US Airways fires skycaps, replaces them with Wall-E
Rewriting our playbook. That’s what US Airways calls the firing of its skycaps and the elimination of curbside check-in in 23 cities.
Well, they can call it whatever they want. The airline’s actions, which appears to be a direct response to a lawsuit brought by the now-terminated subcontractors, promises to change the check-in process significantly.
Some of the skycaps will be replaced by US Airways employees (they’re currently PrimeFlight Aviation Services employees) or by a machine.
That’s right, a kiosk. Can you help me with my bag, Wall-E?
As always, I have the inside track on the story. Here’s an internal memo from US Airways. Mind the spin.
Beginning July 9, the date that we begin charging $15 for first-checked-bags, we’ll no longer offer curbside check-in services with Skycap partners in our airports, with the exception of our hubs and focus cities and some of our larger locations, where we will gradually transition to having US Airways customer service agents take care of our customers curbside.
Long term, our vision for the curb is to provide our customers with convenient automated resources. This means having kiosks at many, but not all, curbside locales outside our ticket counters.
Look for more on this in the months ahead. ACS Managing Director, SE Region Jim Vallillo, who is heading up the curb transition project said,“We’ll be communicating details to the field stations in the days and weeks ahead as these changes do affect the way we do business at the curb. We’re planning for a smooth transition and we expect to be well positioned to accommodate customers when our first bag policy takes affect.”
Curbside Closures
Changes at the Curb: Preparing for first-checked-bag
Q. Does the change in Skycaps have to do with the pending litigation about Skycap tips?
A. No. Our new first checked bag policy prompted us to rethink what we do at the curb and how to best continue our long-standing practice of curbside check-in. Also, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) contract contains specific language about CWA members being the only group who can collect funds in the price range of our first bag fee. In other words, this move allows us to follow our CWA agreement and sets us up to successfully carry out our first bag policy at the curb.
List of cities:
Baltimore
Buffalo
Chicago – O’Hare
Dallas/Ft. Worth
Denver
Fort Lauderdale
Fort Myers, Fla.
Hartford, Conn.
Jacksonville, Fla.
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Newark
New Orleans
Orange County, Calif.
Orlando
Providence, R.I.
Sacramento, Calif.
San Diego
San Francisco
San Jose, Calif.
Seattle
Tampa, Fla.
West Palm Beach
No, I don’t for a minute believe that this had nothing to do with a lawsuit. But I do believe this is the sign of things to come.
The other airlines can’t be far behind in canning their skycaps.
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Comments
17 Responses to “US Airways fires skycaps, replaces them with Wall-E”
Please share your thoughts...
While I normally don’t check bags when I fly, I really feel the pain of the skycaps. First, they lose their tips because customers think that the $2 is their tip, now this.
I’ve decided to stop flying US Airways to Las Vegas (even though they may be cheaper) and, starting next year, I will no longer fly the legacy carriers.
Wow. In Airlines, the SkyCaps always seemed to be the hardest working and always the nicest employees I came into contact with. (And I have to admit - I always got a laugh out of them, they always seem to be eccentric!) What ashame that they are removing their first line of interaction with the customer!
I find it even worse that they announced it in the same sentence as the $15 bag service fee.. In essence they are saying “We’re going to be charging you money to take your bags now. Oh yea, and we’re firing all the people who previously took your bags to add insult to injury”
Often the skycap line was much shorter than any checkin/bag drop line inside. A couple bucks (plus a tip) was worth it to save time.
Skycaps are not only some of the hardest working and nicest, but at least when you check in with a skycap you know you’ve got a real person. Often I’ve found their faster, easier, and far less of a hassle than trying to head inside, wait in a line, fiddle and futz with an automated unit that never recognizes my credit-card anyway, and then deal with a ticketing agent who can only act as though I’m an inconvenience.
If Amtrak wasn’t so blessed expensive and slow I’d say screw flying all together (except for Southwest) and take the train.
More bad news from my least favorite airline! I was saddened to hear this news. Skycaps have been true “flight savers” for me, when lines were long and I had little time to get to the gate.
Honestly I forgot they even have skycaps - I walk right under the depature lane and into the terminal, use a kiosk, walk to the plane, and get out of dodge. So what was the business need for the Skycaps? I only remember my grandmother needing their help of getting luggage from the car and checks so she didn’t have to carry them. If we’re talking about having a “premium, fast lane” then by all means just make it an additional queue where customers can pay to get to the front of the line if they’re running late for their flight. But don’t opperate a seperate staff, location, and service structure.
“UnitedContinentalUSAir” is proud to announce that in response to customer demand effective November 15, 2008 we shall be removing aircraft operators from inclusion within the ambit of the ticket price. Assuming you wish your flight to be stocked with an aircraft operator, a surcharge of $50 per passenger shall be applied to all tickets purchased online or from a UCUS ticket office. In the event all passengers shall not opt in to the aircraft operator selections, your flight shall be subject to cancellation. In the event that weather affects the flight, the surcharge shall be increased to $75 to cover the cost of the additional training required for the aircraft operator to operate the aircraft in inclement weather conditions. section 887, subpara 65, of the customer carriage agreement shall apply to these operations.
Further, aircraft making stops in locations other than UCUS hub cities shall immediately be required to pass the hat for jetway service immediately upon arrival. We further expect that fuel costs in excess of $1.99 per gallon shall be paid via a variable surcharge upon tickets which shall be collected prior to departure. Those unable to cover these expenses shall be denied transportation and their refund shall be processed in accordance with paragraph 7775, section IV, subpara 7, sentence 5 thereof.
Finally, we are pleased to announce that we have upgraded the service available in our onboard lavatories. As part of this enhancement of service, which includes lighting, working door locks, removal of security cameras and softer toilet tissue sponsored by “Diamler Chrysler,” we shall be adding a charge of $2 per use. We urge our customers to buy a multiple use card for $10 which provides 6 uses of the onboard lavatories for the price of 5.
As always, we recommend that passengers rent the oxygen concentrators, available at every seat , to ensure continued consciousness on board. ”
“We look forward to seeing you on a UCUS flight soon.”
Ditto on Joy’s comments. I can remember, a few years ago, in college, I was trying to get form Chicago to Germany. A mechanical issue on my first flight caused me to miss a connection that led to 3 DAYS of being denied boarding on overbooked flights, getting shuffled to 3 East Coast cities, and sleeping on the airport floor.
On the second day, I was booked standby on 2 flights. The first flight sent me away, so I had 25 min to get to another terminal, check my bag, and make the flight. When I got to the terminal, the check-in line was out the door. I begged the Skycap to check my bag curbside, even though that’s not allowed for international flights. But he did. And my bag reached Germany a day and a half before I ever did.
Good one, Joe! I found an additional paragraph, by the way.
“In order to ensure passenger safety and comfort, UCUS will be offering premium safety belts, sponsored by United Launch Alliance. UCUS will charge a $10 fee for each passenger, to ensure the safety belts are properly installed and maintained. An additional $5 fee will be levied for flight attendant training in proper delivery of the safety presentation. Passengers who do not wish to pay the $10 safety belt maintenance fee will be seated on the floor of the aircraft next to the lavatory.”
@ Joe, Chicky:
Shall we add change UCUS into “Marvelous” UnitedContinentalUSAir, aka MUCUS?
Hey - KC - you definitely needed to know your contract rights - Rule 240 might have actually still existed back then. There is ALWAYS a seat in business or first open in summer . . .
Unbelievable. Just when I thought USAirways couldn’t sink any lower, they pull this. Are they trying to become the new SkyBus or something?
Oh and yeah, sure, removing the skycaps had absolutely NOTHING to do with the pending litigation going on now.
@Joe Farrell:
That was back in 2004–before I started reading this wonderful site! I was a frightened, naive student and, when Lufthansa told me that all they could do was “maybe get me to [my] destination this week,” I believed them. *sigh*
@Joe Farrell
The airlines should be reversed: USAir/United/Continental, aka, USUC. If someone wants to add a ‘K’ that would clearly explain how I feel about this airline.
Remember the end of Coors Beer as a major player???
Sounds like all the old Coors management and board, when riffed, went into airline management. (Read a book called “Silver Bullet.”)
Back in the dinosaur age, when i was in nursing, we always joked that the hospital would be a good place to work if we didn’t have to deal with patients. What was a joke has turned into real life…..without passengers life would be so much easier for the airlines.
US Airways just doesn’t get it…the skycaps make curbside check-in a breeze. I find the trouble begins once you enter the airport..long lines, flight delays and a feeling of why do I travel for a living. I feel for the skycaps and only hope that more airlines don’t do the same.
[...] check-in be implemented in the United States anytime soon? Maybe. As Chris Elliott wrote in his blog, US Airways may already be starting. He reports that some of the airline’s skycaps will be [...]