Aircomplane.com™

Airline Schedules Fodder for Late Night Talk Shows? Really?

On the surface, readers of Aircomplane.com should be somewhat relieved to hear that we appear to have some company in pushing the airlines to get their delayed, overbooked, arrogant, selfish, irresponsible, mis-managed acts together. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), specifically FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey announced this week that "Airline schedules have got to stop being the fodder for late-night monologues. And if the airlines don't address this voluntarily, don't be surprised when the government steps in." Please, surprise US!

Here are some of the related articles from ABCNews.go.com and CNN.com.

As previously mentioned here in both commentary and the actual report from the Department of Transportation, July 2007 showed the airline industry’s worst on-time performance since 1995 – the year such data was first tracked.

But, alas, we cannot get too excited. First, Ms. Blakey made her announcement during her last official speech as head of the FAA and two, Air Transport Association spokesman David Castelveter reportedly said "No carrier is going to be willing to reduce its schedule unless we see that industry addresses all of the causes of delay."

“ALL” of the causes of delay? You mean the passengers? Sorry, you didn’t mention us…Those of us with children, special needs, and who may only fly once or twice a year and not wise to the ways of the cattle car mentality? (PUBLISHERS' NOTE:  We get the general need for the bovine-like conveyance of large groups of people, but we don't appreciate being branded by the iron-hot stares of arrogant and condescending fright attendants during what should be a customer service interchange.) Hmmm….Can we make a list of "all of the causes of delay," too? How about overbooking, aggressive adherence to impossible but-we-guess-they-look-profitable on spreadsheets schedules and a lack of overall responsibility to those whom you purport to serve as “customers.” OK, send us a list, Mr. “spokesman” for the ATA. We’d like to see it, and we’ll certainly publish it. And our readers will absolutely help complete it.

The Passengers Are Revolting! – You would be too if made to live in your own filth.

The sad, ironic beauty of serving as your Aircomplane.com Spite Attendants is that we don’t have to make this stuff up. Aircomplane.com certainly benefits from any viral sharing of items it offers here, but forwarding this and other postings can help support our efforts to be treated fairly, humanely, and with the respect most of the airline industry doesn’t seem to feel its PAYING CUSTOMERS deserve.

Sun-Sentinal.com – “On July 29, Continental Flight 1669, a 737-700 with about 120 passengers aboard, was bound for Newark, N.J., from Caracas, Venezuela, when bad weather caused the plane to be diverted to Baltimore. It sat there for about five hours with passengers on board as food and water ran low and toilets became filthy.

But what made the Continental flight somewhat different was that passengers organized and protested by clapping in rhythm and drumming on overhead bins. Finally, the pilot, worried about mayhem, called the police.” Story here.

ConsumerAffairs.com – “It had to happen sooner or later: an airline called police to calm a planeload of angry passengers.” Story  here.

ABCNews.go.com – “"We were not provided with food," said passenger Caroline Murray. "There were passengers who were ill. There was one woman who was diabetic. There was a pregnant woman with small children. It was shocking to me."

"When you've got passengers about ready to riot, you've got an air crew that's not properly trained to communicate," said ABC News aviation consultant John Nance." Story here.

 

Question: What does a Russian Gulag and the Airline Industry Have in Common?

Answer: The same “How to Welcome your Guests” section in their employee training manuals.

• We are allowed to place you in an area of confinement.
• We tell you when you will be strapped down.
• We are allowed to keep you for hours on end without access to food, water and information about your fate.
• You are not allowed outside contact.
• We have your money, and we control the future of your possessions.
• We are the judges of what is an indignity and what is not.
• We are subsidized by your government and are accountable to few.

Yea, we know. We’re not always part of the solution…sometimes, we just get pissy.

Will you be Taking a Power Trip with Us Today?

Sometimes it’s just you and the polyester provocateur behind the counter. You want to take your plane trip, and they want you to take their power trip. Yes, the everyone-before-you-was-some-kind-of-drunken-moron and so you are one, too school of customer service serves them well. It is incomprehensible that we even have to mention that WE ARE THE PAYING CONSUMERS.

Here’s what your Spite Attendants think it may boil down to:

In any business, whether offering goods or services, there is a sense of accountability by those having regular contact with the customers/clients/consumers. Those enjoying this contact realize that in order to benefit from return business, they must demonstrate some modicum of service and support to those spending money with them. Sure, many of them don’t want to do it, but most of them understand the longer-term and direct benefits. (In most businesses, this ranges from “piss off a customer and get fired” to “we need customers to pay us to pay you.”)

As with most things that make sense, this doesn’t work as reliably with the airlines. The reasons?

Consider these:

1. The airline industry fosters a climate where the value and purpose of money is not real. Fares and fees are whimsical and weird. They follow no monetary, value-based, actual worth, or structured guidelines, so they don’t matter. (“Adam Smith…paging Mr. Adam Smith. You’re needed at EVERY AIRLINE HEADQUARTERS IN THE WORLD.”) To that daily exposure to such monetary nonsense add the financial predicament of the airlines themselves. How many billions of dollars in debt? How much in employee concessions? What is the value of that merger, and what does it mean to me? Nonsense. This confusion breeds apathy (i.e. “I’ll never understand all of this, so I won’t bother trying to understand any of it.”) and acceptance. (i.e. “OK, well they seem to still be allowed to fuel up, and the peanuts are here on time, so despite being in a zillion dollars in debt, they must know what they are doing.) Naturally this translates to an inability to recognize that the person you are supposed to be serving is actually THE ONE PAYING YOU! They may not be, so piss off!
2. Belligerent and impossible airline employees are given what your Spite Attendants like to call the “Latitude to Abuse,” because it’s cheaper than giving them more money. For example, “No Millie, you can’t have a raise (again), but tell you what – treat the passengers any way you like and we promise a ‘supervisor’ will never show up to contradict you. And, if the passenger crosses the line, we’ll throw them off of your flight.” And who said airlines weren’t one of the top places to work?
3. Finally, they are subject to the lack of control control paradigm. This also applies to many retail clerks and checkout personnel and almost everyone at your local Department of Motor Vehicles. It works like this: An employee is so oppressed within their own working environment (and possibly their home environment), that they only have one little area of their life that they completely control…and you find yourself having to wade into the middle of it. We’ve all seen it, and the wisest among us play along and allow it in limited enforcement. “Take your food OUT OF THE BASKET and place it on the conveyor.” and “DON’T YOU HAVE ANYTHING SMALLER?!” are two classic examples that it’s happening to you. Anyway, it is understandable to be reluctant acquiescing when air travel is involved and you and your ass are the one on the conveyor. Resentment is common. Outrage is not inappropriate. You’re messing with their space simply by being in it. Ironically, you’ve paid to be in it. Gotcha!

 So where does all of this insight get us? We have no idea. We’re simply offering insight that may help. If better understanding those with whom we interact can help us to interact better, then we should try. It’s kind of like Nancy Pelosi and the Syrians but not really. Anyway, you have to try.

Who is "Jessica" without the name tag at JetBlue?

JetBlue Now Harasses Women with young children – The New Passenger Bill of Rights!- Oversteps their authority….

My wife Martha, young daughters (Sara 4 & Liora 20 months), Mother-In-Law (Michele) and I flew JetBlue from JFK, NY into West Palm Beach, Fl (PBI) on Tues. 2/13/07 the night of the ice storm. Fortunately our plane took off just before the airline shut down for scheduling issues. Upon arriving at PBI we proceeded to the baggage area only to find one piece of luggage with toiletries and infant supplies was missing. While I checked all the baggage areas she proceeded to the Jet Blue Claim office. She was greeted by a women named Jessica, in the office with no ID tag “A JetBlue policy”. The woman proceeded to fill out a claim form and offered a $30 voucher. My wife now upset with this small token of JetBlue appreciation asked if Jessica could track her luggage, Jessica refused saying she could not do this. My wife now more upset asked to speak with a supervisor, Jessica again refused. Jessica proceeded to now tell my wife to “Get Over it”.

Visibly upset and now jilted my wife continued to ask for a supervisor and was greeted by Airport Sheriff who placed their hands on their guns while my 4 year old and infant began to cry. The Sheriff asked us to step out of the office and went into speak to Jessica by himself. He came out to advise us we were no longer welcome in the JetBlue claim office and had to leave. As we tried to explain our story the other Sheriffs moved in, again my daughters cried. After a brief discussion we obliged and left only with a claim form in our hands with a voucher for $30.

The next day we called JetBlue customer service and left messages only to never be called back. After being passed of to multiple service reps we found out our luggage was sent to Austin, TX then sent back to NY, forwarded to West Palm Beach, then forwarded by Ft. Lauderdale (by the woman in the JetBlue claim office) when they knew we were staying in Orlando. We finally received the bag a week after on Tues 2/20 from 2/13 when lost. We also found out the JetBlue “friendly” policy is to offer $25 per day after the first 24hrs of notice of loss. My wife made formal complaints against Jessica with JetBlue customer service. As per the quote of Diane a Service Rep with JetBlue “Their was no excuse for how this was handled and how we were treated, the whole incident was handled very poorly”

I returned on Thursday 2/22 to get back to work without any problems, although when I got home I noticed my luggage now had a small hole in it and was very beaten up. Tonight 2/27/07 my wife, daughters, and in-laws were scheduled to leave from PBI, FL to return to JFK, NY at 9:30pm. Of course the flight was delayed “new JetBlue policy” so they proceeded to the JetBlue claim office with receipts for expenditures required from the lost suit cast. “We were advised by JetBlue that if we had receipts they would reimburse us, and had to go to the office where the claim was filed” As soon as Jessica, “once again without any JetBlue ID” saw my wife enter the office she called her supervisor Tom Lewis and Airport Security. Tom Lewis entered with Sheriff Effman, he told my wife she had no business in their office and how dare she enter and she is not welcome there. He stated that if she does not get out he will ban her from flying on JetBlue. At which point my wife began crying along with my daughters. My father-in-law, Harris Schechtman, an expert transportation consultant and former Vice President of the MTA Bridges and Tunnels, Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority in New York City asked to be explained what is going on here, when Tom Lewis said ok your “Banned from flying Jetblue, please leave the office.” My father in-law proceeded to open a dialogue with Tom Lewis who called Headquarters and advised them that HQ in NY stands by its employee decisions and we are banned. Tom Lewis then proceeded to offer a JetBlue flight out of Ft. Lauderdale for the next day and said he would not tell Ft. Lauderdale who they are. My father in-law declined this offer and then Tom Lewis banned my entire family from the Palm Beach International Airport. “This was out of his jurisdiction because per airport policy only airport employees can ban someone after they observe the situation and write up a report.”

While the conversation was going on Sheriff Effman kept saying “these people are Psycho” It was overheard that he was about to get off shift and looking to arrest my family and make some overtime. So how do you like JetBlue’s new Bill of Rights “We promise to make your wife and small children cry”

Don Raimondi

AIRLINE MERGERS AND YOU: Sleeping with the Enemy...or at least moving in.

(This Aircomplane.com blog entry originally posted on December 13, 2006.)

We know that our Aircomplane.com™  readers are a pretty well-read and sophisticated audience, so we won’t pretend for a second that we in any way “broke” the story surrounding the potential mergers, takeovers or other high-flying drama taking place within the airline industry. But we know you are all busy (ironically) sitting in an airport somewhere, so we will give you a rundown based on news reports as of this morning:

• Of the six major airlines now in operation (and many needing one), three may soon be gone.
• Consider the US Airways bid for Delta last month.
• UAL, United’s parent (think more the Osbournes rather than the Cleavers) was in talks with Continental Airlines.
• And even the “discount” airlines are getting in on the action with AirTran’s reported hostile bid for its competitor, Midwest Express.

Now, if any of you happen to have one or more of those airlines on your credit card statements, travel itinerary or worse, frequent flyer cards in your wallet, you may want to start thinking about how to protect yourselves.

What’s fascinating about all of this is that with the general oligolopolistic control so few have over airline travel, one would think they would be better at extorting profits from the public and ACTUALLY MAKING MONEY. If Enron taught us anything, it’s that someone is.

Anyway, as your Aircomplane.com Spite Crew, we are here to help you, not [ahem] speculate wildly. So here is what we suggest:

If you are a shareholder or have a history, relationship, flyer miles, or any other connection to a specific airline involved in this latest drama, go to the websites of the airlines that might be affected. We’ll make that easy for you. They are here:

• USAirways www.usairways.com     
  • Link to merger information including letter from Doug Parker, President/CEO
• Delta www.delta.com     
  • Link to November 17, 2006 SEC Filing We had to plug “USAirways” into the Delta search box to find this.
  • Delta does offer this section on its restructuring and bankruptcy
• United www.united.com     
  • Link to SEC Filings including current “Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities” 
• Continental www.continental.com     
  • Investor Relations (with sub-link to SEC filings)
• AirTran www.airtran.com     
  • Link to Press Room with Midwest press releases
  • Link to Investor Relations page with webcast on Midwest and names and contact       information for your questions
  • Airtran’s SEC filing for Midwest Please see the 12.13.06 filing. It includes this old chestnut (Or since it’s an airline, perhaps it’s a peanut). “The combination of AirTran Airways and Midwest Airlines would create a truly national low cost airline with pro- forma revenue of approximately $3.0 billion in 2007. AirTran believes that both      companies would benefit from this merger by building greater scale, efficiencies and growth opportunities to better succeed in the face of an increasingly competitive airline environment.”
• Midwest Express www.midwestairlines.com
  -Here's the letter from Midwest Chairman, CEO, and President Timothy E. Hoeksema, to Airtran's Chairman & CEO Joseph P. Leonard. It's called  “Midwest Air Group Confirms Receipt of Unsolicited, Highly Conditional Expression of Interest”

 o SEC filings page  Also see 12.13.06 filing

 
Keep an eye on their “news” and customer pages, and don’t hesitate to check in with their press offices. Look for how they are going to address the issues that concern you. Yes, much of this may be preliminary, but you have a vested interest. Show it! Demand to be kept informed about your “assets” and interests – including frequent flyer miles. You can Google search here from our Aircomplane.com home page and monitor such terms as “airline mergers,” and “airline takeovers.” Use the Google “News Alert” feature to be notified when something on these airlines hits the Internet (which is what we use).

And, please feel free to POST your concerns here on Aircomplane.com™ . If you don’t see a main posting concerning your topic or question, just e-mail us, and we’ll put it up for you. We've made it easier to do so with the links on the right as well. Chances are many of you are asking the same questions and have the same concerns. You are the reason that Aircomplane.com™ exists.

 

25 Years of Marriage - 43 Hours of Hell

Happy 25th Anniversary Andee and Sherrie Rubi. Ahhh...25 years ago...what a different time. Gas was $1.38 a gallon, the average cost of a new home was $83,000, and the Rubis were married.

Flash ahead: 2006. The Rubis go to the Fiji Islands on Air Pacific Airlines and somehow get rerouted to a flight on the return trip from hell. (Yes, many of us have been on that flight. Many airlines excel at them.) Oh, and like SO MANY airline "customers," the airline that was more-than-happy-to-take-their-money to get them there, seems to have suddenly lost interest in professionally handling their return – or even returning their correspondence.

Their entire letter to Air Pacific Airlines, a nice outline for Stephen King's next novel, is too long to include here, but you can find it the first "Comment" under this posting here and under the category I'm sorry. Did I Inconvenience You by Flying on Your Airline? Mrs. Rubi's e-mail to me opens with: "This is a copy of the letter I sent to Air Pacific through my travel agent. It has been one month and the letter has now gone out again to other parties, higher up I hope, with no response from the airline. Any Suggestions???"

She also adds that her unresponded-to correspondence (funny how correspondence is SUPPOSED to go BOTH WAYS) has been sent to Louise Waqanisanini lwaqanisanini@airpacific-lax.com. She then forwarded it to: Raijeli@airpacific.com.fj and Mr. Richard Yamashita, LAX Airport Manager ryamashita@airpacific-lax.com and Matilda Cakobau matilda@airpacific-lax.com.

If anyone knows any of these people, please tell them Sherri and Andee Rubi would like to say hello. If Mrs. Rubi has any of the addresses wrong, please Comment at the end of this entry and provide her with the information.

We at Aircomplane.com™ also realize that there may be two sides to every story. Perhaps you at Air Pacific Airlines may feel that the Rubis are not entitled to any consideration for what they went through? That’s why this is a blog (read: interactive) and not just a website.

Many airline passengers are just fed up with not hearing back from the airlines AT ALL when they have what they feel is a legitimate issue. Feel free to drop us a note or “Comment” on this blog entry. The Rubis would love to hear from you one way or the other.

 

Thanks,
Your Friendly Aircomplane.com™ "Spite Crew"