Remember Way Back When

[Canadian Gal]

Does anyone here remember way back when airlines cared about their customers.

Staff were nice, and remembered that they only had a job because of their fine customers.

 

This morning I took a commercial flight to Vancouver.

 

The Air Canada/ Jazz staff were so rude, uncaring, horrible, despicable, disgusting, unprofessional, and to top it off, also liars.

 

What this world needs is a good airline, that is global.

 

Staff are all trained to offer A+ customer service, and nothing less.

I'm surprised that airline staff are not beaten up 1000 times per day.

I called my boss after landing, which by the way was also horrible, it was more akin to a crash when you slam it on the runway that hard, and told him that if ever asked to fly commercial again I quit.

[Guest]

I think Cirrus is trying to meet that airline demand.  I know their maintenance support is awesome.

[N201MKTurbo]

9 minutes ago, Canadian Gal said:

Does anyone here remember way back when airlines cared about their customers.

Staff were nice, and remembered that they only had a job because of their fine customers.

 

This morning I took a commercial flight to Vancouver.

 

The Air Canada/ Jazz staff were so rude, uncaring, horrible, despicable, disgusting, unprofessional, and to top it off, also liars.

 

What this world needs is a good airline, that is global.

 

Staff are all trained to offer A+ customer service, and nothing less.

I'm surprised that airline staff are not beaten up 1000 times per day.

I called my boss after landing, which by the way was also horrible, it was more akin to a crash when you slam it on the runway that hard, and told him that if ever asked to fly commercial again I quit.

You should be careful, there are a lot of airline folks on here....

[WaynePierce]

I can even remember when you didn't have to get half nekkid to get on the plane. Family could even walk and stay with you in the boarding area...

 

[PT20J]

No.

30 years ago I met the person that created the Friendly Skies campaign for United (he also created the Dough Boy for Pillsbury). The idea was based on research that showed that passengers did not think any of the airlines were very friendly and thus this presented an opportunity for United to differentiate itself.

The United execs loved it. Then the ad guy pointed out that advertising can only make people aware; to be effective United would have to actually become friendly. None of the execs thought that possible, but they bought the campaign anyway.

We used to say that "Pan Am made the going grate."

Skip

[Canadian Gal]

2 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

You should be careful, there are a lot of airline folks on here....

Good...i hope they read this and learn from it.

 

[PT20J]

2 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

You should be careful, there are a lot of airline folks on here....

Oh, I wouldn’t worry. I never met an airline pilot that didn’t think their company was screwed up. Most senior captains can tell you the years, months and days until retirement. I asked a friend about that once and he pulled out his phone and said, “I’ve got an app for that.”

[Jim Peace]

Being an airline pilot I have free flying on any company....

I needed to fly from Florida to NJ this week for family stuff....

I could not stomach having to ride on any 121 carrier, beging for a ride, dealing with the pax and gate agents, figuring out which website to use to sign up with, getting denied at KCM...its all a major hassle..  So I fueled up the Mooney and flew 800 nm north by myself...dont care that it will cost me 600 dollars just in gas and parking fees round trip.....and I saved about 90 minutes on total travel time.

 

[Pinecone]

There are some airlines with excellent service.

Even the US carriers have periods of time when they provide good service, then they get stupid and service sucks.

The big Middle East carriers have excellent service.  Some of the Asian airlines also.

But most times, you are correct, the service sucks.

As for the security aspect, for US, get Global Entry/Pre Chek.  $100 per 5 years and WELL worth it.

[carusoam]

It really helps to pay the full fare…. Or fly 100,000 miles a year…

Sit up near the front…

in a big wide chair… with lots of leg room…

Where the service improves a notch… ratio of customers to service people is low….

and the other customers have been there before…

Special lines for special people…

Concierge lounge with complimentary beverages…

A place to wash up after your all night flight…
 

Sometimes the platinum card… helps.   It is based on how many times or miles you have flown…

 

 

When you can’t do that…

expect to get a middle seat between two other people that aren’t FAA standard…

 

Enjoy the ride…

Best regards,

-a-

[PT20J]

My hat's off to the airline pilots. You are a special bunch of guys and gals. There are times (fewer now that I'm retired) that I need airline transport and I'm glad you are there for me. I could not do that job. I was having lunch with a friend who is a captain on American flying the A320. He related that the Airbus has a ground steering tiller on both sides. Many of the Boeings only have one on the left side. So, for consistency of procedures, American has a policy that only the captain can steer on the ground. Captain needed to adjust his seat or something and asked the copilot to steer for a minute during taxi. Next thing they know, the computer sends a message to the satellite that goes to someone at American that sends back a message admonishing them because the copilot's tiller is showing motion. I just couldn't live like that.

[carusoam]

26 minutes ago, PT20J said:

I just couldn't live like that.

Skip,

That is an artifact of a highly regulated environment…

In the pharma industry, regulated by the FDA… I have sat through trainings on….

• what color pen to use…
• how to write my initials… and where to document them so everybody knows…
• what today’s date should look like when written or typed…
• How to document all that training and be current on it all… is a whole other level…

As far as big brother looking over your shoulder…  shhhhhhhh…..

 

best regards,

-a-

[N201MKTurbo]

2 hours ago, carusoam said:

Skip,

That is an artifact of a highly regulated environment…

In the pharma industry, regulated by the FDA… I have sat through trainings on….

• what color pen to use…
• how to write my initials… and where to document them so everybody knows…
• what today’s date should look like when written or typed…
• How to document all that training and be current on it all… is a whole other level…

As far as big brother looking over your shoulder…  shhhhhhhh…..

 

best regards,

-a-

That’s so old school. The FDA is all about electronic records these days. We are using Greenlight Guru to manage all our FDA required documents.

[Canadian Gal]

Well I finally made it home.

The drive back in the Docs new car was a long one, but uneventful.

Next time someone wants me to go pick up there new ride, they will be flying me down on a chartered plane.

Not surprising that many people call Air Canada, Scare Canada.

What an incompetent, miserable, useless, collection of idiots.

And if I ever land a plane that hard, I'll go home and burn my license.

A woman sitting near me asked if we crashed, it was that bad.

I replied, that technically hitting that hard should be considered crashing, and definitely was reason for the plane to get pulled into a shop, and fully inspected. A man sitting across from me chimed in, that my dog should have been piloting the plane, he would have done a better job, which made many of us laugh.

On the way off the plane I made sure to thank the stewardess for Nothing, and told her to remember to take her meds from now on...she was so rude and grumpy to everyone.

If I treated customers like that, I would be fired.

 

While stopped for a late lunch break, I sent an email to air Canada, letting them know how bad their staff, and the landing were. That pilot shouldn't even have solo privileges yet, much less flying for an airline.

And the one stewardess wasn't too bad, but the other should be locked up in a padded cell in an insane asylum.

My dog is sensitive to the energy people give off as well, and he hated her, because she was such a bitch, and he likes almost everyone.

When he has his service vest on, people technically shouldn't be petting him, feeding him etc. But often they do regardless of him being a service dog. Today he interacted with literally hundreds of people, and he likes people, a young girl at our lunch stop came and sat on the restaurant floor to pat him and cuddle, he Liked her a lot. But that stewardess made his hair stand up, he was tense when she was close by, and twice he growled at her. Yet the guy in the next seat was petting him, scratching  his nexk, feeding him snacks, and commented on how sweet my boy was.

[carusoam]

4 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

That’s so old school. The FDA is all about electronic records these days. We are using Greenlight Guru to manage all our FDA required documents.

I wish this was ancient history…  it was post Y2k…

I saw the results of cost cutting with blinders on…  in a regulated environment…

pens and paper everywhere… human errors all too often…

And excuses of we have been doing it this way for 50years… we are experts.

Delays of paper handling measured in months…

Product waiting for paperwork to finish…

Customers waiting on the product…

A visit to some factories were eye opening…!  A real time travel experience…

Owning an ancient Mooney gave me an edge…!!!

 

 

[carusoam]

Great follow-up CG!

I’m glad you brought your thoughts to the air Canada people…

 

Traveling commercial often… I have found…

People will quietly bare the first offense…. While looking around to see if anyone else is concerned….

 

kind of like turbulence…

the first bump is free… a few whimpering sounds

The second bump gets screams…

Lots of bumps… one person gets sick…

And so on… and so on…

 

The A team must have gotten assigned a different flight…

Sounds like they put the entire B team on your flight…

let us know if you hear anything from AC… I bet they have a no response policy… just a thank you for your note…

What did the docs get for a new car?

Best regards,

-a-

[Pinecone]

10 hours ago, carusoam said:

It really helps to pay the full fare…. Or fly 100,000 miles a year…

Sit up near the front…

in a big wide chair… with lots of leg room…

Where the service improves a notch… ratio of customers to service people is low….

and the other customers have been there before…

Special lines for special people…

Concierge lounge with complimentary beverages…

A place to wash up after your all night flight…
 

Sometimes the platinum card… helps.   It is based on how many times or miles you have flown…

When you can’t do that…

expect to get a middle seat between two other people that aren’t FAA standard…

 

Enjoy the ride…

Best regards,

-a-

 

Yeap, it really does help to have airline status and upgrade.

But even in economy, some airlines provide good service with a smile

[FlyingDude]

Way back when, flying was expensive and it was actually an event.  People would dress up for it.  Flight attendants used to be fit.  Now, stepping on a plane is like opening peopleofwalmart.com 

Well, in other countries, they still have weight restrictions.  My cousin's wife is a flight attendant in Europe and they get on the scale once a month.  I was once flying to Japan and dozed off, with my shoulder protruding slightly into the aisle from one of those tiny couch seats (our company was cheap).  The flight attendant was rushing to the aft galley, and had a tight fit between the seats like a piston in a bore.  I almost had shoulder dislocation.  They didn't even apologize.  

[FlyingDude]

10 hours ago, carusoam said:

Special lines for special people…

That's one bullshit I can't stand.  I fly commercial a lot for work, so actually I AM one of those special people ranking high on the airline fascism.  I board first and breathe in the stale air while others are still boarding.  We all get to the same destination at the same time.  One benefit might be to have dedicated overhead space, although I'd rather drop off my carry-on at plane door and pick it up from the door at arrival (still not checked, but also not in the cabin).  The only time boarding early helps you is when you have small kids.  Now that they're getting bigger, I go first and deal with strollers and car seats while wife entertains the kids outside of the plane, so we minimize their time in the plane...

I think the best boarding process was when they used to use (at least in Europe) both doors, fore and aft.  

But, I do enjoy the personal TVs.  The selection was best on Delta planes, up until a year ago.  Then, good stuff started weaning off.  Maybe too expensive or too "offensive".  Dunno.  Last flight was boring actually.

[Fly Boomer]

2 hours ago, Pinecone said:

Yeap, it really does help to have airline status and upgrade.

Not sure about other airlines, but AA gave me a lifetime Platinum for being a good customer -- that and a sawbuck buys a cup of bad coffee.

[201er]

The fact that they are rude, unhelpful, or unpleasant is peanuts compared to the fact that they can’t deliver their sardines on time. So many flights get delayed or cancelled that it makes you wonder why bother? My Mooney can get places same or faster than the jet when it never takes off on time.

[ilovecornfields]

2 hours ago, FlyingDude said:

Way back when, flying was expensive and it was actually an event.  People would dress up for it.  Flight attendants used to be fit.  Now, stepping on a plane is like opening peopleofwalmart.com 

Well, in other countries, they still have weight restrictions.  My cousin's wife is a flight attendant in Europe and they get on the scale once a month.  I was once flying to Japan and dozed off, with my shoulder protruding slightly into the aisle from one of those tiny couch seats (our company was cheap).  The flight attendant was rushing to the aft galley, and had a tight fit between the seats like a piston in a bore.  I almost had shoulder dislocation.  They didn't even apologize.  

I hope you don’t mean it this way but your post comes off as a little, dare I say “toxic.” Would you want a job where if you gain any weight from your hire date you got fired? Maybe the eating disorders a lot of these women develop probably don’t mean anything to you either because, hey, that’s their choice. My sister in law was a flight attendant at one of the fancy Asian airlines where a lot of these practices from the “good ol’ days” still remain. The rate of mental health issues and substance use was high among her peers. 

I too remember when flying was special and more expensive but the trend in commercial aviation as in many other industries has been to do things as cheaply as possible because that’s what people care about when they purchase their ticket. If you want to feel special when flying you could always charter a plane, but you probably won’t because of…cost.

I won’t get started on “service” pets but that bothers me way more than flight attendants with a healthy BMI.

[Andy95W]

3 minutes ago, ilovecornfields said:

 

but the trend in commercial aviation as in many other industries has been to do things as cheaply as possible because that’s what people care about when they purchase their ticket. If you want to feel special when flying you could always charter a plane, but you probably won’t because of…cost.

I won’t get started on “service” pets but that bothers me way more than flight attendants with a healthy BMI.

All of which leads to passengers who expect first-class service at a bargain-basement price from employees who are “serving prison sentences” (like I was told last week.)

[FlyingDude]

19 minutes ago, ilovecornfields said:

I hope you don’t mean it this way but your post comes off as a little, dare I say “toxic.” Would you want a job where if you gain any weight from your hire date you got fired? Maybe the eating disorders a lot of these women develop probably don’t mean anything to you either because, hey, that’s their choice. My sister in law was a flight attendant at one of the fancy Asian airlines where a lot of these practices from the “good ol’ days” still remain. The rate of mental health issues and substance use was high among her peers. 

I too remember when flying was special and more expensive but the trend in commercial aviation as in many other industries has been to do things as cheaply as possible because that’s what people care about when they purchase their ticket. If you want to feel special when flying you could always charter a plane, but you probably won’t because of…cost.

I won’t get started on “service” pets but that bothers me way more than flight attendants with a healthy BMI.

Toxic?  I'm sorry you choose to see it that way.  My  good family friend (male, straight, young, fit) didn't get into police academy in turkey because he couldn't run the 1km and 5km under their required timing. Now he's training to reapply. Of course he could get offended by this discrimination and cry a river on social media and even claim the post citing discrimination but when you're chasing crooks you gotta run fast. He knows that.

As for flight attendants, it's no beauty pageant, I'm not asking for that. But seats are smaller and every time I sit in aisle seat and have to lean towards the window guy when a flight attendant walks by, sorry, I think they're not really fit for the job. Your post won't change how I feel. If they widened the aisles, I would go back to "don't care".

[ilovecornfields]

I appreciate your clarification and your point about the aisle width:flight attendant width being > 1, but in my time flying I’ve never encountered flight attendants physically unable to do their job. I get abused by the drink cart much more often than by the crew.

I think it’s also fair to acknowledge that some hiring and employee retaining practices can have undesired side effects, if that’s something one cares about.