12 airline resolutions for 2006
If there is a business in need of change, it is the airline business.
So as you ponder your resolutions for 2006, here are a few thoughts on what the airline industry ought to consider. They’re the result of an informal poll of passengers I took last year.
1. Fly in our shoes. Airline chief executives and top management need to know what it is really like to be a passenger. I don’t mean flying in first class, non-stop. I mean the very back of economy class, Friday night, connecting through Chicago O’Hare or JFK in the peak of winter or summer. No special treatment. They could grasp the real experience of flying on their airline. It astounds me that in this day and time, the top brass are making decisions when they have no clue on the reality of the situation.
2. Love the one you’re with. If you are content with your current airline of choice, stick with it. Don’t change your whole itinerary because Sam’s airline is $40 cheaper. In the end, you will have a smoother experience with an airline you can rely on. This sends a message to other airlines on what is really important.
3. Like it — or leave it. Attention, airline employees! If you don’t like your job, start looking or preparing for a different one, because it isn’t going to get any better for the foreseeable future. There are too many attendants with bad attitudes out there, and warranted or not, the passenger does pay your salary. They are not the cause for your frustration. As my mother-in-law said to me, “maybe it is time to give up this Peter Pan lifestyle if you don’t see the magic in it.†And before you blast me for this one, yes, I am taking my own advice.
4. Keep it in the U.S. There has to be a limit on the outsourcing that is taking place. The airlines are outsourcing Americans out of too many jobs. Do you know that the airline you fly with is probably planning on moving 35 percent of its mechanics’ slots outside the country? This is not a case for when your TV breaks down because of being assembled in Mexico, this is your loved ones’ life and livelihood on the line.
5. Enough of the false advertising. How many times do you choose an airline because of an amenity that it promised, only to find out that the small print states that it is only allowed on every third Wednesday of every fourth month of the year. The airlines have to be held accountable for misleading the public.
6. Re-regulate. It has become quite evident that airlines are not in control of their financial faculties and most are in bankruptcy protection. They are cutting everything except the actual flying part and yet continue to commit financial suicide. If there was a fare cap, high and low, maybe the airlines would focus in on performance, safety, and yes, even service.
7. Face reality. Passengers have to realize that airline service is not what it used to be. The Pan Am’s ice molds or TWA’s caviar servings are things of the past. Those airlines are gone and the current ones are in it to make money, not to employ, enrich or to please. It has been proven that passengers are mostly interested in cheaper fares, so they must share some of the blame for the service downfall.
8. Be safe and secure. There has to be more tolerance for airline security and the TSA. Yes, I get frustrated by the long lines, the inconsistencies, and the invasions of my personal privacy, but what we easily overlook are the daily responsibilities of these people. Can you imagine going to work each day and preventing a terrorist from bringing down a flight? I confront security approximately five times a week, and I don’t like it better than you, but at least I have a safer feeling knowing everyone is scrutinized in the same manner.
9. Lead parachutes. A company in bankruptcy is a company in trouble, period. It can’t control its finances and needs help from the court system to hold off the creditors. Why are the bankruptcy judges allowing massive pay cuts for the workers but bonuses and golden parachutes to the top brass? It makes no sense to me, but it has to stop.
10. Reform pensions. While many airline employees lose their pensions, the average passenger doesn’t know why that should concern them. Two reasons: First, pensions are guaranteed by a government agency that takes over when an airline is forced into a financial corner. So, in a sense, the airline is dumping the cost of the pensions of its employees on the government, which is paid by your taxes. Second, don’t think it will stop with the airlines. This form of cut-throat business usually has a domino effect and before long it will leak into the corporate world and gone is that nest egg you are relying upon.
11. Right hand, meet left hand. Communication is the key to any successful business. Management has to listen to its frontline employees and passengers. From connecting flights and wheelchairs, to cost cutting and customer satisfaction issues, nobody is listening. I have had a simple suggestion on file with my airline for over four years now. It would save an average of $1,100 a flight and increase customer satisfaction tremendously. I don’t want money or recognition for the idea, I just want to help. My airline is too big and can’t listen, so I watch the problem repeat itself flight after flight. I even wrote to my chief executive. He hasn’t gotten back to me as of yet.
12. Prepare for life in the zoo. Airline employers can keep cutting paychecks, work rules, and pensions, but when their current employees get fed up and leave, they will find that when you pay peanuts, you only get monkeys.
Okay, it’s your turn to chime in and tell me what you think needs changing in the airline industry in 2006. Speak up, if you’re a passenger, because this is your industry too. I will personally send the top suggestions to my chief executive. If he reads his email.