AIRLINE

Why cut-rate carriers are (still) your favorite

Discount carriers used to be the darlings of air travelers, if not travel columnists. With low fares and high standards of customer service, what wasn’t to like?

Then JetBlue had its embarrassing Valentine’s Day meltdown more than a year ago, in which dozens of flights sat on a frozen JFK airport tarmac for up to 11 hours. And then Southwest had its humiliating safety scandal for operating almost 50 planes that missed their safety inspections. It faces a record $10.2 million civil penalty.

It’s enough to make you want to fly one of those pricey network airlines, isn’t it?

Actually, no.

I asked readers to nominate their favorite airlines, and wouldn’t you know it, the low-fare airlines still kicked butt. I also boarded a Southwest flight after the inspection snafu, and found no evidence that the carrier had fallen out of favor with fliers.

Why? Here’s your take on each of these low-fare airlines:

JetBlue: ‘They screw up less’
JetBlue pulled some very respectable numbers last year, even when you factor in the tarmac stranding incidents. A closer look at the 2007 Transportation Department report card shows that JetBlue lost less luggage, bumped fewer passengers and didn’t generate as many complaints as most of the major airlines. Yes, even when you count the gripes about the ice storm.

But performance is only part of the reason you favored JetBlue. After all, other airlines did as well — or better — than JetBlue in many categories, but failed to make customers as happy. So what’s the secret? Passengers say it’s because they’re treated with dignity by employees who seem to genuinely care. And that kind of corporate culture is something their competitors (except maybe one, which I’ll get to in a second) just can’t match.

“The flight crews are very friendly and accommodating, there is plenty of leg room at each leather seat and the personal TVs keep everyone entertained,” says Elaine Canter, a reader from Mamaroneck, N.Y. “What a pleasure.”

Adds another reader, Aaron Gold: “They have a reasonable amount of seat room and their fares are pretty decent.”

All of that is nice. But Stan Prus, an attorney from New York, says he loves JetBlue for a simple reason: “They screw up less.”

I’ve always felt that JetBlue is one of the best airlines in America, even after the media pounced on it more than a year ago for the whole ice storm incident. But I was genuinely surprised by the passionate response from readers, whose experiences remind me of what flying was like before airline deregulation — a pleasant, civil experience that the entire family enjoyed.

Southwest: ‘They truly seem to care about customers’
Like JetBlue, this always-profitable, no-frills airline does well in the Transportation Department rankings. Not perfect, but good enough to set it apart from many of the bottom-feeding network airlines. For example, the government recorded only 266 complaints against Southwest in 2007, or 0.26 gripes per 100,000 enplanements — the second-lowest number behind island-hopping Aloha Airlines. The worst performer, US Airways, had a mind-blowing 1,828 complaints, or about 3.16 grievances per 100,000 enplanements.

JetBlue’s numbers on mishandled baggage were so-so — 5.87 reports per 1,000 passengers — which put it in the top half of the flock. (The worst record belonged to American Eagle, which mishandled more than 1 in 100 bags it put its hands on.)

But again, it’s possible to do everything right and still get it wrong. I mean, United Airlines, Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines had a better baggage-handling record, but they failed to get as much love from customers. How come?

In order to understand the reasons, I spoke with some of the raving customers.

“Once, a Southwest pilot saw me struggling with the overhead storage of my travel bag and graciously helped me,” says Carolyn Steel, a retired stockbroker. “I was surprised and pleased to be so well treated. I am a senior and would choose Southwest over all of the others.”

It isn’t just the go-the-extra-mile service that’s delivered with a real smile, but a truly user-friendly airline, according to customers. It’s easy to change reservations, easy to board planes, easy to cash in award tickets, and, most importantly, Southwest is easy to fly. “They truly seem to care about customers,” says Diane Daniel, a writer based in Durham, N.C.

“I like Southwest because of its engaging flight attendants, its generally good on-time performance, its use of Americans-only phone agents and its round-trip pricing method, where legs are priced separately,” says reader Gibbs LaMotte. “But most of all because of its change policies: no $100 fees and no restriction on using the unused return leg of a round trip ticket.”

Why I’m flying JetBlue and Southwest
Coincidentally, I recently needed to buy airline tickets from Orlando to New York and Orlando to Los Angeles. I ended up booking one set of tickets on JetBlue and the other on Southwest. Here’s why.

On the first flight from Orlando to New York, the network airlines offered more expensive flights with a one-stop. AirTran had a comparable price, but less convenient times. A family of five with two kids under three can’t take an evening flight that gets them to their destination after midnight. It’s just not practical.

I also knew JetBlue offered free seatback TVs, but more importantly, that the flight attendants treated kids well. My five-year-old son, who is not all that brand-aware, knows the difference between JetBlue and another airline. And he almost always prefers JetBlue. How they managed to leave that kind of impression on a kindergartner, I have no idea.

On the second transcontinental flight, JetBlue was not as competitive. The major airlines came much closer to matching JetBlue’s price, and even offered a non-stop flight, which is a big bonus when you’re flying with young children.

So why did we pick the less convenient one-stop flight on Southwest, with no change of planes? Because it cost almost $400 less than the flights offered by JetBlue and the other big airlines, because the flight took only about an extra hour — and because it was Southwest.

Southwest is another airline that my kids recognize. The flight attendants hand out trinkets to keep them busy and they don’t treat them like hazardous cargo.

JetBlue and Southwest weren’t the cheapest airlines flying to New York and Los Angeles. AirTran Airways and Spirit Airlines were. But for us, they were the best choices.

Based on your feedback, they are for many of you, too.


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Airline deathwatch: place your bets, please

Now that Frontier Airlines has filed for bankruptcy protection, it’s time to get serious about a game we bloggers haven’t played since 2002. It’s called airline deathwatch.

I’ve hinted at it in my MSNBC column, as have columnists like Scott McCartney and my blogging colleague Jeanne Leblanc. But now it it’s time for all of you to join in the fun.

Place your bets, please.

United Airlines. Business is down, fares are up. Is the end near? (Odds: 1,500 to 1)

American Airlines. The world’s largest air carrier has been paralyzed by inspection-related cancellations this week, including more than 500 flights today. Compensating passengers will cost it millions. Is it enough to push it into bankruptcy? (Odds: 1,000 to 1)

AirTran. Its top executive is overpaid, it recently added surcharges for a second checked bag, and its core customers — budget travelers — are becoming even more penny-pinching. Can high ratings save it? (Odds: 50 to 1)

Alitalia. Deal to rescue ailing Italian carrier fell apart last week. Is the end near? (Odds: 6 to 1)

Sun Country. This struggling airline replaced its CEO, furloughed 30 percent of its pilots and is facing an embezzlement scandal. (Odds: 2 to 1)

What do you think? Am I missing any other candidates? Spirit Airlines? Delta Air Lines? Northwest Airlines?

Step right up.


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5 sexiest in-flight safety videos ever

In-flight safety videos are big news, thanks to Delta Air Lines’ spiced-up preflight announcements. So as a public service, I’ve reviewed the five sexiest in-flight safety videos online.

Let’s get right to it …

Delta Air Lines

Rating: 5 (out of 5)

What’s sexy: Angelina Jolie lookalike has a gleam in her eye as she discusses water evacuation.

What’s not: nothing.

Air France

Rating: 4

What’s sexy: it’s en Francais.

What’s not sexy: it’s … en Francais.

TACA

Rating: 3

What’s sexy: supermodel shows how to move seat into upright position.

What’s not sexy: symphonic soundtrack is a snoozer.

Virgin America

Rating: 2.5

What’s sexy: lithe female passenger blows into flotation device and smiles.

What’s not sexy: having a bull for a seatmate. (Wait, maybe I got it the wrong way around?)

Air New Zealand

Rating: 2

What’s sexy: woman in leather boots demonstrates brace position.

What’s not sexy: male announcer urges passengers to “do up” seatbelts.

Hat tip to Jeanne “I’m-immune-to-your-charms” Leblanc for finally convincing me the Delta video had gone viral.


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Good grief! 3 tales of compassion-less customer service

Here at the travel industry’s unofficial complaints department, we count on having a day or two off, Good Friday being one of them. Not this year. Here are three recent stories of compassion-less customer service that arrived in the “in” box on what was supposed to be our “off” day.

“I can only give you ice.” The first report comes to us by way of reader Mike Emich, who flew from Greensboro to Hartford on Skybus recently. His plane sat on the taxiway more than three hours because of a mechanical problem. That proved to be plenty of time for the paid-on-commission Skybus crewmembers to generate more revenue for the airline.

The flight attendants where moving up and down the aisle selling food and drink. After two hours, a young boy next to me who did not have money asked her for something to drink. The attendant said, “I can only give you ice.”

Sigh. I understand the Skybus no-frills model, but even prisoners of war get water. Come on.

Dead? That’ll be $100, ma’am. Shirley Lantz was scheduled to fly from San Jose, Calif., to Bend, Ore., when her husband died just a day before her trip. She asked Alaska Airlines if she could get a refund on her ticket.

They said that I could use the ticket later but I would have to pay $100 more to travel. Is there any way that I could get a refund ? I am legally blind and have some difficulty using the telephone to contact the airline.

I asked Alaska repeatedly to help Lantz. Finally, yesterday, it agreed to a full refund. Common sense — not an inquiry from an ombudsman — should have guided the customer service agents at Alaska.

“Sir, there’s a rash on my legs.” Jeannette Haine just returned from Las Vegas. Just before she checked out of the Paris resort, she noticed little red bumps on her legs.

I thought I had hives until I mentioned this to my roommate. She developed the same rash after one night at the hotel. I called housekeeping and they promptly provided hypo-allergenic sheets for the maid to use on the beds. But the next morning we still had the red bumps.

Even though Haine filed a complaint, nothing was done. No compensation, no apology — nothing.

But here’s where it gets interesting.

So my friend flies back home, and on the plane she strikes up a conversation about the sheet problem with her seatmate. A woman two rows ahead hears this conversation, gets up and walks to my friend. She also has a rash on her legs and stayed at Ballys. As she is standing in the aisle, another woman hears the conversation and joins the group. She, too, developed a rash.

Her theory: all of these resorts use a central laundry facility. And something is not quite right at the cleaners. “Here’s my question,” she says. “What are they doing at this laundry? What’s being used on these sheets?”

Seems her resort should have responded with more than a “we’ll look into it” answer.

Got any stories of compassion-less customer service? Share them here.


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Ticked off skiers launch grassroots effort to lift new baggage fees

They may be a little late to the game, but then again, the first skiers who will probably be hit by these fees won’t see them until this summer (winter in South American ski resorts like Valle Nevado and Cerro Catedral). But a group of skiers is protesting the planned second-bag surcharge that United Airlines and US Airways have announced, hoping to enlist scuba divers, golfers and parents with strollers to their cause.

The woman behind the protest is skier and travel agent Harriet Warner, who is concerned that her clients will pay extra for their vacations. But, she says, the policy change affects “all travelers who cannot possibly travel with just one piece of luggage.”

We had posted a link on our ski club web site for people to send protest emails to United Airlines. Many skiers responded and got canned responses that indicate it’s a done deal.

So Warner, who is based in New Jersey, started a protest Web site. “The site will not collect email addresses or claim affiliation to any ski club or travel business,” she says. “It will only forward the messages to the customer service e-mails.”

If United and US Airways get enough e-mails, they may exempt skis and other sports equipment from the new second-bag surcharge. But it will take a concerted effort, not only by skiers, but scuba divers, concerned moms, golfers and air traveler advocates.

Are there any air traveler advocates left out there?


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“We’ve had a lot of cracks about the whole inspection thing”

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If you really want to understand how the Southwest Airlines safety scandal is affecting passengers and employees, there’s only one thing to do. Get on a flight and strike up a conversation with a crewmember. Which is exactly what I did this morning.

The nonstop flight from Albuquerque, N.M., to Orlando took off right on time at 9:05 a.m., and it was completely full. So my first question – “Has anyone canceled their flights because of safety concerns?” – seemed moot. Clearly, no one had called off their plans to fly to Orlando today.

None of the passengers I spoke with had any misgivings about flying today, despite a firestorm of criticism over Southwest’s handling of the inspections.

I asked one of the attendants if the subject come up in interactions with passengers. I’m keeping their names out of this, for obvious reasons.

“Oh yeah,” the attendant said. “We’ve had a lot of cracks about the whole inspection thing. No serious questions. Most of them are just joking around.”

While safety isn’t a joke to Southwest’s employees, the way in which this story has been handled is something of a laughing matter within the company.

“The media has played up the negative aspect of this story,” I was told. “They’re just interested in selling more newspapers. But the fact is, we’re always two or three steps ahead of the FAA, when it comes to spotting safety problems. You don’t see that being reported anywhere, do you?”

Blaming the media for a story (or shooting the messenger, as we like to call it) is a time-honored tradition. But in this case, my Southwest friends might have a point. There are only a handful of airline reporters in the United States with the depth of knowledge and experience to put an event like this into perspective – to be able to separate the political grandstanding from the PR and get to the core issue.

I would even go as far to say that bloggers have covered the Southwest story more responsibly – more timely, with better sense of perspective and more clear-headed insights than my buddies in the mainstream media have. I should note, of course, that some of those bloggers are affiliated with mainstream news outlets, like The Dallas Morning News.

About halfway through writing this blog entry, the crew discovered me (geez, gotta get one of those privacy screens for my laptop). A flight attended slipped me an internal memo (hey Paula and Brandy, go easy on these guys … they’re just trying to help).

This is what Southwest employees are being told about inspection-gate:

We wanted to followup on this morning’s Employee Message concerning the preliminary findings of our own internal investigation and audit of our Maintenance procedures. Gary has vowed to make any changes necessary to ensure that Southwest is in full compliance with FAA Airworthiness Directives and All of our own Maintenance programs, policies, and procedures.

During last night’s review of our maintenance records, we discovered an ambiguity related to required testing. We made the decision to take a conservative approach and remove aircraft out of scheduled service. We immediately began reinspecting those aircraft. A total of 44 aircraft were affected – one was already retired, five were in maintenance for schedules checks, and the remaining 38 were removed from scheduled service.

Our decision to remove aircraft from service resulted in approximately four percent of today’s flight’s being canceled. Due to good weather conditions, the decision caused minimal schedule disruptions, and we are running more than 90 percent ontime.

A portion of the aircraft have been inspected, cleared, and returned to service. We expect to have all these aircraft inspected by early this evening. The ongoing internal review of our maintenance programs, policies, and procedures could potentially create other operational changes if we need to swap or reroute aircraft as the internal investigation and audit unfolds.

“Again, we are mindful that during Southwest’s proud 37-year history, we have safely transported the equivalent of the population of the United States – every man, woman, and child – fur and a half times over. This is a fact. We have bee a safe Company. I believe we are a safe Company. I am committed to making sure we become safer still,” said Gary.

(Gary would be Southwest chief executive, Gary Kelly.)

“If we thought the airline was unsafe,” a crewmember added, “every flight attendant would have called in sick yesterday.”


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Dear AARP, please take a stand on the airline mergers

In an earlier blog posting, I wondered why membership organizations with large numbers of air travelers aren’t taking a stand against the coming wave of airline mergers. And so did Eric Voth, an AARP member who wrote to his organization to ask why it wasn’t using its considerable lobbying clout to block these corporate unions that would almost certainly hurt its constituents. You might be surprised by AARP’s answer.

Here’s a condensed version of Voth’s letter to AARP. Now bear in mind that Voth isn’t some guy off the street. He’s a dues-paying member of the organization.

When any airline mergers are officially announced, I feel AARP needs to take a stand in opposition to them. Consumers will not benefit. Consolidation most likely will result in fewer choices, fewer flights, and higher fares. We will be paying more and getting less.

Mergers may result in short-term profits for shareholders, but they often mean long-term losses for consumers and workers. Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, writing in BusinessWeek Viewpoint, February 15, 2008, says, “The merged carrier is never greater than the sum of its parts. It is always less, often much less.”

I agree with Mr. Oberstar.

Is there any history of the flying public benefiting as the result of an airline merger? I think not. Therefore, I urge AARP to take a stand in opposition to any proposed air carrier consolidation.

Two weeks later, Voth received the following reply:

Dear Mr. Voth:

Thank you for contacting AARP’s national office to express your views. We’re pleased to hear from you.

Your feedback is invaluable to AARP. The issues you raised are monitored and included in reports to our editors, program coordinators, and legislative analysts. Our Board of Directors and National Policy Council consult these reports when determining the future course of AARP.

Please know that we are constantly weighing policy options and exploring better ways to serve our members. We hope you’ll continue to take the time to share your ideas, concerns, and opinions with us.

Again, thank you for taking the time to share your views. It’s truly the combined interest, energy, commitment, and passion of our 39 million members that gives AARP the power to make life better.

Sincerely,

Betty
Member Communications
Member@aarp.org

What does Voth think of the letter? “It’s similar to one I’d expect to get after writing to an elected federal official or to the federal government,” he told me.

It is, without a doubt, a form letter. But I’m not convinced that AARP has written off Voth and the thousands of other concerned members who would suffer from an airline merger. I think they’re waiting for Delta-Northwest to be announced before taking any action.

At least I hope so.


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