Originally Posted by shiznit

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...

Originally Posted by acl65pilot

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.

Originally Posted by TANSTAAFL

And that friends, is why we are getting additional E170's. Count on the rest up to the 255 limit. We are arguing about not loosening Scope further -sorry, it's too many at 255.

Forget all the hyperbole about parking 50 seaters - sure they are - to be replaced 3 for 2 with the same overall seat capacity for aircraft better positioned to replace DC9 flying.

My guess is they will be used to fill much of the capacity on the LGA slot swap when that is approved.

Originally Posted by Bill Lumberg

Does anyone know the approximate time frame for accelerated retirements of DC9-50s?

Originally Posted by beer

Off Topic..Any of you guys moving to ATL on this AE or the next, I have a 3/2.5 House in Woodstock for sale!!! PM me. Finally gonna make the push and move to Auburn!! Just so this can stay on this thread, SCOPE, SCOPE and SCOPE!!!

Originally Posted by Bill Lumberg

Does anyone know the approximate time frame for accelerated retirements of DC9-50s?