my home airport (STL) and apparently none of those amenities…. They’re small, they’re crowded in seats that certainly not only don’t have any more legroom but also have less room under the seat ahead of me and definitely have less overhead storage. Then there is the reduced schedule that makes my typical one-stop trip longer.
Air Tran has arrived in St. Louis and I’ll be checking it this year, for price, for schedule and for comfort. I already know what I can get at Delta…..
Price is a priority, but I look harder at arrival, departure, and layover times. Why bother saving $50 on a ticket if you have to spend 4 hours extra sitting around airports or take the 5:30 am flight. Also, if I am traveling with my wife and kids (2 yr old & 7 month old), I pay extra attention to time management on the trip.
I guess it is worth it for me to spend the extra cash to make the trip less of a hassel versus saving a few bucks.
Yes – I will pay more to avoid three things.
First is an airline with no customer support via phone, or you must wait on hold for hours to get through.
Second is no help in getting to my destination if my flight is delayed/canceled.
Third is not getting my checked baggage to my destination when I do.
I book 50-100 trips out of Detroit each year.
First – if I can’t get through to the airline by phone, I will avoid that airline as much as possible. Recently, I was stuck on a freeway going to the airport and freeway shut down to accident, delayed a couple of hours, knew I was going to miss flight, wanted to rebook on another flight, could not get through via phone to airline. Impact was that I was delayed an additional day, which would not have been necessary if I was able to get through to airline via phone!
Second example leads me to the airline that I avoid like the plague, which is Spirit. When my recent Detroit to Orlando flight was delayed for one hour, then an additional hour, then a third additional hour, then no staff at the gate to let us know what was going on (the monitor finally told us the flight was canceled), there was no Spirit staff to assist to rebook. I booked myself on another airline, then could not find anyone at Spirit to tell me where to get my checked bags with my business trip materials (they cannot be carried on). Another passenger found out from his travelling companion and informed me (thank goodness for cell phones!!) that we could pick up the checked baggage in the baggage claim area (another disaster as the carousel was full and they would not put any more baggage until bags on the carousel were claimed!)
Third example – recently I booked three weekend trips on the same weekend for different people – one to Winston-Salem, one to Minneapolis and the third to another city, all on Northwest (different travellers). Our business items must be checked – too large (camera tripods). One business checked case did not arrive in Winston-Salem – took a whole lot of complaining upon arrival, and eventually the case arrived one day later – business disaster. Same weekend, on return trip from Minneapolis, another business checked case disappeared. Northwest staff at airport told me to call Northwest baggage claim toll-free phone number. This number had recording that they could not take any phone calls, but I could email. I emailed Northwest, and got an automated email reply indicating that I should expect a response within 2 weeks. I wrote Northwest and did get a letter of apology back, and I have yet to fly them again enough to determine if things have been fixed.
Price. That’s the bottom line at least when it comes to a flight home. Currently I work and live in the DC area. My hometown is Atlanta and there are rarely economical flights there. Often times I can get to SF or Chicago cheaper than I can get to Atlanta. With elderly infirmed parents and adult children there it is important that I try to go home as often as I can without going bankrupt.Put me in the belly of the plane with no snacks…heck the flight is only 1.5 hours. I can endure most anything for that.
Depending upon the length of the trip, I will pay a bit more for comfort. Heck I just want to get from point A to point B.
Price is a secondary consideration—and only when choosing between two airlines with similar services. Because I fly long-haul, comfort and service are paramount. There is inherent value in arriving at a destination and not losing a day (or more) from fatigue as a result of an exhausting, uncomfortable flight or stressful airport experiences.
As a general rule, I avoid U.S. carriers like the plague. Some of these employees of the American carriers should take a ride on an Asian carrier sometime to understand what the word “attitude” means. JAL, Cathay Pacific, Air Pacific, Singapore Airlines—-all are terrific and I can’t think of one bad experience I have ever had.
Just prior to Japan Air Lines entry into the One World alliance, I flew a first class round trip between Boston/Chicago/Tokyo which I booked (on the phone) with AA. The return from Tokyo to Chicago, to my surprise, was on JAL.
While AA’s first class 777 space was nice, JAL had nearly TWICE the space. More spacious and better seats, better menu, better service, cleaner bathrooms, etc etc etc.
But the true test came when I arrived back in Chicago and AA denied me entry into their first class lounge because I hadn’t come back from Tokyo on AA! Mind you, I had BOOKED THE ENTIRE FLIGHT exclusively through AA. I might also add, this was a $14,000 ticket.
The lounge manager was surly, unprofessional, and rude. All this effort to keep one passenger, who had payed a ton of money for her ticket, waiting out in the hall on a plastic chair because AA itself, not I the passenger, had booked me on another airline (I was indeed connecting from Chicago to Boston on AA, first class). Just because of this small experience, I will never fly AA again. It’s the attitude.
I wrote to the CEO of AA about this, and received a reply which stated that “this misunderstanding is a frequent problem”. Well if that’s the case, why the heck haven’t they FIXED it?
I think the question on lowest cost matters whether vacation or business. If leisure – I want the lowest cost because I do not consider commercial flights relaxing or comfortable experience. If business related, I want the best customer service and comfort.
I wouldn’t complain about a meal onboard because it usually sux, however, if I’m delayed for 4 hrs. anything besides peanuts is swell.
Unfortunately, in the US market I think Continental is the only stand-out. JetBlue is higher end of the discount carriers for leisure routes. I absolute will pay more for Continental because I think they have better customer service and cater to the needs of the customer.
US Air has horrible cust. service and trying to get anything done via their off-shore call center is an exercise in patience.
Cleanliness–on a recent plane trip on AA I noticed that planes are not as clean as they used to be. I really felt that I was sitting in a germ pit, with things left from the previous passenger, the magazine holder “sprung” so that it hit me in the leg, the bathrooms, etc. I love to travel, always am just finishing a trip or starting to plan the next one. But I am seriously thinking about trains now.
Hi again, Ok, I got it. Perhaps many of us needed to vent a bit and got off track as to “suggestions” to the airlines. I will do my best with the short amount of time I have to do this.
It looks like air travel is becoming just like anything else. One needs to, as much as possible, take things into their own hands and be pro-active. I’ve had to do this in several areas of my life already such as my medical care, and even in comparing prices at supermarkets, investigating things on the internet, etc. I hope everyone gets the picture. Excitedly, my hat is off to farecompare.com in helping me explore this.
Perhaps the airline could make it easier on their customers in helping them become pro-active by doing a few things. Perhaps agents coming on the loudspeaker in the waiting area to let people know ahead of time of possible glitches in their travel at a connecting city/destination. Examples might be advance weather conditions, possible canceled flights. These are just a few….I’m sure everyone has a few more to add. This might allow waiting travelers to phone ahead to make car reservations, hotel reservations or allow one to notify their loved ones ahead of time that they don’t need to start a 2 to 3 hour trek to pick you up because of a canceled flight or adverse air weather. Yes, they do this at times but at times when it is too late. I’ve seen monitors in waiting areas that change flight times and destinations……why not keep us up to date on what’s going on at your connection/destination? Monitors to let you see what the current layout looks like at your connection/destination. This could also be added to “our new little seat screens that are usually not working or have not been placed” on the the aircraft. A daunting task for you airlines?? Well let’s see who out does each other in this scenario.
Perhaps a few conceirge phones in the waiting area to be used. Yes, a airline concierge that might be able to assist you in car/hotel reservations or notifying of a loved one. The conceirge/s wouldn’t need to be available all the time but in crisis situations. People with cell phones, of course, would be able to do their own trouble shooting but this would certainly help the flier who doesn’t have a cell phone or help that elderly person, by giving them peace of mind that “things” have been taken care of for them.
ALSO….I’ve read of all the surly attendants and their remarks and horrible service. VERY GOOD POINT….! Another duty, perhaps, of these conceirges could be to take the customer service evaluations of passengers as they are stepping off their flights! What a concept to be handed a customer service questionnaire by your attendant at boarding. I bet knowing that they were being evaluated might at least keep a smile on their face!
Perhaps the conceirge might be a deserving agent/ attendant with years of counter service and/or flight hours of serving the public and know the ins and outs of the needs of travelers. Don’t you think that picking the brains of these long time, proved excellent service givers would be great. A sort of high esteem position given/rewarded to these people. A position earned!
This position would be for only the best of unionized employees. Not management. Allowing them a little leeway in helping out.
Yes….customer service could certainly get my business and at the same time with all the travelers the airline would attract could keep fares down.
Again, thanks for reading….John
I fly once or twice a year, and I always go for the cheapest ticket. I never buy any of the food on the plane; never sit in first class. On every flight I’ve ever been on, I’ve just slept for most of it. (Of course, I’ve never been on a flight that’s lasted more than 5 hours.) The flight is just to get me to my destination, and I’d rather spend as little as possible on the transportation so I can spend more at the actual destination. I think the success of the budget airlines like Southwest and JetBlue shows that people like me are more common than people who fly dozens of times a year, even though the responses in this blog would indicate otherwise.
To reduce prices of tickets, how about reducing the number of flight attendants on flights less than 3-4 hours. There could be elimination of all in flight food and beverages except in first class, with one flight attendant managing the whole first class and main cabins. Small bottles of water couldbe handed out on the flight and people could dispose of them after deplaning. Almost all of the announcements and safety advisories are on a video screen now and the flight attendants don’t need to repeat everything the captain says. The captain’s assistant could help with securing the doors for cross check etc…I have been delayed on multiple occasions just waiting for the flight attendants to arrive from another flight, with everyone else boarded, baggage on board ready to go…Frustrating! Flight attendants are still needed for longer flights such as transatlantic ones, but this would reduce the airlines workforce and subsequently reduce their health insurance/disability exposures, possibly creating an ability to reduce airline fares.
I am a cheap traveler and only book economy seats. I have only traveled for vacation purposes. However, I am willing to pay $150 – 300 more when I fly long distance from Vancouver to Sydney, Frankfurt or London if it’s a direct flight. I am also willing to pay a little bit more if I knew that I had an empty seat beside me or more leg room. Comfort is very important when you are flying non-stop for 10 – 15 hours. It would certainly help to make flying pleasurable. That’s why I agree with flipflopbride’s comments about limited space onboard airlines.
Perhaps I’m just inexperienced, although I do fly at least 3 times a year on business or pleasure, but I haven’t found any airline that treats me any different than another. I harbor no preference as far as service goes,sofor me price is of paramount importance, but it’s not the only consideration. My schedule is probably the deciding factor when I’m traveling. I like to maximize my time, which means I like to leave earlier in the morning from a conveniently located airport rather than driving 2 hours from Colorado Springs to DIA so I can wait in a security line for yet ANOTHER 2 hours, just so I can make my 4a.m. flight on time. It’s ridiculous, and I just won’t do it. I also like to arrive at my destination at a decent hour, so I’m certainly not interested in a 5 hour layover at some random location. I will pay more, within reason, to have a decent flight schedule coming from the smaller airports that I’m close to. Customer service with a smile would be great, but I think that might be pushing our luck.
Connecting to this thread late, but just back after several trips of late and had another uncomfortable and tiring experience. To save money (our first priority) we participated in a free flight program which sent us to our destination on a carrier we never choose (because of their prices and schedules). Never again, even for free. Example…a flight from door to door that usually takes 5 to 6 hours on our preferred carrier, just took us 12 hours iclusive of delay, delay, delay. Riding on these coach seats that have NO room, having the person in front of you lay back their seat and then arriving to an empty airport, but yet it took baggage claim 30 minutes to get our bags delivered was not a pleasant way to spend any day. I do not think the airlines should feed anyone. The food is not worth even passing out, much less all of the garbage it creates. My hubby and I think that if the airlines did not “give” food for “free” then most people would not bother buying what they might have to offer. The perception of free just keeps the crap coming. Pack a lunch. Guess we’re stuck with their beverages since you can’t take your own any more. On a two, three or four hour flight, I do not need anything to eat. Make the bathrooms bigger. I am not a big person, but what a chore to use one of those contraptions. Porta potties are more spacious. Seats have to be made bigger and more comfortable. I can’t believe there is not more airline cabin rage from everyone on this issue. NO ONE is comfortable, except maybe FC. I will go back to flying my favorite carrier (usually can get nonstop anywhere I go), accumulating miles and use them to soften the price blow occassionally. Our next trip, in three weeks, will be by car….even tho’ it will take us 22 driving hours, I need a travel break from the craziness of today’s plane travel. See the USA in a Chevrolet………………!
I can give up the free meals, snacks, pillows, blankets, magazines, movies on long flights even, but what I would like retained is courtesy from the people at the counters. Even if I am not a first class or business class passenger, I would like to be treated with respect. I did pay for my flight too, not as much perhaps as they did, but my money is also green. I would hope the people at the counters would realize that electronic check-in can be a bit intimidating for us older passengers who do not fly often. One counter agent snapped at us that we had done things wrong and that thousands of other customers that morning seemed able to work the electronic check-in screens. He had told us to use any credit card to check in. Well, I did and the computer required the same credit card we had used to purchase our tickets originally. Anyway, please realize that not all of us are thoroughly adept with computers, or familiar with electronic check-in. My mother is 76 years old, has never gone online, and she never went to school. She would be intimidated by such expectations at the airport. I go with her and help her, and print out her ticket for her. So, courtesy is all I’m looking for, and I will give that in return.