Any "Latest & Greatest" about Delta?
02-03-2011, 05:01 AM
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jan 2008
Position: blueJet
Posts: 4,525
02-03-2011, 05:20 AM
Happy to be here
Joined APC: Jun 2006
Position: A-320A
Posts: 18,563
Delta Sends Its 11,000 Agents to Charm School
Atlanta
When a flier is frustrated, it takes just one surly airline agent to give a black eye to an entire company.
And so after a particularly bad year last year in customer service, Delta Air Lines is sending 11,000 agents back to school. Every ticket counter, gate and baggage agent and supervisor is going through renewed training in hopes of rejuvenating Delta's customer service after its merger with Northwest Airlines and a summer of canceled flights left customers stranded.
"Nobody here aspires to being what we were last summer," said Delta Executive Vice President Glen Hauenstein.
In fact, among major airlines Delta finished with the highest rate of customer complaints filed with the Department of Transportation in the first nine months of last year, and was second-to-last in on-time arrivals and baggage handling through November. Delta also had the highest rate of canceled flights among major carriers in 2010, according to FlightStats.com.
The customer-service classes, part of the airline's $2 billion improvement plan, is the first recurrent training devoted exclusively to customer service that Delta has done in a decade, a spokesman said.
“Nobody here aspires to being what we were last summer.” Delta Executive Vice President Glen Hauenstein
Of course the initiative goes beyond the agents. Delta officials say too often last summer, flights were canceled because planes weren't repaired fast enough due to a lack of parts and workers. Airports, too, were under-staffed. The airline said it is now hiring 1,000 additional workers, increasing its inventory of spare parts and spare airplanes. All that should put workers in position to deliver better service.
The daylong training sessions are aimed squarely at complaints raised in surveys Delta has been doing with customers. One recurring theme, the agents are told, is that customers write to the airline saying "no one cared or apologized" when something went wrong. Another focus of the training: Making sure agents try especially hard with "high value customers," typically top-level elite frequent fliers. About 26% of the company's revenue comes from a small percentage of passengers, the workers are reminded.
At one recent session at Delta's company museum at its Atlanta headquarters, Delta airport customer service agents role-play scenarios such as dealing with customers with lost luggage containing crucial medicine, late-arriving passengers likely to miss their next flight and customers who are angry when asked to pay baggage fees.
Lessons boil down to finding ways to assist customers rather than shunt them aside, trying harder to smile and being more appreciative of their travel dollars. What the training is not about is offering waivers or bending rules to accommodate complaints. Travelers still may not like the rules, but they may get the bad news with a smile.
Don't blame fuel prices anymore for baggage fees, agents are told. And never apologize for baggage fees when customers complain. Say it's an "a la carte" program where customers pay for what they use.
"That is a better way to have that conversation," said Michael Hazelton, a Delta agent who works as a facilitator for the training program. "You may think you are bonding with the customer by agreeing the fees are horrible, but the customer thinks, 'This person just threw his company under the bus.' "
In one video scenario, a customer runs up to an airport lobby counter saying she is running late for her flight. The video stops and one agent in the class is asked to complete the conversation. When the agent straight-up tells the passenger that, unfortunately, she will miss her flight and offers to rebook her instead of giving her false hope by telling her to run, colleagues cheer.
The Lesson Plan
In its training program, Delta emphasizes these five ways to 'wow' fliers with customer service:
* Make it personal. Focus on the person in front of you, not the long line of people. Greet each one memorably.
* Be empathetic. Put yourself on the other side of the counter.
* Listen, ask, listen again. Customers tune out routine announcements. Agents tune out customers.
* Solve together. Involve customers in solutions by offering choices.
* Be there. It's a lot easier to check out than check in. 'If you don't remember your last three customers, you are just processing,' said Delta facilitator Michael Hazelton.
"Too often we set false expectations immediately," said Sylvester Pittman, a former flight attendant who now works as a training facilitator. "We know she'll never get through security fast enough. We know they'll close out the flight on time at the gate."
The agents also know the passenger will have to pay a change fee and likely a higher fare in order to get on another flight after arriving late. That conversation comes later. First, acknowledge the customers' emotions—"I know you've had a hard time getting here"—be empathetic but never be indecisive. "It's all in how you say it," Mr. Pittman said.
That applies, too, when customers are on the verge of missing weddings, cruise-ship sailings, important meetings or perhaps job interviews because the airline canceled a flight. Agents might think customers should have flown a day earlier, Mr. Pittman said, but that's the wrong attitude.
"Do we now need to educate them on, 'Boy, that was really stupid?'" Mr. Hazelton asked the class. "That's not for us to tell them. They've already figured that out," he continued.
Many times, what may look like a customer mistake was really an airline mistake, the agents are told. In the scenario with the lost luggage containing vital medicine, agents instantly assume the passenger goofed by putting essentials in checked luggage. But then they learn the bag was a carry-on suitcase taken from the passenger because overhead bins were full.
Agents who have been through the training say the idea is to put focus back on the customer after years when airline employees were concerned about their own job losses, wage reductions and schedule disruptions.
"A lot of employees, day in and day out, lose their focus, lose their edge," said Mike Raine, a 27-year veteran of Delta who is now station manager in Little Rock, Ark. "We're sort of regrouping."
Stephen Lankford flies frequently and has found the same unfriendly attitude across different carriers. "It's like they don't enjoy their jobs," he said. When a Delta flight attendant departed from a pre-flight announcement script to honor soldiers onboard, Mr. Lankford noticed a difference. "It seems warmer,'' he said. "But it's still rare."
Robert Walker, a top-tier "diamond" member of Delta's frequent-flier program who flies about 140,000 miles a year, was so fed up with Delta he almost quit flying the airline three years ago. He wrote Chief Executive Richard Anderson a scathing assessment, such as when agents repeatedly blamed bad weather for delays when mechanical breakdowns seemed to be the real problem.
An assistant called him and listened to his complaints, and Delta has since made it easier for top-tier frequent fliers to make business-class upgrades. "For the most part I see them working very hard to improve my experience," Mr. Walker said. And now after almost every flight, Delta sends him a survey to rate his experience.
When a flier is frustrated, it takes just one surly airline agent to give a black eye to an entire company.
And so after a particularly bad year last year in customer service, Delta Air Lines is sending 11,000 agents back to school. Every ticket counter, gate and baggage agent and supervisor is going through renewed training in hopes of rejuvenating Delta's customer service after its merger with Northwest Airlines and a summer of canceled flights left customers stranded.
"Nobody here aspires to being what we were last summer," said Delta Executive Vice President Glen Hauenstein.
In fact, among major airlines Delta finished with the highest rate of customer complaints filed with the Department of Transportation in the first nine months of last year, and was second-to-last in on-time arrivals and baggage handling through November. Delta also had the highest rate of canceled flights among major carriers in 2010, according to FlightStats.com.
The customer-service classes, part of the airline's $2 billion improvement plan, is the first recurrent training devoted exclusively to customer service that Delta has done in a decade, a spokesman said.
“Nobody here aspires to being what we were last summer.” Delta Executive Vice President Glen Hauenstein
Of course the initiative goes beyond the agents. Delta officials say too often last summer, flights were canceled because planes weren't repaired fast enough due to a lack of parts and workers. Airports, too, were under-staffed. The airline said it is now hiring 1,000 additional workers, increasing its inventory of spare parts and spare airplanes. All that should put workers in position to deliver better service.
The daylong training sessions are aimed squarely at complaints raised in surveys Delta has been doing with customers. One recurring theme, the agents are told, is that customers write to the airline saying "no one cared or apologized" when something went wrong. Another focus of the training: Making sure agents try especially hard with "high value customers," typically top-level elite frequent fliers. About 26% of the company's revenue comes from a small percentage of passengers, the workers are reminded.
At one recent session at Delta's company museum at its Atlanta headquarters, Delta airport customer service agents role-play scenarios such as dealing with customers with lost luggage containing crucial medicine, late-arriving passengers likely to miss their next flight and customers who are angry when asked to pay baggage fees.
Lessons boil down to finding ways to assist customers rather than shunt them aside, trying harder to smile and being more appreciative of their travel dollars. What the training is not about is offering waivers or bending rules to accommodate complaints. Travelers still may not like the rules, but they may get the bad news with a smile.
Don't blame fuel prices anymore for baggage fees, agents are told. And never apologize for baggage fees when customers complain. Say it's an "a la carte" program where customers pay for what they use.
"That is a better way to have that conversation," said Michael Hazelton, a Delta agent who works as a facilitator for the training program. "You may think you are bonding with the customer by agreeing the fees are horrible, but the customer thinks, 'This person just threw his company under the bus.' "
In one video scenario, a customer runs up to an airport lobby counter saying she is running late for her flight. The video stops and one agent in the class is asked to complete the conversation. When the agent straight-up tells the passenger that, unfortunately, she will miss her flight and offers to rebook her instead of giving her false hope by telling her to run, colleagues cheer.
The Lesson Plan
In its training program, Delta emphasizes these five ways to 'wow' fliers with customer service:
* Make it personal. Focus on the person in front of you, not the long line of people. Greet each one memorably.
* Be empathetic. Put yourself on the other side of the counter.
* Listen, ask, listen again. Customers tune out routine announcements. Agents tune out customers.
* Solve together. Involve customers in solutions by offering choices.
* Be there. It's a lot easier to check out than check in. 'If you don't remember your last three customers, you are just processing,' said Delta facilitator Michael Hazelton.
"Too often we set false expectations immediately," said Sylvester Pittman, a former flight attendant who now works as a training facilitator. "We know she'll never get through security fast enough. We know they'll close out the flight on time at the gate."
The agents also know the passenger will have to pay a change fee and likely a higher fare in order to get on another flight after arriving late. That conversation comes later. First, acknowledge the customers' emotions—"I know you've had a hard time getting here"—be empathetic but never be indecisive. "It's all in how you say it," Mr. Pittman said.
That applies, too, when customers are on the verge of missing weddings, cruise-ship sailings, important meetings or perhaps job interviews because the airline canceled a flight. Agents might think customers should have flown a day earlier, Mr. Pittman said, but that's the wrong attitude.
"Do we now need to educate them on, 'Boy, that was really stupid?'" Mr. Hazelton asked the class. "That's not for us to tell them. They've already figured that out," he continued.
Many times, what may look like a customer mistake was really an airline mistake, the agents are told. In the scenario with the lost luggage containing vital medicine, agents instantly assume the passenger goofed by putting essentials in checked luggage. But then they learn the bag was a carry-on suitcase taken from the passenger because overhead bins were full.
Agents who have been through the training say the idea is to put focus back on the customer after years when airline employees were concerned about their own job losses, wage reductions and schedule disruptions.
"A lot of employees, day in and day out, lose their focus, lose their edge," said Mike Raine, a 27-year veteran of Delta who is now station manager in Little Rock, Ark. "We're sort of regrouping."
Stephen Lankford flies frequently and has found the same unfriendly attitude across different carriers. "It's like they don't enjoy their jobs," he said. When a Delta flight attendant departed from a pre-flight announcement script to honor soldiers onboard, Mr. Lankford noticed a difference. "It seems warmer,'' he said. "But it's still rare."
Robert Walker, a top-tier "diamond" member of Delta's frequent-flier program who flies about 140,000 miles a year, was so fed up with Delta he almost quit flying the airline three years ago. He wrote Chief Executive Richard Anderson a scathing assessment, such as when agents repeatedly blamed bad weather for delays when mechanical breakdowns seemed to be the real problem.
An assistant called him and listened to his complaints, and Delta has since made it easier for top-tier frequent fliers to make business-class upgrades. "For the most part I see them working very hard to improve my experience," Mr. Walker said. And now after almost every flight, Delta sends him a survey to rate his experience.
02-03-2011, 05:24 AM
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2007
Posts: 4,534
Enough with the adam's apple...
How about an intellecual discussion on the best way to bridge the gap between our current fleet and the next generation of narrow bodies.
How about an intellecual discussion on the best way to bridge the gap between our current fleet and the next generation of narrow bodies.
Last edited by Gunfighter; 02-03-2011 at 05:36 AM.
02-03-2011, 05:33 AM
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2007
Position: Captain Jack
Posts: 1,003
I believe the difference may be with the delivery schedule versus total MD-90s. Right now we have 19 MD-90s and we are scheduled to receive 30 more over the next 18 months for a total of 49 MD-90s.
That being said, I might be wrong and it is possible they've got contracts and delivery schedules for 19 more. If they do, great and even if they do, I very much doubt that the mainline fleet will be at or above 768 aircraft by the time the last MD-90 arrives on the property.
However, I will say that I am not a cut off my nose to spite my face kind of guy. I hope we have a mainline fleet of 774 aircraft in the next 18 months, even if it means authorizing 20 additional 76-seat jets, I'll take the ~46 mainline growth aircraft.
That being said, I might be wrong and it is possible they've got contracts and delivery schedules for 19 more. If they do, great and even if they do, I very much doubt that the mainline fleet will be at or above 768 aircraft by the time the last MD-90 arrives on the property.
However, I will say that I am not a cut off my nose to spite my face kind of guy. I hope we have a mainline fleet of 774 aircraft in the next 18 months, even if it means authorizing 20 additional 76-seat jets, I'll take the ~46 mainline growth aircraft.
YGTBFKM really? just the kind of thinking that got us into this ****! oh i will give more away as long as you give me some.....what a ****ing joke
02-03-2011, 05:35 AM
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Dec 2009
Position: Capt
Posts: 2,049
Baja;
Extremely poor form quoting that picture.
Let's get that out of our heads:
YouTube - sexy wedding night
Extremely poor form quoting that picture.
Let's get that out of our heads:
YouTube - sexy wedding night
YouTube - Man Stroke Woman - The Wedding Fart
02-03-2011, 05:48 AM
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2009
Posts: 187
Bye-bye DC-9s
From Raymond James Investor Conference - all DC-9s to be retired in next 12-18 months.
02-03-2011, 05:51 AM
The Brown Dot +1
Joined APC: Jun 2009
Position: 777B
Posts: 7,775
Atlanta
When a flier is frustrated, it takes just one surly airline agent to give a black eye to an entire company.
And so after a particularly bad year last year in customer service, Delta Air Lines is sending 11,000 agents back to school. Every ticket counter, gate and baggage agent and supervisor is going through renewed training in hopes of rejuvenating Delta's customer service after its merger with Northwest Airlines and a summer of canceled flights left customers stranded.
"Nobody here aspires to being what we were last summer," said Delta Executive Vice President Glen Hauenstein.
In fact, among major airlines Delta finished with the highest rate of customer complaints filed with the Department of Transportation in the first nine months of last year, and was second-to-last in on-time arrivals and baggage handling through November. Delta also had the highest rate of canceled flights among major carriers in 2010, according to FlightStats.com.
The customer-service classes, part of the airline's $2 billion improvement plan, is the first recurrent training devoted exclusively to customer service that Delta has done in a decade, a spokesman said.
“Nobody here aspires to being what we were last summer.” Delta Executive Vice President Glen Hauenstein
Of course the initiative goes beyond the agents. Delta officials say too often last summer, flights were canceled because planes weren't repaired fast enough due to a lack of parts and workers. Airports, too, were under-staffed. The airline said it is now hiring 1,000 additional workers, increasing its inventory of spare parts and spare airplanes. All that should put workers in position to deliver better service.
The daylong training sessions are aimed squarely at complaints raised in surveys Delta has been doing with customers. One recurring theme, the agents are told, is that customers write to the airline saying "no one cared or apologized" when something went wrong. Another focus of the training: Making sure agents try especially hard with "high value customers," typically top-level elite frequent fliers. About 26% of the company's revenue comes from a small percentage of passengers, the workers are reminded.
At one recent session at Delta's company museum at its Atlanta headquarters, Delta airport customer service agents role-play scenarios such as dealing with customers with lost luggage containing crucial medicine, late-arriving passengers likely to miss their next flight and customers who are angry when asked to pay baggage fees.
Lessons boil down to finding ways to assist customers rather than shunt them aside, trying harder to smile and being more appreciative of their travel dollars. What the training is not about is offering waivers or bending rules to accommodate complaints. Travelers still may not like the rules, but they may get the bad news with a smile.
Don't blame fuel prices anymore for baggage fees, agents are told. And never apologize for baggage fees when customers complain. Say it's an "a la carte" program where customers pay for what they use.
"That is a better way to have that conversation," said Michael Hazelton, a Delta agent who works as a facilitator for the training program. "You may think you are bonding with the customer by agreeing the fees are horrible, but the customer thinks, 'This person just threw his company under the bus.' "
In one video scenario, a customer runs up to an airport lobby counter saying she is running late for her flight. The video stops and one agent in the class is asked to complete the conversation. When the agent straight-up tells the passenger that, unfortunately, she will miss her flight and offers to rebook her instead of giving her false hope by telling her to run, colleagues cheer.
The Lesson Plan
In its training program, Delta emphasizes these five ways to 'wow' fliers with customer service:
* Make it personal. Focus on the person in front of you, not the long line of people. Greet each one memorably.
* Be empathetic. Put yourself on the other side of the counter.
* Listen, ask, listen again. Customers tune out routine announcements. Agents tune out customers.
* Solve together. Involve customers in solutions by offering choices.
* Be there. It's a lot easier to check out than check in. 'If you don't remember your last three customers, you are just processing,' said Delta facilitator Michael Hazelton.
"Too often we set false expectations immediately," said Sylvester Pittman, a former flight attendant who now works as a training facilitator. "We know she'll never get through security fast enough. We know they'll close out the flight on time at the gate."
The agents also know the passenger will have to pay a change fee and likely a higher fare in order to get on another flight after arriving late. That conversation comes later. First, acknowledge the customers' emotions—"I know you've had a hard time getting here"—be empathetic but never be indecisive. "It's all in how you say it," Mr. Pittman said.
That applies, too, when customers are on the verge of missing weddings, cruise-ship sailings, important meetings or perhaps job interviews because the airline canceled a flight. Agents might think customers should have flown a day earlier, Mr. Pittman said, but that's the wrong attitude.
"Do we now need to educate them on, 'Boy, that was really stupid?'" Mr. Hazelton asked the class. "That's not for us to tell them. They've already figured that out," he continued.
Many times, what may look like a customer mistake was really an airline mistake, the agents are told. In the scenario with the lost luggage containing vital medicine, agents instantly assume the passenger goofed by putting essentials in checked luggage. But then they learn the bag was a carry-on suitcase taken from the passenger because overhead bins were full.
Agents who have been through the training say the idea is to put focus back on the customer after years when airline employees were concerned about their own job losses, wage reductions and schedule disruptions.
"A lot of employees, day in and day out, lose their focus, lose their edge," said Mike Raine, a 27-year veteran of Delta who is now station manager in Little Rock, Ark. "We're sort of regrouping."
Stephen Lankford flies frequently and has found the same unfriendly attitude across different carriers. "It's like they don't enjoy their jobs," he said. When a Delta flight attendant departed from a pre-flight announcement script to honor soldiers onboard, Mr. Lankford noticed a difference. "It seems warmer,'' he said. "But it's still rare."
Robert Walker, a top-tier "diamond" member of Delta's frequent-flier program who flies about 140,000 miles a year, was so fed up with Delta he almost quit flying the airline three years ago. He wrote Chief Executive Richard Anderson a scathing assessment, such as when agents repeatedly blamed bad weather for delays when mechanical breakdowns seemed to be the real problem.
An assistant called him and listened to his complaints, and Delta has since made it easier for top-tier frequent fliers to make business-class upgrades. "For the most part I see them working very hard to improve my experience," Mr. Walker said. And now after almost every flight, Delta sends him a survey to rate his experience.
When a flier is frustrated, it takes just one surly airline agent to give a black eye to an entire company.
And so after a particularly bad year last year in customer service, Delta Air Lines is sending 11,000 agents back to school. Every ticket counter, gate and baggage agent and supervisor is going through renewed training in hopes of rejuvenating Delta's customer service after its merger with Northwest Airlines and a summer of canceled flights left customers stranded.
"Nobody here aspires to being what we were last summer," said Delta Executive Vice President Glen Hauenstein.
In fact, among major airlines Delta finished with the highest rate of customer complaints filed with the Department of Transportation in the first nine months of last year, and was second-to-last in on-time arrivals and baggage handling through November. Delta also had the highest rate of canceled flights among major carriers in 2010, according to FlightStats.com.
The customer-service classes, part of the airline's $2 billion improvement plan, is the first recurrent training devoted exclusively to customer service that Delta has done in a decade, a spokesman said.
“Nobody here aspires to being what we were last summer.” Delta Executive Vice President Glen Hauenstein
Of course the initiative goes beyond the agents. Delta officials say too often last summer, flights were canceled because planes weren't repaired fast enough due to a lack of parts and workers. Airports, too, were under-staffed. The airline said it is now hiring 1,000 additional workers, increasing its inventory of spare parts and spare airplanes. All that should put workers in position to deliver better service.
The daylong training sessions are aimed squarely at complaints raised in surveys Delta has been doing with customers. One recurring theme, the agents are told, is that customers write to the airline saying "no one cared or apologized" when something went wrong. Another focus of the training: Making sure agents try especially hard with "high value customers," typically top-level elite frequent fliers. About 26% of the company's revenue comes from a small percentage of passengers, the workers are reminded.
At one recent session at Delta's company museum at its Atlanta headquarters, Delta airport customer service agents role-play scenarios such as dealing with customers with lost luggage containing crucial medicine, late-arriving passengers likely to miss their next flight and customers who are angry when asked to pay baggage fees.
Lessons boil down to finding ways to assist customers rather than shunt them aside, trying harder to smile and being more appreciative of their travel dollars. What the training is not about is offering waivers or bending rules to accommodate complaints. Travelers still may not like the rules, but they may get the bad news with a smile.
Don't blame fuel prices anymore for baggage fees, agents are told. And never apologize for baggage fees when customers complain. Say it's an "a la carte" program where customers pay for what they use.
"That is a better way to have that conversation," said Michael Hazelton, a Delta agent who works as a facilitator for the training program. "You may think you are bonding with the customer by agreeing the fees are horrible, but the customer thinks, 'This person just threw his company under the bus.' "
In one video scenario, a customer runs up to an airport lobby counter saying she is running late for her flight. The video stops and one agent in the class is asked to complete the conversation. When the agent straight-up tells the passenger that, unfortunately, she will miss her flight and offers to rebook her instead of giving her false hope by telling her to run, colleagues cheer.
The Lesson Plan
In its training program, Delta emphasizes these five ways to 'wow' fliers with customer service:
* Make it personal. Focus on the person in front of you, not the long line of people. Greet each one memorably.
* Be empathetic. Put yourself on the other side of the counter.
* Listen, ask, listen again. Customers tune out routine announcements. Agents tune out customers.
* Solve together. Involve customers in solutions by offering choices.
* Be there. It's a lot easier to check out than check in. 'If you don't remember your last three customers, you are just processing,' said Delta facilitator Michael Hazelton.
"Too often we set false expectations immediately," said Sylvester Pittman, a former flight attendant who now works as a training facilitator. "We know she'll never get through security fast enough. We know they'll close out the flight on time at the gate."
The agents also know the passenger will have to pay a change fee and likely a higher fare in order to get on another flight after arriving late. That conversation comes later. First, acknowledge the customers' emotions—"I know you've had a hard time getting here"—be empathetic but never be indecisive. "It's all in how you say it," Mr. Pittman said.
That applies, too, when customers are on the verge of missing weddings, cruise-ship sailings, important meetings or perhaps job interviews because the airline canceled a flight. Agents might think customers should have flown a day earlier, Mr. Pittman said, but that's the wrong attitude.
"Do we now need to educate them on, 'Boy, that was really stupid?'" Mr. Hazelton asked the class. "That's not for us to tell them. They've already figured that out," he continued.
Many times, what may look like a customer mistake was really an airline mistake, the agents are told. In the scenario with the lost luggage containing vital medicine, agents instantly assume the passenger goofed by putting essentials in checked luggage. But then they learn the bag was a carry-on suitcase taken from the passenger because overhead bins were full.
Agents who have been through the training say the idea is to put focus back on the customer after years when airline employees were concerned about their own job losses, wage reductions and schedule disruptions.
"A lot of employees, day in and day out, lose their focus, lose their edge," said Mike Raine, a 27-year veteran of Delta who is now station manager in Little Rock, Ark. "We're sort of regrouping."
Stephen Lankford flies frequently and has found the same unfriendly attitude across different carriers. "It's like they don't enjoy their jobs," he said. When a Delta flight attendant departed from a pre-flight announcement script to honor soldiers onboard, Mr. Lankford noticed a difference. "It seems warmer,'' he said. "But it's still rare."
Robert Walker, a top-tier "diamond" member of Delta's frequent-flier program who flies about 140,000 miles a year, was so fed up with Delta he almost quit flying the airline three years ago. He wrote Chief Executive Richard Anderson a scathing assessment, such as when agents repeatedly blamed bad weather for delays when mechanical breakdowns seemed to be the real problem.
An assistant called him and listened to his complaints, and Delta has since made it easier for top-tier frequent fliers to make business-class upgrades. "For the most part I see them working very hard to improve my experience," Mr. Walker said. And now after almost every flight, Delta sends him a survey to rate his experience.
In ATL, I have realized that when an agent says, in a surly voice:
"NEXT!"
What they really mean is "How may I help you my valuable customer?"
I hope the training sticks.
02-03-2011, 05:53 AM
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2009
Position: right for a long, long time
Posts: 2,642
I really hope he is not stating that he would vote to allow 275 51-70 jets...
Re-refresher once again:
The "mainline growth" of 39-46 airframes is ONLY to allow the number of 51-70 seat aircraft to be upped to a max of 76 seats.....ALL of the 51-70 seat and 71-76 seat airframes in TOTAL cannot exceed 255 NO MATTER HOW BIG THE MAINLINE FLEET GROWS.
IMHO, now would be a great time for DALPA and DAL Inc. to amend Section 1 to limit the number of 20-50 seat aircraft (and 51-76 seats) to those currently operating under contract and limiting renewal to 2/3 of leases coming up for renewal, with a max of 4 years on a renewal.
That would slowly draw down the outstanding ASA agreements, giving realistic and reasonable timelines for the sub-contractors to find alternate business opportunities and allow DAL to spool up the recaptured flying on the mainline side.
02-03-2011, 05:57 AM
Happy to be here
Joined APC: Jun 2006
Position: A-320A
Posts: 18,563
I think he is referring to the joint pilot group ratified current PWA that does in fact still allow the company to fly a maximum of 255 51-70 seat jets with subcontractors. We currently have 235-ish flying and the company has every right to purchase/lease/ASA to get the 20 more aircraft. Just like we have the right to swap with the pot or white slip trips to get a better schedule, upto but not over ALV +15.
I really hope he is not stating that he would vote to allow 275 51-70 jets...
I really hope he is not stating that he would vote to allow 275 51-70 jets...
Re-refresher once again:
The "mainline growth" of 39-46 airframes is ONLY to allow the number of 51-70 seat aircraft to be upped to a max of 76 seats.....ALL of the 51-70 seat and 71-76 seat airframes in TOTAL cannot exceed 255 NO MATTER HOW BIG THE MAINLINE FLEET GROWS.
The "mainline growth" of 39-46 airframes is ONLY to allow the number of 51-70 seat aircraft to be upped to a max of 76 seats.....ALL of the 51-70 seat and 71-76 seat airframes in TOTAL cannot exceed 255 NO MATTER HOW BIG THE MAINLINE FLEET GROWS.
IMHO, now would be a great time for DALPA and DAL Inc. to amend Section 1 to limit the number of 20-50 seat aircraft (and 51-76 seats) to those currently operating under contract and limiting renewal to 2/3 of leases coming up for renewal, with a max of 4 years on a renewal.
That would slowly draw down the outstanding ASA agreements, giving realistic and reasonable timelines for the sub-contractors to find alternate business opportunities and allow DAL to spool up the recaptured flying on the mainline side.
That would slowly draw down the outstanding ASA agreements, giving realistic and reasonable timelines for the sub-contractors to find alternate business opportunities and allow DAL to spool up the recaptured flying on the mainline side.
02-03-2011, 06:00 AM
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2009
Posts: 187
More great news
From the same investor conference - "in the market" for more 70 seat Embraers and some 76 seaters to replace DC-9s. (per Ed Bastian)
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