8CherryGarcia

One little item I see constantly popping up:

Gate checked bags needing to be retrieved at baggage claim on mainline flights....but not RJ's!

It's not unreasonable for our customers to expect the same, or gasp, even better service on big jets vs. little ones. They don't even know the difference most of the time.

Time and time again I see a HVC getting a first class upgrade at the last part of the boarding process and checking his bag at the gate due to the overheads being full. Now when we get to hub, or wherever, he stands there incredulous that his bag isn't coming up the stairs for him. It did on the feeder flight on an RJ, what's the difference?, must be DL trying to screw him! Turns what should be a positve experience for a valued customer into a negative.

I don't know if there is anything to be done about this....but I never understood the difference between a gate checked bag on Comair/Mesaba/Pinnacle, etc vs. mainline.

Just got called lazy by a 1st class pax in BOS the other nite because I tried to tell him I couldn't go get his bag off the ramp.

Rant over....8

[quote=iceman49;688667]1) Make check in as painless as possible, its insane the number of steps you have to go through on the kiosk.
2) Departure reliability has to go up, we cannot maintain our number 12 position. If you are late out, it just starts the pax thinking about the rest of the flight.
3) Give the pax a full can of pop/soda (depends where you are from)
4) Don't get the crap kicked out of you over the tracks.
5) Arrival has to be early or on time at the minimum
6) Don't oversked flights into already overcrowed hubs.
7) Most important...stop believing our own bs publicity.[/quote

Kingbird87

Joe Merchant makes a very penetrating observation about the decline of Delta and the rise of ASA. With 15 years, he ought to know more about the airlines and certainly Delta than anyone. Here's to another 15 for you Joe, I'm raising my glass!

Scoop

Joe,
I couldn't say one way or another. But if you are privy to any passenger satisfaction surveys showing this - then please share with us.

Scoop

sailingfun

The worst service I ever saw was from ASA in both Atlanta and outstations. One of the reasons Delta purchased ASA was they were consistantly last in almost every passenger service standard year after year. The purchase was supposed to improve the service standard at ASA. Sadly Delta management failed to make any meaningful improvements. I remember in the late 90's the big joke was how beyond awful the customer service and agents were in ATL for ASA. Sadly Delta mostly just rehired the same people when they took over the operation and the result is mostly just the same.

DeadHead

Ironic thing is, without Delta you wouldn't have a company to work for. Maybe ASA would like to take over the sales & marketing department at Delta that way we all could benefit from the eternally improving standards at ASA.

We rely and work with one another as a whole and displaying unprofessional behavior towards this relationship helps no one in the long run. No one spoke in the wheel is better than any other spoke, they all must work together.


I know there are many of stand up, professional pilots working at ASA and this isn't a slant against any of them, but your arrogance is beyond comprehension.

Your right sometimes the truth hurts, so here's your little dose of it;
Your posts reflect that of a smug, unhappy, self-serving, unprofessional hypocrite.

Justdoinmyjob

Gee, I have 15 years experience which includes time with both ASA and Delta. I commute on a regular basis on ASA and still hang out with friends at ASA who now constitute the senior pilot group, not to mention guys now in management. While Joe makes some valid points, he also misses the mark on several.

Case in point, the ramp and gate in ATL still blows. All they did was take the non-working, don't give a crap ASA employees and made them Delta employees without fixing the underlying problem, which was these people work ethic and understanding of customer service.

nwaf16dude

I think that qualifies as "biting the hand that feeds you"

Bucking Bar

Surprised no one has pointed out that in June 2007 nearly all of ASA's ground service people and gate agents were "hired" by Delta. Same people, same results, but now "Delta" is to blame.

The passengers don't care which division, or subcontractor, or subcontractor for a subcontractor, got them to the gate late. They remember "Delta" and these rivalries only stick to the extent that it sticks to Delta's image.

They'll still fly Delta if we are cheaper. But, they will not be willing to pay more for a premium network experience when the experience is just as pleasant on AirTran.

We need to get more revenue to operate these high cost subcontracting deals to begin with. A CRJ200 just is not competitive with a 737, or 717.

So, as an RJ Captain I never took a swipe at Delta. It was understood my CRJ was only scantly different than a private jet and to make money our passengers needed to have as much of that experience as we could provide. Passengers seemed to like the "private jet" treatment. When they complained about stairs, a reminder that Air Force One boards via stairs usually brought them around to the idea they were riding an expensive product that catered to their needs better than a 737 or MD88 which would not even be flying to their city to begin with.

However, the RJ is not an optimal solution to mainline re-fleeting. No one seems happy with that utilization and IMHO we see ourselves doubling down on a losing bet as we try to restructure these DCI contracts by using larger jets as an inducement to trade out 50 seat jets.

This "bite the hand that feeds you" mentality goes to the very top of the organization. Despite what Jerry Atkin tells his employees, SkyWest would not exist without Delta.

pilotc90a

you are so right. I know a platnium elite flyer who has only completed one of her last three international business trips because of Delta's issues. The one she did complete to JNB, she was left without her luggage for three days. all three flights were either late leaving the origin city and missed connected in ATL, or late leaving only 25 minutes to reach the connecting gate. (b to E) she allowed 2.5 hours groud time.
on another trip, the rebooking agent told her that she could get her out on another flight four days later if she wished. and was told DL did not reaccomadate on other airlines no matter what.
Most flights she is not even on the domestic upgrade list, and when she asks about the ommission, the gate agents shrug and says "it happens".
This particular flyer flies about once or twice a month internationally, and now vows never to connect through ATL again, and has opened a frequent flyer account with AA. This is not the type of flyer to shop on price, she cares only about getting to her destination, with her luggage, on time.
I am embarrassed for us, everytime she calls me to tell me what has happened "this time".

I hope we get it right soon.

tsquare

Why does she call you? Give her the number for Mr. Anderson. If she truly spends as much money as you make it sound, I am sure he would want to hear from her. Otherwise she is just venting, and you are the misdirected target of her frustration