1. My ticket is not to *FLY* me to my destination, but to *GET* me to my destination.
Air travel is expensive and complex and problematic for the customer as much as the the airline. One can not argue with mother nature and the FAA when it comes to weather. But simply declaring "your flight is cancelled, so our responsibility is done" is unacceptable. Airlines should have alliances with bus companies, limo services, and/or train companies so that even if they can not get one to the next destination in the air, there is a way to get there. There are only a few "severe weather" scenarios which truly stop all traffic. Most of them simply don't allow us to get there on wings.
2. There should be no such thing as a "non-refundable" ticket.
I understand the philosophy behind the non-refundable ticket. The airlines reduce risk, and the customer saves a few bucks. But there is no such things as "nonrefundable bottle of water" in this country, so why is it acceptable to allow a travel company to be completely free of blame and obligation if they are unable to fulfill their obligation? The "non-refundable ticket" should be abandoned by airlines as incompatible with reasonable customer service.
3. The airline should always have extra staff/planes available, if possible.
One of the problems with our flight was that you had hundreds of stranded passengers and only 3 service representatives to deal with them. And after 10 minutes, one of them fled. And after another 10 minutes of arguing with angry german tourists another fled. So finally, you were left with hundreds of stranded passengers dealing with 1 faithful (overworked, overstressed, overtaxed) customer service rep. I work at a bank - not exactly an industry known for their excellent customer service - and it is understood in times of stress that extra staff - tellers, phone CSRs, systems engineers, etc. - are called in to handle the extra volume and provide as much help to our customers as possible. Why did the airline feel no obligation to do so? And when flights were cancelled, why was there no question of scheduling extra flights today to deal with the overflow?
Again, I realize that the airlines are struggling just to be profitable these days. But I think if even one airline adopted these three simple principles, they would have a chance to distinguish themselves and take a large portion of the business that is out there.
I'm really sorry for the troubles you encountered, but quite frankly that's life. 98% of the time everything works fine - aside from delays. Changing policies for 2% of the time is neither profitable or logical.
YanıtlaSilGee, so if my bank only exposes customer's private information 2% of the time, I don't need to change my policies? The regulators see it differently somehow.
YanıtlaSilThis is their core function and they stranded hundreds of customers. Suggesting changes is not unreasonable.
A non-refundable ticket does not mean the airline company is out of their obligation. An airline ticket is a contract between you and the airline company. You will give the airline company $X to take you from Y to Z. A non-refundable ticket means you can't say, "hey, I changed my mind... I don't want to go from Y to Z, give me my money back." For that, there should be a difference. You're getting an added benefit by adding a "clause" to the contract that says you can cancel at any time and for any reason. As for #1, that contract does, I believe, mean they do have to get you from Y to Z even if it's not by plane. In many cases, people don't want to take a different mode of transportation (I'm sorry, Sir, but there's thunderstorms in Des Moines, so we're going to send you from Sacramento to NY by train - um... no thanks, I'll wait for the next flight.) The other half of the coin is that they probably lose money if they send you by another method. If the flight is canceled, a good agent should be able to get you a flight on another airline, if there are seats available.
YanıtlaSilYou guys were stuck in Philly? Why on earth didn't you call us? We could have at least given you a free bed for the night.
YanıtlaSilAirlines are required to reasonably try to get you where you're going. I'm sure they gave you the option of getting on another flight today - clearly at an inoportune time, but still they're trying.
YanıtlaSilNot flying you somewhere because of bad weather is far different from exposing private data information.
I have to say... I agree with Sean and Wedge.
YanıtlaSilSounds like you had bad reps, which is a major problem at airlines. I've had my share of missed or canceled flights (one reason to go out of bigger airports) and every time the angst and anger was either enhanced or diffused by the employee. Some were extremely helpful and able to get me what I needed, or they were surly and mean, and neither of us got anything.
In general the airlines to a pretty good job considering all the costs and headaches they have to deal with.
OK, first, I am tired and annoyed, so apologies in advance if this comes across wrong.
YanıtlaSil1. Please re-read the original post. This is NOT a post suggesting the airlines cheated me, or that there is an urgent need for government action for my situation. This is a list of SUGGESTIONS that I believe would allow any carrier that adopted them, to stand out from the crowd.
2. Ward, We stayed in Voorhees which we knew well, and honestly I was not aware Dover and Philly were at all close. Shame on my geography skills.
3. I'm not going to post any more about this. Some folks here obviously see this whole exercise as whining. If you want to hear the story elsewhere, let me know.
It did not sound like wining. If you have flown lately, you would know that the system is broken. It is not like it was in the 90's... annoying but functional, it is now BROKEN. I used to fly quite a bit (more than 3 times a year), and it was always a nuisance but I seemed to get there every time... even if my luggage didn't. On my last flight, it was so bad, the airline did end up putting me on a bus to my destination and we almost missed the wedding we had traveled so far to attend. I HATE to fly. Because there is no passenger bill of rights, you are their prisoner until they say otherwise. And as for government intervention... haven't they already screwed it up enough... Nomad wasn't suggestion the help of the Gov, he just wanted some civil, internal changes.
YanıtlaSilPS. A TSA security worker, without a high-school diploma, can ban you from flying for the rest of your life if they deem you a "threat". Thanks big brother.
Isn't a passenger bill of rights the government getting more involved?
YanıtlaSilThen again, the state funded airlines I have flown (and those in my family have flown) have universally been nicer then the others...
All flights to eastern NY and all of CT were either full or canceled for the entire evening on Monday. There were no alternate flights available. But the attitude of the airlines was what was most annoying. "We can't get you anywhere. Too bad for you. Fend for yourself." No help with transportation, housing, etc. If you were there with little cash or credit, you were stuck for 24 hours in the airport, where food is available, but expensive. We were lucky. We had both cash and credit, and we were together and not alone. We were also only about a half hour away from a place we were familiar with and comfortable being in.
YanıtlaSilPrivate Jets were coming and going from cape cod all through the thunder storm. I know, because they were going directly over our rented cottage. They can't tell me that with all the tech that we have that we can't fly in some extra fluffy clouds. And... Nick, there is a customer bill of rights for Jet Blue without the all mighty government. What would have been a revolution until the gov. stepped on them by taxing the crap out of them is Netjets. That idea would have hurt the airlines and maybe even changed the way we travel. Instead, I will now not fly unless I HAVE to for business or major functions that I can't drive to AND, if I do have to fly, it will be with a carrier that respects their customers... even if I have to pay more for it. This may have come across strong... and that is the point, I HATE TO FLY and that hate transfers neatly to the major air carriers.
YanıtlaSilI agree that the problem really is that there was no managing going on by US Airways. The women at our gate was able to try and schedule people for a flight the next afternoon or she directed everyone to "special Services" which was down the hall and could try to get people on flights by other airlines or to other airports. We decided to go to "special services". When we got there, there were 2 people working. The line continued to grow behind us because of more flights getting canceled. When we got to the front of the line the 2nd person who was working at the desk left. (I am not against her leaving as if she needed to use the bathroom that was OK and she had gotten testy with the person before us so maybe she just needed to "cool off".) The problem is that no US Airway manger stepped in and either did the job that needed doing or reassigned someone from somewhere else to come up and work at this desk instead. We were able to stay calm for many reasons during our ordeal, but the main reason for me was that I knew that it was really management's fault, not the person I was dealing with.
YanıtlaSilAnd you have to pay more to fly JetBlue. Everything has a cost, there is no such thing as a free lunch. People in this country don't want to pay more, but they want a higher level of service.
YanıtlaSilGreed, from the government to the unions to the consumers to the shareholders, is the major problem.
I guess I just see both sides, and have found that anger and hate aren't going to help.
Wait, isn't the whole point of a capitalist system that you have a struggle between supply and demand? That people seek out what they want, and businesses try to make as much profit as they can providing that service? Why in the name of all that is maple syrup are you trying to say this is a bad thing? Consumers SHOULD complain and express their desires, and companies SHOULD listen and adapt.
YanıtlaSilCome ON people. We don't go around excusing car companies for having sleezy salesmen or making shoddy products, do we? "I can see where they are coming from." In the name of Aunt Jemima. Sometimes is it the duty of an industry to save itself and that is where airlines are now. If they don't, guess what? Someone else WILL come along and destroy their monopoly... unless Uncle Sam makes it illegal to do so. That is what happened with car companies as many went no haggle (Saturn) and others were forced to return the focus to quality (Ford). And others are now going out of business (GM).
In college, I had a bunch of friends who flew a distance that was easily travelled in a car by driving 6 hours. It was expensive, but worth it for the convenience and the relatively low cost. They all agree, they would NEVER do so these days.
YanıtlaSilI don't think it is a problem to see both sides. Then maybe something will get done that actually relieves the problems both sides have, resulting in a better deal for everyone. Bullying the airlines won't solve anything, and will just get your blood pressure up.
YanıtlaSilThat isn't an argument against capitalism.
I think most people are missing the point of Mark's post and my comment.
YanıtlaSilWe aren't saying the airline industry is horrible. We are just giving some suggestions as to what they can do to improve and what would have made our impression of them better. I would now think twice before flying US Airways because of their bad management and customer service. Not because my flight was canceled.
i've flown on most of the major carriers in the us and i don't ever fly us airways anymore simply b/c their customer service is the worst around.
YanıtlaSilFunny, I've had the same impression after flying US Air Sean...
YanıtlaSilDelta is close to the bottom too. I try my best to fly Jet Blue or Southwest... I have a strange loyalty to southwest since my tenant is a flight attendant with them. They sort of help pay my mortgage in a round about way.
YanıtlaSilDelta and NW have always been good in my experience. Continental and US Air have always been bad - again in my experience.
YanıtlaSilIt's funny how we can have such different experiences. I've never been disappointed with SW or Continental. Although there was one time coming into Lexington that the pilot on my Continental flight seemed to suddenly feel as if he was a jet fighter pilot. So many sharp banks...I still get nervous thinking about it.
YanıtlaSilBut I think that regardless, we have to admit that there are serious problems with the airlines. Sure, most flyers get through without issues. But you can't say that the airlines are doing a good job unless they manage the crisis periods well. And they consistently fail to do that. It's easy to be on top of things when it's all going smoothly. But it seems that consistently, whenever something goes wrong, it's a disaster at airports. And that is a sign of a real problem. They can't control the weather or what happens at other airports, but they need to be able to control what happens at their own hubs.