All the horror stories, all the poeple here posting about the "Race to the Bottom" and airlines "Don't care about customers" are just not supported by the facts. Is this all media hype and a few squeaky wheels?

Facts seem to show Operational the US airlines have never been better, fares are cheap and airlines are profitble, employees are getting paid and have job security for the first time ever.

And shocker of all shockers customer have never been more satisfied!

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/bus ... till-great

It's actually been that way for a while. Good luck convincing most of this site of that though, or even worse: lunatic FlyerTalkers.

They'll both just start screaming "consolidation!"... as if that meant anything, in a vacuum.

UpNAWAy wrote:

And shocker of all shockers customer have never been more satisfied!

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/bus ... till-great

More and more people fly every year, things like this are bound to happen. However, one cannot deny the fact that most legacy carriers from Europe, South America and Asia have way better costumer service than those from the States.

pipeafcr wrote:

However, one cannot deny the fact that most legacy carriers from Europe, South America and Asia have way better costumer service than those from the States.

I would actually very much disagree. Foreign carrier staff are more formal in their interactions with customers however US Carrier staff are far more flexible and empowered to solve customer problems. I would rather have a cancelled or delayed flight on one of the US3 over a foreign carrier any day.

When airlines get rid of contract staff coughUNITEDcough then we can talk. AA is different because it is outsourced to their regional carriers owned by the parent company, likewise with Delta because DGS is owned by the parent company. UA is a whole different ball-game in that regard.

pipeafcr wrote:

However, one cannot deny the fact that most legacy carriers from Europe, South America and Asia have way better costumer service than those from the States.

Another monkey-see myth perpetuated by AvGeeks.

I mean, if you focus your travel on ogling flight attendants who have no sexual interest in you... then sure, I guess. Never really understood why that's a "thing," but apparently it is, especially around here.

But that said:
take a ride in BA's pathetic Club World seat, eat some of VS' disgusting food, or have some IRROPS on just about any Asian carrier; then come back and tell us about how spectacular their "customer service" is relative to, well, anyone.

pipeafcr wrote:

UpNAWAy wrote:

And shocker of all shockers customer have never been more satisfied!

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/bus ... till-great

More and more people fly every year, things like this are bound to happen. However, one cannot deny the fact that most legacy carriers from Europe, South America and Asia have way better costumer service than those from the States.

Doubt it. I sat in CGK for 2 days on an GA irrop in 2015. These airlines are not subject to the media pressure and number of flights US carriers are.

I doubt there is a race to the bottom, other then trying to match a level of service to what people are willing to pay for. In times past, during regulation, fares were much higher and the competition was based on the level of service. Now it is to have a fare people are willing to pay.

I can't remember the last time I've had truly shoddy service on a US carrier. Detached, indifferent? Sure, but I find a smile goes a long way on both sides of the customer service experience. The "horror stories" are the ones that make the news, but how many "atta-boys" make it to the public? Very few.

I worked for UA during the ESOP period in the mid to late 1990's. It was a pleasure of a job, because we had empowerment to handle the situations that came up. I rarely needed a supervisor to assist me in righting a wrong. When I worked for other airlines, I found myself very unhappy. I found myself needed a supervisor for everything. Meaning, I couldn't waive a bag fee or change fee without a supervisor. Are there any airlines left that give the employees some empowerment?

UpNAWAy wrote:

All the horror stories, all the poeple here posting about the "Race to the Bottom" and airlines "Don't care about customers" are just not supported by the facts. Is this all media hype and a few squeaky wheels?

Facts seem to show Operational the US airlines have never been better, fares are cheap and airlines are profitble, employees are getting paid and have job security for the first time ever.

And shocker of all shockers customer have never been more satisfied!

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/bus ... till-great

Because most of those flying now aren't old enough to know what real customer service was like.

People act like children and the airlines are blamed for bad coustomer service.........

Smile sometimes, listen, follow directions, say please and thank you, if a professional asks you not to do something don't argue, there are rules regulations and procedures that apply and the professionals know what those are YOU DO NOT so if you don't understand politely ask for clarification.

BE A GROWN UP!!!!!!

I think the quality of customer service in general has declined over the past decade or so, I don't think it's unique to airlines at all. Also, there have been incidents like the ones that have gotten so much attention lately forever - it's just that nowadays, everyone has a smartphone, catches it on video and wants to get their name on TV so they send it off to CNN, NBC, etc.

UpNAWAy wrote:

All the horror stories, all the poeple here posting about the "Race to the Bottom" and airlines "Don't care about customers" are just not supported by the facts. Is this all media hype and a few squeaky wheels?

Facts seem to show Operational the US airlines have never been better, fares are cheap and airlines are profitble, employees are getting paid and have job security for the first time ever.

And shocker of all shockers customer have never been more satisfied!

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/bus ... till-great

Sometimes you might really be able to make a silk purse from a sow's ear. Mitchell Schnurman, Business Columnist for the Dallas News appears to have done just that.

Despite the fact that the organization that conducted the customer satisfaction survey, used by Mr. Schnurman to buttress his argument, states that the USA airlines ranked in the lowest third of industries tracked by their surveys, Schnurman seems to paint an undeserved rosy picture.

Some quotes from the actual survey report:

https://www.theacsi.org/news-and-resour ... ravel-2017

"Passenger satisfaction is up compared to a year ago, but airlines remain in the bottom third of industries tracked by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)."

“Customer satisfaction has never appeared to be a goal for airlines,” says Claes Fornell, ACSI Chairman and founder. “Compared to other industries, the financial return on passenger satisfaction is not much of an incentive."

“Apparently, low ticket prices are not enough of a trade-off for low service quality,” says ACSI Director, David VanAmburg, “Particularly as most airlines now also compete on price.”

[end quotes]

Yes, there is a race-to-the-bottom. It involves reducing individual seating spaces until they can't cram any more passengers into an aircraft. A news item about American Airlines doing this yet again was the subject of another a.net thread just this week.

The unbundling of services, supposedly in the interest of customers seeking lowest prices, but then charging ancillary fees so that the net effect for the airline is much higher overall revenue, is also at the heart of the race-to-the-bottom.

Fortunately, I personally have not suffered from this attitude of most airlines. When we fly we almost always fly on Southwest Airlines (rated highest or among the highest by customers in the survey), where fares are reasonable, bags fly free, and we always, always, get service with a smile.

Disclaimer: We have a granddaughter who has worked for Southwest for several years (as a counter or gate agent) and who became a flight attendant just a few months ago. Our opinion of Southwest Airlines was formed before she was born. I hope someday to be greeted by her happy smile at we board a Southwest airplane at BWI.

I would say it's quite the opposite: customer service has improved greatly over the years.
Of course there are cases when customer services missed the point or handled it badly but most of times it's about an unsatisfied passenger bashing the airline for an issue easily avoidable by reading the sales conditions of the ticket they've paid for.
Where is the fault of the airline when the passenger is denied boarding for not holding the proper visa to the destination or when he or she is charged extra for checking 28 kilos instead of 23 indicated on the ticket? Some customers in their complaint don't mean a word of it therefore I don't see any problem in addressing them.