How can the nation’s best airline also be the worst?
Unless you’re an airline insider, you probably didn’t bother to notice yesterday’s second quarter airline financial data released by the government. But if you did — and if you’ve spent any amount of time on a plane this year — you’ll probably find yourself asking this question: How can the nation’s most profitable network airline also be the one customers complain about the most?
I’m talking about US Airways, which has the highest passenger revenue yield, measured in cents per mile, of any network airline (turn to table 14 for details). The airline made 14.5 cents for every mile flown, which is better than any of the low-cost carriers and getting into regional carrier territory.
At the same time, US Airways is the most complained-about airline in America. The latest DOT report card says it received 267 complaints for the month of July, or about 5 complaints per 100,000 passengers. Any way you look at it (in terms of numbers or complaints-to-enplanements) US Airways is far and away the most griped-about carrier.
It’s what I like to call a profit paradox. How can an industry that treats its customers so poorly do so well?
So let’s talk solutions.
US Airways has hired Robert Isom at its customer-service guru and chief operating officer, and it recently unveiled a customer service initiative. That’s a good start. (If you’re a customer with a complaint, you can find out how to contact Isom and his customer service team here.)
There are passengers who feel as if self-regulation isn’t the answer. That more has to be done. If you want to meet some folks who feel that way, stop in at tomorrow’s stand-in sponsored by the Coalition for an Airline Passengers Bill of Rights in Washington.
I want to believe that new laws can help. But have a look at how EU Regulation 261 has been implemented, and it becomes clear that whatever laws are written, airlines will find a way around them.
Case in point: A recent US Airways flight from Barcelona to Philadelphia which was delayed by mechanical problems. Passenger Josefina Gonzalez wrote to the airline asking for compensation under EU 261, which says that travelers must be paid in the event of a delay. US Airways, like many other airlines serving Europe, apparently believes there’s an exclusion for mechanical delays, which pretty much means it will never have to pay a penny in compensation to anyone.
It made its argument in a letter to Gonzalez:
As the safety of our passengers and crew is our number one priority, we will not operate an aircraft that compromises this objective. A thorough investigation of this incident revealed the flight was grounded because of a spoiler test failure on the previous flight . There is no indication this malfunction existed prior to the previous flight. Moreover, the aircraft had undergone all regular and required maintenance.
For this reason, we will not be compensating you under EU Regulation 261/2004. As an international carrier, we are bound by the terms and provisions of EU Regulation 261/2004. Article 5(3) of the regulation specifically releases carriers from the obligation to pay compensation for delayed or cancelled flights caused by extraordinary events, which could not have been avoided, even if all measures had been taken. As the circumstances surrounding this flight cancellation were neither reasonably forseeable nor reasonably preventable, no compensation is due under the Regulation.
Paragraph 12 of EU 261 defines an “extraordinary” circumstance as on that “could not have been avoided if all reasonable measures had been taken.”
How clever. And that’s not the work of a maverick customer-service agent, either. US Airways appears to take this position routinely.
All of which brings us back to my the original question. How can the worst airline also be the best?
Is it unfettered capitalism? A few good lawyers? Or is this just the future of air travel?
Maybe it’s all of the above.
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4 Responses to “How can the nation’s best airline also be the worst?”
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One of the reasons why I fly US Airways is because they are the biggest carrier out of Philadelphia. For nearly every destination I have ever flown to, chances are that US Airways has a direct flight there.
I guess I’ve been lucky, as I haven’t had too many problems with them. But from what I’ve read on here, I’d happily switch to another carrier if they had the same routes that US Airways did.
– Doug
Just go after them in a European court. No European judge will agree that maintainance is extraordinary. The EU261 had been made to protect customers from crappy airlines and to give airlines a financial incentive to make sure their flights are on time.
There’s a big difference in ideas on how a ‘free’ market should work between the EU and the US. In the US, law makers allow comapnies virtually everything to increase profitability. Competitions is supposed to take care of the rest. This has lead to the current situation where companies find it amusing to screw their customers as much as they can. Higher prices and lower quality. In the US, the company always wins.
In the EU, the general idea is that in a free market, prices go down and quality goes up. If the EU sees that in a certain market those things do not apply, they regulate in such a way that it WILL happen. Hence EU261. And the ruling against Microsoft. And many other regulations. In the EU, the customer wins.
I am, like Doug, often on USAirways because I need to fly in and out of Philadelphia. I don’t have any big horror stories, but there are some things that consistently occur:
- They routinely fail to credit my United miles for random portions of an itinerary
- The drink service on MUC - PHL (9 hours) is so rare that you stare at the sign over the bathroom sink that warns you not to drink the water and start thinking “what’s the harm”
- The blankets are filthy; my seat mate once got one with baby spit up all over it (we hope that’s what it was)
- Many on their staff are flat out rude; fortunately, I fly so much I will let people skip me in line so I can get the person I want
Again, none of these are so bad that I would write to the airline, but it is all so consistent that I know exactly what to expect from USAirways. I used to try to find Lufthansa code shares, but lately Lufthansa has been just as bad. Whenever I get too upset, I fly Alitalia so I can be reminded that it is possible to sink yet lower (and I avoid flying Emerites so that I don’t up and move to Dubai).
I no longer fly USAirways. My husband and I both had Chairman’s Preferred status, but we finally got fed up with them. The planes are filthy, yes that includes the blankets, and even tray tables are dirty and/or broken. Baggage claim was always excessively slow - - if the baggage even arrived. Then, they increased their fares on our most frequent routes so they are more expensive than flights on other carriers. More money for an inferior product is not my choice as a consumer.
We’re taken two award flights in the past 18 months and saw no improvement. I’m sceptical about what Robert Isom can accomplish when the airline continues to make money. If more travelers took their business elsewhere, it would impact their revenue, and then we might see significant change. Until that happens, I expect more of the same low quality.