In talking with Henry Harteveldt about the latest Forrester Research report on travelers' dissatisfaction with the online booking experience, I was reminded of my first flight on Southwest Airlines. I was sitting in the first row, and when the plane arrived at the gate, the door opened almost immediately. Having grown accustomed to standing in the aisle and cooling my own jets for several minutes, I was stunned. I asked the flight attendant, "I'm free to go?"
A few days later, I was talking to a friend at another airline. I asked him why it takes most airlines so much longer to hook up the jetway and open the door. He said, "That's because whenever one of our planes lands, it's a surprise. Southwest wants to turn its planes around quickly, so it pays attention."
You have to wonder how much money travel companies are leaving on the table — maybe even actively pushing away — because they are not paying attention to the right things. These are difficult times (I so look forward to never saying those words again), and it's hard to stay focused on customer satisfaction when staffing is at minimum levels and costs are being cut like Yul Brynner's hair. But maybe travel companies could spare a tiny bit of energy for thinking of ways to boost customer satisfaction.
This doesn't necessarily entail throwing tons of money at a problem. Sometimes, just focusing a bit more attention on a particular thing, and making it a priority, can result in some significant improvements.
Showing posts with label airlines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label airlines. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The naked truth
I seldom get into “write your Congressman” mode – we’re all busy people, after all – but I have written to mine (even though I can’t stand him) to urge him to support H.R. 2027.
This bill reads in part: “Whole-body imaging technology may not be used as the sole or primary method of screening a passenger under this section. Whole-body imaging technology may not be used to screen a passenger under this section unless another method of screening, such as metal detection, demonstrates cause for preventing such passenger from boarding an aircraft.”
Yes, the Transportation Security Administration wants every single airline passenger – that’s you, your mom, your teenage daughter and everybody else who wants to get on a plane – to get naked first. They call it “virtually naked” – the technology allows the screener to see through your clothes – but the result is the same as if you were told to go to a room, take your clothes off and allow some unseen person to check out your goods.
The TSA is in love with these machines. At first, it claimed they would only be used for secondary screening; now they want to replace all airport metal detectors with this virtual strip search. The concept of “probable cause” is tossed out the window.
H.R. 2027 also would make it illegal for anyone to store one of these images. In the past, the TSA has claimed that storing is impossible, but in truth there is an “on-off switch.” Theoretically, a naked picture of your teen could end up on the inside of a screener’s locker door.
We have behaved like sheep long enough, allowing our rights to be trampled. Let’s get behind this bill.
This bill reads in part: “Whole-body imaging technology may not be used as the sole or primary method of screening a passenger under this section. Whole-body imaging technology may not be used to screen a passenger under this section unless another method of screening, such as metal detection, demonstrates cause for preventing such passenger from boarding an aircraft.”
Yes, the Transportation Security Administration wants every single airline passenger – that’s you, your mom, your teenage daughter and everybody else who wants to get on a plane – to get naked first. They call it “virtually naked” – the technology allows the screener to see through your clothes – but the result is the same as if you were told to go to a room, take your clothes off and allow some unseen person to check out your goods.
The TSA is in love with these machines. At first, it claimed they would only be used for secondary screening; now they want to replace all airport metal detectors with this virtual strip search. The concept of “probable cause” is tossed out the window.
H.R. 2027 also would make it illegal for anyone to store one of these images. In the past, the TSA has claimed that storing is impossible, but in truth there is an “on-off switch.” Theoretically, a naked picture of your teen could end up on the inside of a screener’s locker door.
We have behaved like sheep long enough, allowing our rights to be trampled. Let’s get behind this bill.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Prudence vs. panic
Whether or not swine flu reaches pandemic status, the airlines are already bearing some of the economic pain it causes. There’s no clear line of demarcation between prudence and panic in these situations. Was it premature for the European Union to advise travelers to avoid visiting not only Mexico but areas of the U.S. where this strain of flu has been identified? We will never know.
Here is what we do know: The Spanish flu of 1918 spread so far and wide because of the unprecedented movement of people all over the world in the waning days and aftermath of WWI. At least a third of the world’s population – some estimates put it at half -- became ill, and somewhere between 20 million and 100 million died. Travel plays a role in spreading viruses, and air travel can spread them farther and more rapidly.
The airlines are waiving change fees for travel from the U.S. to Mexico, but that’s a bit like closing the barn door after the horse is gone. What might make a real difference is waiving change fees for people who feel ill or have been exposed to the virus. That will dry up some badly needed revenue in the short term, but it’s nothing compared to what would happen in a full-scale pandemic. Now is not the time to quibble over doctors’ notes.
Since the best way to avoid getting the flu is to keep your hands clean, the airlines also could distribute antibacterial wipes at the beginning and end of each flight and enforce their use as rigorously as they enforce seatbelt rules.
My mother never knew her father. He died before she was born, in the 1918 pandemic. For me, a flu epidemic is not just theoretical; it’s part of my family history. We are not yet anywhere near the time to panic, but we can take a few simple steps to avoid reaching that point, like staying home if we are sick. The airlines can and should do their part as well.
Here is what we do know: The Spanish flu of 1918 spread so far and wide because of the unprecedented movement of people all over the world in the waning days and aftermath of WWI. At least a third of the world’s population – some estimates put it at half -- became ill, and somewhere between 20 million and 100 million died. Travel plays a role in spreading viruses, and air travel can spread them farther and more rapidly.
The airlines are waiving change fees for travel from the U.S. to Mexico, but that’s a bit like closing the barn door after the horse is gone. What might make a real difference is waiving change fees for people who feel ill or have been exposed to the virus. That will dry up some badly needed revenue in the short term, but it’s nothing compared to what would happen in a full-scale pandemic. Now is not the time to quibble over doctors’ notes.
Since the best way to avoid getting the flu is to keep your hands clean, the airlines also could distribute antibacterial wipes at the beginning and end of each flight and enforce their use as rigorously as they enforce seatbelt rules.
My mother never knew her father. He died before she was born, in the 1918 pandemic. For me, a flu epidemic is not just theoretical; it’s part of my family history. We are not yet anywhere near the time to panic, but we can take a few simple steps to avoid reaching that point, like staying home if we are sick. The airlines can and should do their part as well.
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