Over at Lucky‘s blog yesterday he wrote about the American Airlines 777-300ER flight he and I were both on from New York to London last month. He noted that some of the flight attendants on this flight were less than endearing, and one in particular was downright rude.
At the same time, he also mentioned that his return flight (he hasn’t posted that part of the trip yet) featured a fantastic crew. And though we were on different flights coming back across the Pond, my return crew was excellent as well. In fact, here’s what I said about the service on the return:
The return flight was a different experience entirely.
.. the cabin was mostly empty and the crew was in fantastic spirits. The flight attendant serving my aisle, Vanessa, could easily have been working Singapore Airlines first class and would have been a standout there.
…She was attentive, kept my drinks refilled, kept encouraging me to eat things and try things. She was there just the right amount and at the right times. And her colleagues were equally welcoming and engaging. Whereas the crew on the outbound was a little bit grumpy even before the delay, on the return it was a party.
And as if to underscore that very idea, the lighting theme they selected on the touch screen controller was the pre-programmed “AA Party”
That’s the thing about crews with US-based airlines — there are some really wonderful flight attendants, there are some really surly ones, and it seems like luck of the draw which you will get — and also that there’s little that US airlines have been able to do about it.
Commenter Santastico on Lucky’s post asked,
Why does AA invest in new planes, new technology, new seats but still insists to not learn from Cathay, Singapore or Emirates on how to treat customers well. If you read other bloggers that also tried the AA new 777 to London and Sao Paulo most of them share the same impression: flight attendants were rude, service in first and business class was done in a hurry so they could get over it and food and wine selection was not up to what one would expect for a business or first class ticket that can cost over $10K. I guess they could have a partnership with Cathay (since they are both One World) and have some of their flight attendants to spend some time in Hong Kong to learn how to treat customers well.
I thought I’d take a stab at beginning to construct an answer to this question, because surely it isn’t as easy as partnering with an airline that has good service in order to teach that to the crews of US carriers. (And let’s avoid over-generalizing, there are very much fantastic crews working for US carriers, just as there are lackluster crews working for Asian ones — and certainly for some Middle Eastern ones — but in the limit airlines like Singapore are known for their service.)
There are, I think, two factors at work: culture and institutions.
First, culture. Leaving aside ‘good’ and ‘bad’ service (although some cultures are more given towards what we usually think of as one versus the other), service in different cultures is very different. American flight attendants may be engaging, they may tease, they may call you by your first name. On the whole German flight attendants might be more formal. Japanese flight attendants certainly are, you’ll often see their name tags are formal and they are referred to by last names. Aussie flight attendants, well, they’re Aussies.
Sometimes Asian airlines will appear not to offer very good service, at least that’s what Americans will often think, and it’s frequently a language barrier. I find that in general Korean airlines — Asiana in particular –will have flight attendants serving US routes that don’t necessarily have very good English skils. German flight attendants may appear brusque to a US passenger both because of differing cultural norms and because a given flight attendant’s English language skills may not be as strong as their German (or even their French).
It’s going to be hard not to get reasonably good service, at least if you understand where they’re coming from, out of a Japanese airline. Although I’m often surprised by how variable the service can be on Thai Airways.
And clearly it’s not all culture. Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific has entirely different service standards from mainland China’s Air China or China Southern, despite all being ‘Chinese’. Taiwan’s airlines are different still.
So you get into differences in institutions.
I don’t want to oversimplify and overplay the role that unions have in (lack of) service delivery from U.S. airlines, but they’re certainly part and parcel of a larger institutional phenomenon which is that U.S. airlines really do not monitor service performance at the individual employee level (other than dealing with the occasional specific complaint) and do not incentivize good service — both positive (better pay or perks that would lead to job satisfaction) and negative (removing poor performers from customer-facing roles).
U.S. airlines can make hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in new seats, billions of dollars of investment in new planes to create a better flying experience. But like hotel programs which ultimately rely on front desk agents to delivery their product to the customer, the investment can easily be undone by poor front line service. And yet it seems the airlines do little to change the way service is delivered.
And much of this does involve unions, though I don’t blame the flight attendants or the unions that bargain in their own perceived self-interest. Instead, I blame management — and not just for agreeing to demands, but for hosting upon unions many of the roles that they have today. (One could bargain for wages and specific working condition items without ultimately coming up with a scheme that outsources scheduling and discipline to union proceses.)
When I first became fascinated with airlines and aviation a little over 15 years ago, I read everything I could get my hands on from Robert Serling, R.E.G. Davies, and Robert Daley (but mostly Robert Serling). And then there was the book that really got me started on the journey of aviation, before I found my love of miles and points, Thomas Petzinger, Jr.’s Hard Landing: The Epic Contest for Power and Profits That Plunged the Airlines into Chaos. It remains probably the best introduction to the airline industry I’ve come across, though it’s sadly in need of an update to add in events from 1997 to the present.
What I desperately wish I could remember is which of these books it was where I read extensively on United Airlines President Pat Patterson. Patterson had been the Wells Fargo loan officer who authorized funding for Pacific Air Transport, later acquired by Boeing Air Transport, which was ultimate merged in with other carriers to become United Air Lines. Patterson moved over to Boeing and then to United, becoming General Manager and ultimately President of the airline.
While he’s perhaps best known for approving the hiring of in-flight nurses which morphed into onboard flight attendants, he’s also more than any other, the man who brought union control into the operation of the airline business. The version of the story I recall is that he believed that the unions were closer to their workers, and better understood their needs, than management was. It wasn’t just a matter of collective bargaining, but deeply held belief, that the workers would be better off (and that this would benefit the airline) if unions and union procedures handled scheduling.
I’m not a scholar in this area by any means, but the shift from company control over its employees to union control — and from management evaluation of employees to roles and responsibilities determined by seniority — has consequences which reverberate across the industry today.
Great flight attendants provide great service because they’re proud to do so, because they’re driven to do so, internally. In some ways the exceptional US flight attendant deserves much more praise because they are doing it on their own, when there is little if any benefit to them to do so. They aren’t going to lose their job as a result of occasionally grumpy and often lackluster service. They aren’t going to get paid more for going above and beyond for a customer. They do it because they’re internally driven and believe it’s the right thing to do. I truly thank them and honor them.
But as long as scheduling is done by seniority, and pay is doled out by route, and as long as commendations and criticisms are only ancillary to performance evaluations, pay, and perks, airlines aren’t going to be able to align the incentives of their frontline workforce to deliver outstanding service.
It isn’t all institutions, and it isn’t all culture, but the two of them combine so that superior companies drawing on service cultures and fostering those cultures can provide a superior experience. Mediocre companies drawing on a service culture will offer good and bad, just as companies here in the US without strong service institutions will occasionally offer flashes of brilliance (but often ‘good enough’). And in most cases I don’t expect either the cultures or the institutions to change very much.
My most shocking experience on a plane occurred when I was on UA in F from LHR to IAD.
I wanted water.
I hit the flight attendant button.
The grouchy flight attendant thereafter continued to chat with an NRSA about union issues.
Wrong, wrong, wrong on so many levels.
My most surprising experience on a plan occurred in F on a Gustavus-Juneau flight. Given facilities at Gustavus, it takes 40 minuted to board a 737. I was the first on board, and inquired whether I could be permitted to place a couple of pounds of halibut caugt earlier that day in the chiller.
The FA learned that the Glacier Bay National Park Lodge was unwilling to cook it there because it was not from a commercial source. She volunteered to cook it in the convection oven, placed it in 4 x 8 inch trays, added wine and lemons from the drink cart, and by the time we got to Juneau (all of 41 miles away), the halibut was scrumtious.
She likely broke many rules. But clearly an FA who is motivated from the inside.
HND-JFK on AA F, Jan. 28 — found my way to my seat on my own, while two FAs were chatting with their backs turned to me. One of them acknowledged me 5-10 mins in, turning to me to say “welcome,” and then continued chatting to his friend. Was not offered dessert during meal service. Assistance for turning my seat to sleep position was offered clearly as a sign of the FA’s magnanimity. Nobody checked on me about anything throughout the flight…
And yet, the FAs were not mean or upset or snobby — they just clearly had no concept of what an F passenger expects in terms of service or what goes on on good Asian or European airlines, or the fact that they are competing for customers on the basis of this service. At the end of the day, it was my first and last time flying F long-haul on a US carrier, no matter how great seats they install.
Not only the inflight service is better on asia flight, the flight, the plane itself is better, cleaner, newer spacious. My united flight from fra to ord was an old planewith small seats and has torn seat cover. AA flight from london to ord was same. But the Thai flight between fra and bkk was awesome. The was much newer, cleaner, bigger and has better seats. Food was also better.
Gary, I couldn’t agree with you more. Excellent piece.
You are so right. And most likely it will not change. Out of the few F intercontinental flights with US airlines i had a great crew only once. I avoid them whenever I can, even taking extra connections.
Gary, I agree, union control and seniority privilege make for uneven service.
Are the Asian airlines in general not unionized?
I have given this a lot of thought. There is the union element, not present (to my knowledge) in Asian airlines. There are the age restrictions, which are kind of mean but do result in turn-over, which I think reduces attitude based on a sense of entitlement.
Then there is the cultural element. Most Americans are frankly terrible at customer service because they have this innate belief that its demeaning to do so. It seems like many of them are right on the verge of saying “think you are better than me? Do it yourself!” So no surprise, self-service seems to have its roots in the U.S.
In my opinion, the latest meme (along these lines) from flight attendants and pilots is that flight attendants are not there to serve us at all! They are there for our “safety”, which I gather is defined loosely as protecting us from terrorists, drunks, and plane crashes. Now if they happen to have a minute or two to spare outside of these activities vital national security, they will help us. Think I am exaggerating? On more than a few flights, I have heard the pilot essentially say just that before the flight.
So you see? We just don’t get it. They are counter-terrorist operatives, security staff, or life-savers. But for God’s sake…anything but flight attendants!
Fortunately, most Asian airlines have not yet bought into that nonsense.
@Kay – in general North Asian carriers are more unionized than South Asian ones, pilots more so than flight attendants, but the powers of those unions are different (different laws, easier for carriers to run replacement crews)
The majority of American workers feel their paycheck is not enough for them to work up to par. We are an entitled country and it sucks.
Since Thai Airways is still majorly owned by the government. There is still politics involved in the crew selection process, i.e., the not-quite-qualified daughter of a politician might get the job over a Chinese-major graduate. Obviously, the daughter of the politician doesn’t know much about service, and that what reflects in the passenger’s onboard experience. I’ve only flown Y on Thai and their crew are always fantastic!
How does FA compensation in Asia compare to the compensation for similar non-technical or service jobs in those same countries?
Same reason why the French can’t work 40 hours.
I agree, especially on the culture front, but I think there’s a reason airlines don’t incentivize good service*, and that reason is that we don’t incentivize airlines to offer it.
Not “we” in the sense of the frequent flyer community; we often pledge allegiance to our favorite airlines and that plays a huge role in who we book with.
But “we” in the sense of airfare buyers as a whole, especially the ones filling coach seats. We price shop for airline tickets with little regard for who is operating a flight. So why would airlines focus on service when the majority of customers will simply book the lowest fare they find?
I think you’re absolutely spot on though, with regard to culture and institution, being responsible for the chasm in service in premium cabins.
*I don’t really know what other airlines do, but US Airways does incentivize service to an extent. Elites are given “above & beyond” vouchers to give to FA’s or GA’s who provide outstanding service, and those vouchers are put into a regularly held drawing; the winners get a bonus, I believe it’s $1,000. I don’t know how much impact this particular tactic has had, but I, and other elites I speak with, have noticed a dramatic improvement in service at the front of the plane in recent years.
American gives out AAplause certificates, those enter in a drawing for miles, the prizes are taxable. It’s a nice gesture but a chance that a passenger might give you what amounts to a raffle ticket for a modest prize doesn’t really count as compensating good service 🙂
Oh I agree completely, it’s not by any means “compensation” for good service, just a modest perk.
But I do think it helps passengers. On transcons and TATL’s with US, I’ve given them out as the FA passes out PDB’s to help ensure a pleasant flight 🙂
No idea if that makes a difference, but my poor service experiences of late have been few and far between.
I’ve been living overseas in Asia on and off for 14 years. I’ve mostly traveled business class upgrades with times in long haul economy flights on Korean Airlines, and business class awards on Cathay and American. And I am spoiled I find out all of this time, because now that I’ve flown First Class on United and Delta, their on board service is not on par at all with the beautiful treatment I’ve gotten, even while in Economy, on the airlines in Asia, or going back to Asia. Sigh! While flying in Business or First in the States, I don’t get the same ‘elite’ experience. It’s hard enough being a 6 footer in the sky, too!
Don’t blame the FAs and unions so much. Probably someone from Asia could do your job for 1/2 your salary and still be more grateful than you.
Which airlines are the included in so call Asian airlines? What classes of sevices? Long haul short haul? Domestic or internation? there are so many asian airlines, but only the few good one get mentioned everytime. Ever been on Chinese airlines before in economy class? Your experience will for sure be differnet than being in first with CX. Oh also if you look foreign to them, ie white, you get treated a lot better on many Asian airlines also.
Of course not saying American Airlines are any good, but I can’t understand all the hate for American flight attendants and services. Maybe is because most of my flights are in Asian or across the pacific, but the grass is not always greener.
We need a flight attendant visa like the H1B tech visa, I’m sure there are plenty of workers worldwide who would jump at the opportunity. Service would improve and profits would soar.
I made a coment on the other blig of the same concept about FA and I said it is more of a culture than anything else and asian FA need the job as for US Iairlines need the retirement pkg more than the job so as long as they can stay on thats all that matters but I was informed that FA was there for emergency and not really for service, so what else can I say.
I think the cultural difference may be even more important. I often find flight attendants on European carriers in first or business to be courteous but just plain too cold. And I was raised in Europe so it should not bother me… but sometimes I would just rather play the roulette with American carriers and hopefully luck out and get a fun crew.
And yes, Thai Airways service is terribly inconsistent… not sure why they call it “legendary” it’s all just marketing.
I’m also interested in the earlier question posed about how flight attendant compensation in the US compares to other countries. Not just an absolute number, but how far the salary gets them in their respective countries.
Another (probably oversimplified) view I’ve heard about this issue is that Americans generally shop mainly on price of a ticket. Thus even if an airline provides poor service (to a point), all that matters is they’re able to offer low ticket prices, because that’s the primary motivator in purchase decisions. You can really blame people for operating that way if they aren’t frequent fliers, because the general experience as a non-elite, non-frequent flier is approximately the same among the “legacy” airlines.
Thanks for this enlightening post! Rode United recently for the first time and there is such a huge difference in service and attitude from Singapore/Cathy. Flight attendants were actually yelling at people to sit down on United. Even flying on Air China and China Southern Air within China had a much better experience than that.
Somewhat speculating here but there’s probably a lot less opportunity in other fields to make a flight attendant’s salary in Asia than in North America so they get a better pool of candidates.
Further to my prior point, labor mobility could also be a motivating factor. If AA lets you go for whatever reason then there’s plenty of other domestic airlines that might hire you. But if Cathay, Singapore, or Emirates lets you go then there are far fewer viable options.
Southwest is a heavily unionized, if not most unionized american carrier and it has excellent service standards
The Reagan Administration’s decision to bust PATCO and usher in the age of deregulation in the early 80’s gave the green light to the airlines (and all corporations, for that matter) to shift compensation away from their American workers with little fear of government interference. Since then nearly every US based airline, with the possible exception of Southwest, has increasingly paid their workers a smaller share of revenue and their top management a greater share. (Over the last 30 years few airline shareholders have benefited, and middle management has fared worst of all, not having any protection from labor or the government.)
Hopefully the zenith of this trend was reached when Glen Tildon and his gang of butchers savaged the pay and benefits of United workers, including pensions earned over many years, and then turned around and gave themselves 8 figure bonuses for doing so.
Having flown frequently for decades, out of Chicago for most of that time, I’ve found an overall direct correlation between the state of an airline’s labor relations and the quality of their customer service. 20 years ago United front line service was usually excellent; now its often mediocre or worst. At American I was amazed at how long the quality of service remained high even as management was taking and threatening to take more. Its only been the last 4 years that I’ve experienced a “don’t care” attitude amongst some American FAs and other front line personnel. And even now, the culture of quality service that was built over decades at American prevails, as most (although a declining #) personnel continue to provide quality service.
Compared to other airlines, Southwest has not taken more from its employees to give to its upper management. The revenue share between top management, mid management and labor has remained fairly consistent–and even shareholders have consistently received a slice! 🙂
Is it any wonder that employee morale & customer service at Southwest has remained consistent, at a very high level, for decades?
@Charlie the variance in Chinese airlines is one of the points i made in the post 🙂
@Nick ‘Like’ – but the institutions would still be broken
Easy answer is asian workers can be fired much easier than American workers.
fear of lose of income is a great motivator to do a good job.
@Ricky his name is Troy and he write a Chinese-language travel blog on BoardingArea.
@ Mikey
I like this bit from Office Space:
“Peter Gibbons: You see, Bob, it’s not that I’m lazy, it’s that I just don’t care.
Bob Porter: Don’t- don’t care?
Peter Gibbons: It’s a problem of motivation, all right? Now if I work my ass off and Initech ships a few extra units, I don’t see another dime, so where’s the motivation? And here’s another thing, I have eight different bosses right now.
Bob Porter: Eight?
Peter Gibbons: Eight, Bob. So that means when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That’s my only real motivation is not to be hassled, that, and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired.”
I come way down on the side of culture. I used to fly at least once a month to Colombia on AA. I noticed how polished the flight crew was and how well they handled the cabin consistently. I later found out that on their route they required a Colombian crew by agreement.
Colombia is a country where service is considered a profession and being polite to a server is the norm. The server expects respect and equally gives it.
This is the same airline, same planes, and a different experience. I don’t believe the role of service is valued in the US by either the public or the server, and I think it shows particularly in planes.
Now to contradict myself. I have found the service on Southwest far better than other US carriers but I suspect it comes back to a question of respect. The management respects the crew and therefore the crew behaves respectfully.
Luckily, poor service of US-based airlines is much less of a concern these days (at least when traveling long haul). We can always pay for partner flights and still credit back to AA/UA/DL.
After experience LH and NH, there’s no way even on a snowing day in hell that I’d be redeeming for UA/AA long-haul (unless ALL other options are gone)
I thought your post on this would get a lot of comments, Gary, since the issue comes up again and again over at Flyertalk and I’m sure other forums.
The relatively informal American culture contributes to the uneven FA service in various ways, both good and bad. The demoralization of some FAs certainly undercuts the service they offer. I can’t help wondering whether some American (as a nationality, not specifically AA) customers might be more annoying and demanding to deal with than those from other countries. And poor service starts at the top, with management that’s largely indifferent to quality service, or at least does not prioritize it.
In the end, though, I can’t help thinking that the biggest single culprit is a union culture that prizes seniority over all else, albeit for at least somewhat understandable reasons: not wanting management to persecute FAs for unjustified reasons having nothing to do with how good or bad they are at their jobs. Regardless, the upshot is that the best FAs do not get the best perks unless they stay on the job for many years, and many lousy FAs do get the choicest assignments, which provides an incentive for them to stick around. Unless and until airline management tackles this, service on USA carriers will continue to be very inconsistent and to compare unfavorably with some foreign competitors.
Gary
I agree that it’s a mix of culture and institution, but I disagree on some of the cultural matters. First, the USA generally is renowned for its excellent customer service in restaurants and shops. Tourists marvel at it (as well as joking about “have a nice day”). Yes the culture is informal, but people are generally bright enough to account for those differences. Personally, I prefer a more formal culture, but I can recognise that the less formal can be equally good. So, the USA has an excellent service culture but some of the world’s worst airline service. What’s going on?
Certainly, poor management is at the forefront of this, by not laying down service standards, by not training in what is expected, by not continually monitoring and grading the staff and by not rewarding good service. But also there’s a cultural thing. Americans expect tips, and huge tips for even doing their jobs. Whether it’s a waitress in a restaurant, or even a bartender who gets in the way of getting a drink in an airline lounge in the USA, the customer is expected to fork over dollars to receive even what he paid for. And then there are FAs who don’t get tips. I’m not arguing for giving tips to FAs, but merely observing that the set-up we have with airlines runs counter to the American idea of service – bend over backwards and ask to be beaten again, all with a huge smile on your face, so long as there’s a dollar at the end of it.
I flew a lot of miles before 9/11 and “some” after 9/11 and I believe the change in on board attitudes has changed dramatically to the down side. There is an under lying “this is dangerous, I’m scared, so sit down and shut up and don’t cause me have any stress as I already have enough without any customers being on board”………..the on board staff has seen an ability to seize control of the cabin and I believe they have done it with a vengeance…..
My response to that treatment is I have dramatically reduced my flying and when I do I find a way to get up front all the time……it helps but it does not change the underlying culture now dominant………..
I agree with many of the comments above. Seems like many reasons for these service problems. But solutions? Airlines: Give customers easy ways to provide feedback in real time in multiple categories. Postcard? iPhone Ap? Reward customers with ff miles?
Date, Flight #, Cabin, Name if known.
Food Service: 0 1 2 3 4 5
Beverage Service…, Ancillary Services…, General demeanor (walking softly, being proactive, no loud galley bitch sessions)…
Seems like patterns could be fairly easy to determine. Surely there will be scoring differences between cabins and city pairs, but if one crew shows poorer numbers on all of their flights for the day it should be pretty clear quickly enough.
I am very lucky in the flights I usually fly (LAX-MIA on 777, LAX-JFK) have top class flight attendants, who have impressed me by their professionalism and service, even during the pilot actions (which hurt them as much as the passengers). I know some of them well enough to hear what some of their gripes are (after clearly inviting them to share their complaints; no word of it before).
I think they will be more cheerful with Horton getting denied his $20M.
I agree with NB.
Many of the comments here suggest that the unions are the problem, but there’s no evidence that that is the case. BA, Qantas, and the vast majority of European airlines are heavily unionized (with seniority being a key factor), and rarely do they offer the huge variance in service levels that is provided on the US carriers.
In the US, the planes are dirty, the equipment old, and the airports are shabby. Asian flight attendants don’t have to work in that environment. Nor do the Europeans. Nor the Australians. Their airports are generally better, their planes are cleaner, their passengers are less entitled. Perhaps it is a reflection of the culture in which they work?
As an Australian, I have often been confused by the odd tipping culture, but I have been consistently been told that American tip because it gets them better service. Many Australians and Europeans would agree. We tip waiters, doormen, bellboys, hairdressers. But we don’t tip flight attendants. Why not? Would we get better service of we did?
A reasoned analysis would also have to recognize that
management has consistently secured labor concessions over the past two decades, which probably mirrors the timeframe for the decline in service. Might that be the problem? At least there’s some sort of correlation.
Poor service and business cultures are usually a reflection of the culture at the top, of management styles and priorities. Why would the airlines be any different?
I want to fly Asiana over and over. I will fly Lufthansa, Swiss, and Thai. I will grudgingly fly United and Singapore. I avoid American, Delta, Air Canada. I won’t fly Quantas (for maintenance issues not service).
My favorite line.. United gate agent in Chicago… If you don’t get in line with your documents opened properly… I am going to leave my post and none of you will get home tonight. My second favorite line… American Flight attendant with hands on hips at back galley….. Those idiots, don’t they know how to fly? (that was my final American flight)
“And clearly it’s not all culture. Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific has entirely different service standards from mainland China’s Air China or China Southern, despite all being ‘Chinese’. Taiwan’s airlines are different still.”
Gary, I’m surprised you dismissed the cultural differences between Taiwan, Hong Kong & China so quickly. Since you’ve been to all three places before, I’m sure you realized that the service standards ARE vastly different (ever tried lining up for something in mainland China?) There’s a reason why Hong Kong people can not stand mainland tourists’ behaviors when they visit.
While, I don’t think it is the sole cause, but different societies do have cultural differences that are ultimately reflected in their airlines.
Everyone who flies internationally knows that service is usually better on foreign airlines than USA airlines.
Gary is correct in noting that there is not enough to incentivize USA flight crews to provide better service. It is in management’s interest to do so, as many of us book away from the USA carriers because we prefer better in-flight service (with safety and frequent flyer benefits now about equal, there’s currently no reason to fly the USA airlines).
It’s time management focused on this. Several years ago, Gordon Bethune started raffling off SUVs every quarter to employees with perfect attendance. Magically, many more Continental employees started having perfect attendance.
Something similar should be done for inflight service satisfaction. Cards coulkd be handed out or, on flights with touch screens, there could be an online survey. On flights where the service is rated highly, the flight atttendants could win worthwhile prizes.
I’d bet the service would magically improve, and the program would more than pay for itself as it would attract additional customers.
RE: German FAs
I’ve flown Lufthansa a few times and was supremely impressed. They were formal, calling myself and the wife Mr and Dr. such-and-such respectively, but very polite.
And as far as language skills go, well, they spoke a lot better English than this southern boy ever has or ever will….
@jab the difference in service standards between mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan is *exactly my point*. It isn’t something inherent to the thousands of year old Chinese culture that we can attribute service differences to. Now surely Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan have evolved with differences over latter half of the past century especially. But that suggests it’s differences in institutions that drives different outcomes,, right?
Excellent post and great discussion. Most comments are spot on.
This article is precisely why I always use my AA miles on partner airlines, never AA. I will gladly pay fuel surcharges if need be to get a truly F or J experience.
AA does have certificates to give attendants. They are appreciative of them when I give them out, but I know they are essentially worthless (it’s a raffle for something not exciting)
The funny thing about the reference to mainland Chinese airlines vs Cathay Pacific is that, while there is a stark contrast between the two, the flight attendants for both still generally provide better service than their US counterparts. A few months ago, I flew F on a domestic China Eastern flight. (And China Eastern does not have a great reputation, even in China.) Upon boarding, the flight attendant asked to see my boarding bass, and then actually personally escorted me to my seat and fluffed the pillow that was sitting there. I was completely blown away.
@Beachfan I believe it is a raffle for miles, it used to involve prizes, the miles are tax-reportable
In March my wife, daughter and I flew ATL-ORD-HKG and returned HKG-JFK, LGA-ATL. The domestic legs were in first on RJs but the rest was business on CX. The good on CX? The lavs were cleaned continually, the FAs seemed cheerful and the seats on the 777-300ERs were as good as reported? The rest? After being served a drink on both flights I had to call a flight attendant for a refill after nearly an hour. The meals were nothing special. After not finishing the dinner on the outbound I tried for the snack service, supposedly available throughout the nearly 16 hour journey, but no one responded to the call button. A trip to the galley (this was about 1AM CDT)disclosed nobody around. I went to sleep instead. On the return I didn’t finish the first meal but was able to get the snack. As I’ve read elsewhere, this is what one should eat in lieu of the entre at dinner. As mentioned, drink service was lousy. I had to call for a refill and ask that my wife get her second glass of Champagne.(No wine for me there or at The Wing lounge. The selection is OK-just didn’t feel like any). So, what’s the upshot? My other recent international flights were a couple on DL to LHR, AF to DUB via CDG and KLM from AMS to ATL. Delta food was very good and the FAs good to great. AF was OK, but there indeed were some language barriers. KL, even though there was a very late departure, found a way to accommodate everyone, even me who wanted to just chill and eat as late as possible. My verdict? Delta was as good as Cathay, AF need not be avoided and KLM was terrific. So much for the Asian airline issue IMO.
If there is no threat of being fired or really disciplined for bad service employees will generally just do enough to not get in trouble hence inconsistent service on the very same airline.
something else — from talking to AA FA’s, i don’t think any of them have ever been in an int’l F/J cabin on another airline, much less an Asian carrier.
i really don’t think the AA FA’s (nor any other domestic carrier) know what they’re being compared against, so how can they be expected to understand the problem?
Great posts, and great discussion here in the comments. It really is a multi-faceted problem.
I’ve talked to travelers who flew on airlines before deregulation. Since prices were set by the government back then, the only way to for airlines to differentiate themselves was to compete on service. Which was why the service was generally excellent. Now that price is the main factor, that’s what airlines compete on.
Cool idea by other commenters was to have a way of passengers to rate the flight attendants. I imagine a tablet would work well. Have the names and photos of each attendant on the flight. Rate each one on a scale of 1-5, plus a small box to write in comments.
Then arrange to have some kind of incentive for the best flight attendants, as well as some kind of formal interview with any low-scoring attendants. Instead of a ounce-a-year, more frequent awards like every month could work really well.
There are a lot of challenges, though. Management would be resistant to paying more, and unions would be resistant to performance-based compensation. I think if an airline became wildly successful and proved that better customer service led to spectacular profits, other airlines would pay attention. Especially if they rapidly lost a lot of market share to a high-performing airline.
@Joe (#41): Ever fly BA to Africa? The planes they send down there have been “rode hard and put up wet”. They fly, but they are beaters. BA has three fleets – long haul, short haul, and mixed. Long haul are the senior FA’s and you cannot transfer into that from the mixed fleet. The mixed fleet has younger FA’s. As I understand it (correct me if I am wrong) all the growth and new FA jobs will be in the mixed fleet until the others are gone.
I generally fly overseas from DFW and really like the DFW based crews. Maybe it’s a regional bias on my part, but it seems more often than not, they are pretty good.
The best management advice I ever heard:
“If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your customers.”
Unfortunately, the reverse is also true: if you go to war with your employees, they will tend to go to war with your customers.
If I were treated the way that flight crews are being treated by management, I’d be pretty surly as well.
Aerodark hit one of the nails on the head here. If the FA KNEW what kind of service was being offered on the Asian carriers – it could make a difference. I flew with a former FA from a major U.S. carrier from IAD to NRT in first on ANA. He was astonished at how polished and professional the service was (as well as unobtrusive). His comment (paraphrasing here) to me was “if only we had been exposed to this kind of service in basic and recurrent training on my carrier! We (in the USA)could do this!”
@msmcmotown I can’t agree more on what you started. Employees whether they are unionized or not are not blind to the fact that average wages for mid level management and down have consistently went down as a percentage of revenue while at the same time they rose up exponentially for the senior management. This has been a case in most big companies and not just airlines and that caused a general “why should I care” attitude among them. Hopefully it will change for good at some point.
In my experience the one “service” where US carrier crews usually outperform their Asian based counterparts is the most important one: tending to passenger safety when things go wrong.
True story. A colleague and I were flying on AA from LHR to DFW. FA’s were a seasoned crew–professional but on the gnarly side. They certainly did not keep the glasses full, much less anticipate every need for creature comfort. My colleague had recently flown SQ, and kept carping about the inferior attitude of the AA FA’s compared to those on SQ.
By time we got to TX the entire region was being hit by wave after wave of tornado spawning Tstorms. We circled for over an hour in bone-jarring turbulence, and that landing was the first time (in a plane) I felt the grim reaper hovering. Throughout the entire ordeal that gnarly AA crew was incredible, staying composed and tending to the needs of passengers. My colleague (and several others) nearly lost it. The continual reassuring words from the crew worked wonders. They were top notch.
Afterwords my colleague admitted that he felt ashamed for having badmouthed the crew to me for not being like “attendants at a 5 star restaurant.” The primary job of the crew is customer safety.
It could just be my limited experience, but in the dozen or so very stressful situations I’ve been in due to weather or equipment failures, I’ve never had a US flight crew freeze up or become hysterical. The training kicks in and they do their jobs. That’s not been a universal experience (nor that of colleagues) on some of the Asian based carriers, where I’ve seen FA’s holding each other, weeping, and simply freezing-up. I think the US carriers continue to train their crews well on passenger safety.
@msmcmotown which US airline do you fly for? 😉 :rimshot:
Gary: The same one that gives you those free flights. backatcha! 🙂
Actually I just thought about that in the trip NRT-MSP yesterday. But it is from airline lounge part. The Delta Lounge in NRT is so good with sushi, chick soup, fish soup, etc. while the MSP lounge is much inferior and crowded. (though much better than UA’s lounge in SFO). Can’t think why the service in Asia is much better than the US, even in hotels.
I just flew UA from HKG-EWR, there were 3 meal services, in between each service NOT ONCE was water brought through the cabin, and this is not just in Y, my buddy was in C and he did not receive any FAs checking through the cabin at all either.
When they did do service it was rushed and rather rude, my buddy doesn’t want to fly UA anymore in C again after that.
AA can be a hit or miss depending on the crew base. Usually NY is a mixed bag with some grouchy characters. But that can be seen as well on UA. Usually southern/midwestern states based crews are much better than LA/NYC/BOS crews.
Personally I enjoy CX as they are efficient and polite. Singapore the service can be overwhelming.
Lufthansa and Swiss are very formal. It is not very common to be addressed by first name, that is generally the custom in Germany and Switzerland.
Avianca provides excellent crew service 90% of the time. New planes, friendly and honest service make me feel like this is my airline.
Worst crew members of any airline: Iberia and Aerolineas Argentinas!
@Jim L Makes a great point about how the age of the FA has increased and the older we get the crankier we are
@JS Even lounges from US carriers are better in Asia but I chalk that to competition
Anytime your job is more or less secured because of your seniority, performance suffers. You simply have no incentives to do better.
Flying to Asia frequently, I couldn’t help but notice a big difference in the FA’s. On United, many of the attendants are quite old and quite grumpy. Once, I had turned on the FA alert light, and the FA would shut off the light and not show up. I would turn on the light again, and the light would get shut off. This went on for 20 minutes. Finally an attendant came by, and told me sternly that she “would get to me later!”. What kind of service is that?
Interesting post, Gary. However I don’t think you can really just lay all the blame on the unions. For example BA have unions too yet they manage to consistently deliver much better on board CS. Perhaps American staff are expecting tips? 😉
Gary, thanks for (re)raising this topic. So many fascinating and frustrating intertwined issues; wish there were equally compelling and certain answers for improving U.S.-based-airline service. As someone who had his first-ever non-U.S. premium-travel experience… in Singapore Suites (!), you can imagine how gobsmacked I was by this situation!!!
I wonder if fuel surcharges / taxes plays a role, too. I could be misreading or not have enough data points, but it seems that often airlines with higher award fuel surcharges/fees offer better service than those without such charges. Thoughts?
And lastly, on an orthogonal note, I’ve linked to your post here on my Google+ account, and I had hoped to +you there; do you have an account on Google+? If you’re indeed not active there, had you considered using some of your copious free time (ha!) engaging with the many passionate travelers over there? 🙂
There’s nothing culturally wrong with the US: you have a much higher chance of getting excellent and curteous service at a McDonald’s, which manages a far larger workforce than the largest US airline and pays its employees a fraction of what the US airline does.
You hit it in the head: management abdicating quality to the unions, and neither understanding how critical SERVICE is in a SERVICE industry, is the real problem. AA just finished renegotiating with its FA union and it was all about $$, nothing about regaining the ability to manage (and fire) its workforce. It was a shame.
Usually I find your comments defensible even if I disagree, but this one seems full of unwarranted and unsubstantiated bias. Having traveled variously last year mostly in business class on LH, BA, QF, EK, UA, AA, AS, , WN, LOT and Aeroflot I can tell you that I had great FAs on some flights and not so good ones on others. Really there was no consistent pattern for any carrier or even demographically in terms of age, nationality, etc. Some of the best FAs I’ve ever had were getting near retirement age (contrary to the oft-repeated bias that younger ones have better attitudes).
Now looking at this list you’re bound to say – well Boraxo that list doesn’t include any Asian carriers and you’d be right. So I really am not in a position to assess the consistency of product for these airlines. But IMHO it is not fair to tar the US carriers when the European (and MidEast?) are just as inconsistent and lazy (or fantastic, depending on your flight)
Definitely a mix of cultural and institutional… Does anyone else get the impression that we are making more of an effort in this thread to figure out how to improve service on US carriers than the carriers themselves are?
cultural: We have a strange mix when it comes to service in america. We are good at the superficially friendly, interrupt your dinner 10 times to see if there is anything else I can get for you, etc. kind of service. On the other hand, we don’t value jobs in the service industry. They are not generally viewed as a proper “career”. So, everyone suffers. Especially when there isn’t the instant incentive of better tips to motivate the person who needs it. (“most” people, I think, want to do a good job and don’t need feedback quite so direct as a variable tip from each customer)
institutional: I appreciate the important role that unions play in protecting workers, and I enjoy getting health insurance, overtime, weekend, off, etc. But unions’ role should not be in hiring and firing workers, and setting schedules. There is an ideal balance in power between workers and management and when this is out of whack productivity, profitability and customer service suffer, as do the workers themselves (nobody wins when unions are too powerful and their demands are unrealistic).
Clearly US carriers have long felt they are competing on price, and let everything else fall by the wayside. Look at, for example, how long foreign carriers have had IFE at every seat, and how long it took for US carriers to catch up even on the long haul routes (have they?).
We fly from the US to the UK fairly often, and I just will not chance it on a US carrier again. Coach on Virgin, BMI (rip), BA still manages to be a pleasant flying experience. But AA’s MAN-ORD flight is what put me off US carriers. The FAs were never outright rude (though close), but they did a very good job to giving the impression that you were an inconvenience to them and they were just along for the ride, doing you a favor by giving you something to eat/drink along the way. On our last flight with AA my daughter was at that nearly-walking age, where all they want you to do is hold their hands so that they can walk around. We were going up and down the aisles (in our socks), and the flight attendant (from her seat) told me that I shouldn’t do that, because who knows what might be on that floor. My daughter could get broken glass in her foot or something?? Great, an airline that can’t even manage to reach that level of cleanliness can try to survive without my help.
I find it very stupid that american passengers complain of the lack of language skills of the cabin crew of Asiana. It’s a matter of accents, but EVERY flight attendant on any airline speaks english… What would a German passenger think of American Airlines Flight Attendants, who do not speak a word of German!
On any US carrier, If you are lucky, you can get a latino flight attendant that will speak Spanish…and that’s all. So really, don’t think the accent should be an issue.
As I mentioned before, I find it stupid to complain about the accent of the Asian Cabin Crew…
but I totally agree that on American and United you can get amazing cabin crew that will make your day, or horrible ones that will ruin it.
I haven’t found middle point on AA. Fortunately I always remember the good ones, and I have many stories of amazing flight attendants, I like their casual aproach, while stil being profesional. Also I like that they are allowed to show their individuality by having their own hairstyle, and choice of trousers or skirt.
Not all is bad in US carriers.
One thing I love about flying Emirates is when they say the amount of languages that are spoken on that particular flight, one day I counted 14!!!!
Here’s our story
This Airline Has Gone Too Far…
Ok,United/Continental (whatever they call themselves now, I honestly don’t care) has officially lost me as a customer going forward, unless they are the only stinking airline that flies to some remote destination I absolutely have to get to in the future.
Had to cancel a $543 ticket last September because Suzanne was feeling awful, too awful to try and go to her Parents 50th Wedding Anniversary party. That means she was feeling bad! So tonight I’m trying to use the credit to buy her a United ticket to Houston for her July scans and check-up with her Oncologist. Found a itinerary for $361, but of course there is a $200 change-fee and then another $50 “agency” fee because I bought the ticket on Expedia or somewhere instead of buying the original ticket directly from United. Anybody else ever heard of this “agency” fee before, that was new to me.
But the cherry on top is that they won’t even apply the $182 remaining credit ($543 – 361 = 182) to the $250 in fees. They want me to pay the $250 outright and then still have the extra credit sitting out there which of course they’ll probably charge me another $250 to use later.
I even talked to a supervisor and then another supervisor and explained the circumstances that the ticket had to be cancelled due to effects of Cancer treatment and that I’m trying to use the credit to get Suzanne down to Houston for more check-ups related to her cancer. I was barely finished before she cut in again with the same Blah, blah, blah. “The change fees are a separate fee and not a ticket so I can’t apply the credit and you have to pay the whole $250 right now. If you get a doctor’s note they might refund part of the $200, etc, etc, etc…”
If most of the airlines are going to continue to think up new ways to screw us with fees, fees and more new fees, why don’t they just go out of business already. United can take they’re whole $543 credit (which is really only worth $111 in this case) and SHOVE IT!!! They’re not getting $250 more from me, I’m going to go use it to buy a ticket on SOUTHWEST instead!
Feel free to tell your favorite United story here in the comments. I might just send it all to ’em…
The problem with US carriers is not the unions or airlines themselves. It is the stockholders of America, who have demanded doing more with less, thus squeezing the US flight attendants. Look at the stock market. The flaw in the model of capitalism is that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. They have created an unlevel playing field with the foreign carriers. As we have seen the distribution of wealth in the USA change dramatically in the last 30 years, it has lead to great inequality. So if the flight attendants are not compensated well, the service will suffer. Maybe if a private equity firm came along and purchased one of the US airlines, and invested greatly in aircraft, personnel and benefits, the US carriers would be able to compete.
I have flown on Cathay and Korean Air. Planes are clean and modern. The flight attendants are very attentive to the needs of the passengers. No attitudes what-so-ever. Always service with a smile. Hell, some of them even look like models. Only issue is the language barrier, but it is not much of an issue.
I have flown on United, American, Jetblue and Delta. The only time I can remember service like I encountered on Cathay and Korean was on my last flight from Utah on a Delta flight. The flight attendants were super attentive and looked like they loved their jobs. I was pleasantly surprised by their customer service since I have always remembered a few rude attendants on past domestic flights. The Delta flight had a younger staff and the female attendants were good looking too. Though the plane did seem kind of old and not so well kept.
I just saw this article and while my comment may be a little late, I thought I’d just add in my 2 cents’ worth. 🙂
Firstly, I am an AA Flight Attendant. I also worked for an Asian carrier in the past, so I’ve had the unique privilege of having been on both sides of the fence.
I must say I’m impressed by your comments; you all definitely know what you’re talking about, and your views are expressed objectively and fairly, taking all factors into consideration.
I will agree that culture plays a big part as to why service seems to be better on the Asian airlines. Basic and recurrent training in the Asian airline covered every single aspect of fine customer service and I remember it being very comprehensive on both the safety-related and food service fronts.
Plus, the airline industry is extremely competitive in both Asia and the Middle East, so the airlines are constantly trying to outdo one another. And the good ones understand that their employees are part of the product, therefore the stringent standards placed on looks, weight, service etc.
I will have to refer to msmcmotown’s comment, “That’s not been a universal experience (nor that of colleagues) on some of the Asian based carriers, where I’ve seen FA’s holding each other, weeping, and simply freezing-up. I think the US carriers continue to train their crews well on passenger safety.”
His/her comment was what triggered me to post here. I lost a friend in a plane crash in the year 2000. She slipped and fell and got stuck in the burning debris while trying to save a panic-stricken passenger. The passenger who got out unscathed, expressed her deep sorrow after learning about my friend’s death. Incidentally, the pilots were the first to evacuate the plane, leaving everyone behind.
I was also in an emergency once where one of the plane engines caught fire shortly after take-off. I remember distinctly how my fellow crew members acted immediately after learning about what happened, and with the Captain’s help, we all brought the plane safely back to the ground while ensuring no one got hurt in the process.
I know we’ve all had different experiences so far; even I have had bad experiences with jaded crew members both at work and as a passenger; but it’s very easy to generalize things and no matter how well-traveled one may be, they still will not understand what it is like to be a Flight Attendant until they step into their shoes.
While I’ve observed how so many things are done here in AA so differently, I do enjoy many aspects my job here. Ultimately, traveling is about exercising common sense, managing one’s expectations and getting to one’s destination in one piece 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to read my long comment(if you did ha ha) and safe travels everyone!
@gmc thanks for sharing your experience!
I’m a westerner who used to work for Cathay Pacific. Cathay crew are graded for performance on EVERY single flight. Passengers are also passed survey forms on every flight. There is still a union protecting crew rights. The customer service training is amazingly detailed and highlights the commercial importance of providing excellent service and the simplicity of doing the thing westerners often desperately avoid; taking responsibility. When things go wrong it viewed as an opportunity to deliver beyond expectations, not the time to be defensive and pull the “it’s not my fault”. Asian passengers do not respect crew more than westerners. If anything they have even higher expectations. So that is also not an excuse. In our ore flight briefings we would sometimes read out negative and positive reviews from skytrax so we were aware of what was going on in the market. In so many of these analysis I read westerners comments and notice that there is so often excuse making. At Cathay there was never any excuse acceptable. Just provide the service. Simple. That was our job and ultimately made the job a lot more satisfying. If American cabin crew were able to learn that valuable lesson, then service would improve and so would their quality of work life. No matter how much the company invests and designs service offerings, without the front line taking responsibility nothing will improve.
america is based on dollar driven mentalities and making money at all costs. there is little focus on quality, service, etc…hence why the country is a sinking ship. International carrier are FAR superior to anything the us tries to put out–b/c of these greedy crapitalistic fools trying to squeeze out another buck from the sheeple.
Moreover, most americans despise their jobs–they are burned out, cannot think clearly, overworked, underpaid, or protected by sleezy unions that embrace mediocrity. Virgin America is pretty good for domestic–otherwise, would never travel on a us carrier for foreign flights b/c of very poor service, quality and dollar driven mentally ill attitudes.
Hi Gary! I currently work for a Mainline carrier here in the US as a flight attendant.
Ever since I was a kid I always wanted to be a flight attendant. Weird enough, when I say this to my colleagues here in the US, they laugh at me.
Well, here’s the thing. I am from Asia. Born and raised. I grew up along with my friends looking up to cabin crews who work for our flag carrier. I wanted to be just like them. For some reason, becoming a cabin crew is a profession worth aspiring for and something to be proud of back in my country.
Fast forward to the present, yes I have fulfilled my dream to become a flight attendant however I am not working for my country’s flag carrier which was always my goal. I work for a Legacy carrier here in the US now.
What really struck me the most reading this article is this paragraph:
“Great flight attendants provide great service because they’re proud to do so, because they’re driven to do so, internally. In some ways the exceptional US flight attendant deserves much more praise because they are doing it on their own, when there is little if any benefit to them to do so. They aren’t going to lose their job as a result of occasionally grumpy and often lackluster service. They aren’t going to get paid more for going above and beyond for a customer. They do it because they’re internally driven and believe it’s the right thing to do. I truly thank them and honor them.”
It feels AMAZING meeting even just one person who actually notices US based flight attendants who actually do really have passion for what we do and yes I am proud to say I am one of these flight attendants (I am not bragging in any way or making myself look good.)
I wear my uniform with pride and I truly respect this job. I respect my airline. I am a proud flight attendant.
In training, they keep reminding us what our primary role is. SAFETY, SAFETY, and SAFETY. That’s what we are there for however it frustrates and saddens me how other flight attendants compose themselves and treat passengers.
When I am working what really motivates me is my childhood dream. As a little boy, I had this image of a flight attendant I want to become and whenever I am up in the sky at 30,000 feet working as a flight attendant, I make sure I become that flight attendant.
I love my job so much and I am very grateful that I get to do this.
I love my airline however I also want to work for an airline with people that upholds the same values that I have. I want to be surrounded with people who actually are passionate in what they do and who have the heart to make people happy.
I just recently flown on Cathay Pacific and I was just in awe! They’re flight attendants are extremely polite, they look their best, and the whole flight was very pleasant even though I was just in premium economy.
When I got back to the US, I used my experience flying on Cathay for the first time as motivation and a challenge to even do better at my job. I told myself that yes I am just one person but I being just one can touch lives of many passengers still and somehow it will reflect good on company.
Yes, we re safety enforcers and they keep on reminding us that Safety is what we are there for in training EVERY DAY. I hope other flight attendants realize that this post talks about the kind of service that is given to passengers. It is not talking about which airline is more reliable when it comes to safety. It talks about service and how passengers feel when they are sitting on that cabin chair on an 8 to maybe 14 hour flight. There is no doubt that all airlines train all its FAs intense Safety procedures and other related tasks. NO DOUBT.
My point here is PROVIDING GOOD SERVICE doesn’t make anyone less equipped and prepared when it comes to emergencies and safety risks.
I will continue what I am doing and I don’t care how many flight attendants laugh at me for dreaming of becoming a cabin crew.
At the end of the day, its not the airline, not the uniform, not even the service standards. It really is all about HEART and PASSION and this can never be taught in training for this comes from within. It comes internally and I really hope that one day I can work with the same kind of people.
Thank you again for this post!
To say “maybe it’s not a culture thing” because CX service contrasts with other Chinese airlines is misguided and not accurate. They are two completely different cultures. Coming out of a communist regime is not the same as coming out of Hong Kong not to mention the different cultures of mainland vs HK … Completely two different worlds. Not sure how they got lumped together. Might as well say all Asians are the same.
PS I agree Japanese airlines offer THE best service. It’s a mix of culture and meticulous nature of the job and high standards. Japanese FAs are the most attentive. They often try to predict what you need before you ask for it, and then overdeliver.
I recently flew SQ11 on suites class and was not impressed. The service was sub par to some business class flights on other Asian carriers. The flight attendants were reactive, I even experienced witnessing twice male flight attendants leaving the bathroom when I was entering and they left the seat up. And every time I asked for Perrier they never kept track of my preference of not wanting lemon. I think a lot of this has to do w the fact that service workers in Singapore are not Singaporean but from other southeast Asian countries. the more “north Asia” you go the better the service as the more homogenous the culture. They are just not attentive. Hence Japan being the best. I notice they really strive to delight the custome. Go figure.
Another late comment, I know, but I did want to say that perhaps we, the travelling public, can do something to encourage good service as well.
For sure, the overwhelming majority of passengers will board and leave the aircraft and won’t remember much about the experience, except in those unfortunate cases where they feel that service has been exceptionally bad (and whatever the truth may have been, how the passenger feels is just that: the passenger’s personal experience).
However I would encourage everyone who has experienced good service to leave a comment on the airline’s web site whenever you’ve received good service. BA has such a place on its web site; I hope most other airlines do as well. Speaking personally, it would mean a lot to me to see my name against such comments and it would definitely encourage me to try harder in future.
I don’t work in the airline industry BTW.
Because Americans since the 90s have been stuck in the Clinton/Bush/Obama blame game regime and hopefully Trump will clear the path unless he is working for Hillary and she wins then either everything will go really good or everything will collapse and we experience worse then 1932 conditions.
As a result most Americans the words *vote with your wallet* is foreign concept to them. They will complain but then support the brand because it’s what they are comfortable with doing.
Most Americans are afraid to leave their comfort zone based on politics and public brainwashing by the media so are totally outside of reality and live in a bubble of their own.
Especially in the big liberal cities where they don’t feel the economic crunch as much due to the government keeping things as covered as possible with high spending and few if any permanent jobs being created to sustain a tax base.
I’ve flown on several Asian airlines after having taken American, United and Delta (the major US carriers). Despite what some of have said, one of my best experiences with was Air China (not to be confused with the flower Taiwan-based airline). Someone, I’m assuming, either broke their leg on the plane or needed help, the FA’s really helped her out, try to get her room, while also attending other passengers. Rather than complain as American FA’s might tend to do, they were cordial despite having to deal with her foul smell etc.
Despite what many people say, CX attendants were run of the mill, no different than any other Asian airline. The only crew that cleaned the toilet after usage was Korean Airlines. I noticed that from LAX it’s a hit or miss. It really depends, I guess, your geographical location. However, I’m never been on Asian airline (CE, CS, AC, CX) that has any language barriers whatsoever.
And I’d argue it’s not just cultural. These FA’s may get incentives, but it’s also who hires them. I guess in the US, perhaps because we have too many flights going out every day that they have to hire who they can. But in other countries, this seems to be less of an issue.
All these anti-capitalist posters need to realize a few things:
1. All businesses exist primarily to make a profit.
2. Cathay is based in Hong Kong, one of the most capitalistic societies in the world.
3. Singapore Airlines is based in Singapore (obvious, I know, but not sure it is with the target audience) and Singapore is possibly rage only more capitalistic place than Hong Kong.
4. Unions and governments interfere with capitalism.
I recently made 2 airline journeys – one round trip from LAX to KTM on Cathay Pacific, with a total of 18,170 air miles; and one round trip from BTR to LAX on American Airlines, with a total of 3,218 air miles. I flew “economy” on both airlines.
The cost of the LAX to KTM trip cost $1,200.00. The BTR to LAX trip cost was $830.00 (including a $25.00 charge for 1 checked bag).
Thus, the per mile cost of these trip was 6.6 cents per mile on Cathay Pacific; and 25 cents per mile on American Airlines.
Boarding the flights was qualitatively different: on the American flights, the system of “zone boarding” was nothing less than a “cattle call” with a ridiculous procedure of the “elite” entering on one side of a sign, and the peons entering via the opposite side of the same sign. On the Cathay Pacific flights, passengers boarded by rows in each seating section, making the process easy and efficient.
On the American flights, I received a cup of soda and 2 cookies on each of 4 legs.
On Cathay Pacific I received 6 full gourmet hot meals, free alcohol and non-alcohol drinks, a travel amenity bag, a wide seat with plenty of leg room, a personal video screen with a choice of dozens of programs and music selections.
The quality and safety of the aircraft was not in question. I presume that the fuel and maintenance costs were proportional for each airline.
The American Airline had one flight attendant who was dressed in a poorly fitting uniform, who kept bumping into the aisle seated passengers with her overly wide hips, and who never smiled and who appeared bored with her job. She was only available for questions by pressing the “call” button.
On the Cathay Pacific flights, there were 12+ flight attendants who were dressed in stylish uniforms, who were always cheerful and attentive to the passengers, and were always visible for assistance.
On the American flights, there were a number of passengers who were from foreign countries. I felt embarrassed by the lack of quality and service of the U.S. flights which was the exact opposite of what I had received on a foreign airline.
My conclusion is that the differences in service are the result of the greed of the U.S. based airline industry. Isn’t it time for the U.S. airline industry to begin showing some pride?
@gmc What are you trying to say about msmcmotown’s comment? Are you agreeing or disagreeing? You note that you also received comprehensive safety training with the Asian carrier which would seem to prove msmcmotown wrong.
Perhaps there is management culture that drifts down as mentoring. One sees the contempt US airlines have for their regular business flyers on the FFB changes, can we be surprised that an airline whose management want to be seen as the representatives of what is best about their country rather than a quick nickel and dime delivers better service. I have always had great service on AA flights but gave up on United and British Airways but the latest changes make me wonder. JAL and ANA first class remains the best for me.
I spent many years in the service industry. Half of Americans are selfish and half are kind. This cuts across class lines. Fascinating…..