Aviation buzz and bold opinion
Over the last 20 years, we all listened to one United CEO after another talk about how much they value their customers.
Enough talk.
United’s new CEO Oscar Munoz needs to stop the talking and start showing customers if the carrier ever really wants to again be great. Give a listen and tell me what you think.
Rob Mark, publisher
I’m glad I never worked in corporate communications for United Airlines, especially since the Continental merger. The calls from outraged customers and curious media types probably never end and it seems to me that United management really doesn’t care all that much what passengers have to say.
The following incident occurred aboard United flight 1061 March 16, on the way back to Chicago from Vegas. It really made me sick … not just this passenger’s story, but how the airline dealt with it. Cue the music … “United Breaks Guitars.”
First a bit of context, lest you think this is only some disgruntled employee’s fictional tale. I know the writer. In fact, Sean and I have know each other more than 20 years since I’m married to his wife’s sister. I’ve known Sean to be an honest guy and a hard worker, not to mention a loyal United flyer for nearly three decades. He really wants to like United.
So imagine you’re preparing to leave Las Vegas on an airplane jammed with business people and gambler party types, some probably fresh from the casinos as he was earlier this week. He was on the way back from a trade show in fact. This is where his words tell the story. [Read more…] about Another Big United Customer Service Failure
At United Airlines, does making money trump safety?
A recent Aviation Week article quotes United CEO Jeff Smisek saying, “We’re going to run the airline for profit maximization …” That made me wonder a bit.
Then I noticed last week’s Wall Street Journal story in which the airline strongly chastised its pilots for cockpit safety issues the company warned could lead to an accident. United’s tone throughout the story made it appear the company had just uncovered a scorpion’s den of safety violations created by a bunch of rogue pilots who cared little about the safety of their millions of passengers.
But there’s another side to the story and calling it eye opening is a bit of an understatement.
After reading the WSJ story broken by Andy Pasztor, I began receiving a series of intriguing documents from some United pilots that again made we wonder if United is too focused on money, so much so in fact that the company might be avoiding responsibility for financially-focused policies that appear to already be undermining safety at the airline. (Note: this story was edited after it posted to correct an error in my referencing the NYTimes, when the story should have mentioned The Wall Street Journal)
While some readers might assume the information I received was simply a reaction to the company’s indictment of its pilots, it now actually seems to be the other way around. Among what I received, was a letter from a pilot member of Local 12, the Chicago council of the Air Line Pilot Association penned by their local safety officials. They were considerably more blunt about the problem at the airline. “[At United] economics trump safety,” they said. Pilots told me that their training at United, once the envy of the aviation industry, has deteriorated to become more of an industry joke. [Read more…] about At United Airlines, Does Making Money Trump Safety?
