Originally Posted by
RockyBoy
I remember Jim Whitehurst saying before he left Delta that if anyone at United ever actually ran that airline, that Delta would have a tough time competing with all the widebodies and route autorities they have. Add CAL into the mix with EWR Atlantic traffic, IAH SA traffic, and their 777's and 767's and I think we will have a very feirce competitor.
That being said, I don't think that having more aircraft and routes is gonna do alot of good. If we want to beat the new UAL and SWA, we need the best frontline employees of any airline. Spending 2 Billion on interiors, intertainment, and seats is a good move, now we just need to figure out how to get the public to think that DAL FA's and agents are nicer than those at SWA. Not sure how we're are gonna pull that one off.
And it'd be money well wasted. If the customer was in the wrong its still going to be DAL's fault and especially the agents fault. And the FA was an [fill in the blank] and screw the pilot that came out to talk to me too, etc.
What I think you should do is reduce risk to poor customer service since you can't win every battle. Increasing pay for front line employees is key. Better systems whether technology based
or not is key. Consistent product from gate to seat to baggage claim,
maybe the ticket you bought is on the airline you thought?,good prices, good frequent flier programs, access to where you wanted to go wherever that may be, frequency, ability to handle SWOPs effectively, airplanes that are comfortable and so on would top my list.
The good thing to me is the competition may get fierce but it'll make us a better airline. Hopefully BODs at any airline that matters will hire RA's and GB's over some of the types that have graced senior positions before throughout the industry when you made money on 50% load factors.