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Air NZ boss to United: Don't waste a good crisis
Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon says United Airlines ''shouldn't waste a good crisis'' created when a passenger was dragged from an overbooked plane. He said the US airline's ''abysmal failure'' to handle the situation was a great opportunity to completely turn around its culture. ''When you see big failures in customer service like that, it is really linked to the failure of a development of a culture over 20 or 30… (www.nzherald.co.nz) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
A positive culture is paramount in ANY business model. It's nothing new.
I concur with Mr. Luxor. United missed a golden opportunity to take United back to the days when passengers were treated like valued customers. The only really nice flight that my wife and I have been on was a Swiss Air flight from Copenhagen to SFO. The service was excellent and the food was the best we have ever had on an airline. Delicious and fresh. On United flights that long from SFO to PEK at about the halfway point to we were served noodles in a Styrofoam cup that had tepid (never close to hot in 12 flights!). The flight attendants acted like they were doing us a favor. Most people would take 1 or 2 spoons of it and that was it. The Chinese know a little about noodles, they were the first to develop them, and the looks on their faces after tasting them was incredible.
One steward said right in front of two older ladies, who only spoke Chinese, "I don't know why these people can't learn to speak English." I said warm water or orange juice is what many Chinese like to drink. It was my understanding that on flights such as that there was at least one airline person on board who could speak the language of the people from the origin country. He did not attempt to get any help.
One steward said right in front of two older ladies, who only spoke Chinese, "I don't know why these people can't learn to speak English." I said warm water or orange juice is what many Chinese like to drink. It was my understanding that on flights such as that there was at least one airline person on board who could speak the language of the people from the origin country. He did not attempt to get any help.
I am only a flying customer of United; I have no credentials that would give me insight into the company's culture or management. [Please go easy on me here; I know that so many of you who comment on these pages are professionals in the airline industry]. I don't see a cancer infecting United's entire organizational culture. I think the flight that night from Chicago was a contractor-originated flight by Republic. If the crew were not mainline United staff, then United's biggest future challenge is to ensure adequate training for contractors who wear the uniform of the major airline they represent. I have 32+years working across two branches of the federal government; I am deeply aware of the problems that contractors can create when rigorous guidance and evaluation by the parent is lacking.
I have news for Mr. Luxon: AirNZ isn't so great, either. They had pretty p-poor customer service in Rarotonga one day, when they canceled a flight back to the US and didn't have anyone at the airport counter until much later in the evening. Lines of passengers expecting to leave impatiently waited while it took the airline hours to sort out our accommodations, and they didn't give us dinner. My letter to Mr. Luxon was barely answered, with a paltry 7,000 mileage goodwill bonus, nothing more. AirNZ isn't so great, either, and I would fly United before I ever set foot on ANZ again.
Deregulation in 78 brought lower fares, but with consequences adversely affecting behavior, respect, and common decency.(121)
An option to 'pay more/expect more' remains available for those who can afford ... flying private.(135)
An option to 'pay more/expect more' remains available for those who can afford ... flying private.(135)
See what happens when you don't allow Australian football teams to fight on flights? You get a bunch of pansy's. I'm sure the Australia Rules Football League Commission would agree on that. Nothing better than a good scrum in the isles all tanked up with alcohol.
As a former UA executive, I have to agree with Chris Luxon's comment that the Dao case was a symptom of a broken culture that dates back to the management of Wolfe and Pope. For the sake of safety, an airline has to have strict procedures and rules but UA has never rewarded its people for using common sense and using judgement in a situation outside of normal parameters. Empowerment is a powerful tool in building an effective workforce and I look to AL, VX and WN as examples of how successful this can be.