Archive for Air Travel
Lesson in Good Customer Service from American Airlines
Posted by: | CommentsOn August 23, I wrote a blog post from the Chicago O’Hare American Airline’s Admiral’s Club. In case you missed it, we had a five hour delay due to mechanical problems on our 757. To make a long story short, we boarded our flight for Miami at 1:30 pm and had to leave the airplane at 3:15 due to a hydraulic leak. Our next flight was scheduled to leave at 6:15 but left at 7:00 pm because the flight attendants had to escort a drunk off the plane.
I’ve been in the travel business for a long time and I’m no stranger to airline delays. As I wrote before, I’ve come to expect them and I’m not surprised when I have deal with them. Every day, I read another article about airline performance, passenger complaints, financial problems, etc etc etc. Usually, negative info when it comes to the airline industry.
But today, I received something totally unexpected from American Airlines . . . an email apologizing for my five hour flight delay in Chicago this weekend. Here it is:
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August 27, 2009
Dear Mr. Tukel:
As hard as we try to ensure that our flights operate on schedule, there are occasions when that just doesn’t happen — like on August 23. We are truly sorry for disrupting your trip.
We hope you will accept the 4,000 bonus miles that have been deposited into your AAdvantage® account as our making amends. You will see the mileage in your account soon at http://www.aa.com/aadvantage.
We’ll look forward to providing you with a better travel experience very soon. Thanks for flying with us.
Sincerely,
B. J. Russell
Customer Relations
American Airlines
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Mr. (or Ms.) Russell, your email made my day. Even though it was an automated form-letter, your email demonstrated an unexpected gesture of goodwill that has me thinking favorably about your airline again. To lots of people, 4,000 bonus miles may not seem like a lot, but the little things do make a difference. You have made amends with me and I sincerely appreciate it.
The name of our company is WMPH Vacations. The WMPH stands for We Make People Happy. On August 23rd I was very unhappy with American Airlines. Today, America Airlines made me happy. I feel better about them than I did before the Chicago flight delays. That goes to show, if you give good customer service and handle bad situations properly, in a way that exceeds the customer’s expectations, you can keep that customer happy and loyal.
Nice job, American. Nice job.
Expect the Unexpected when Flying
Posted by: | CommentsI am writing from the American Airlines Admirals Club at the Chicago International Airport. Got here at noon to catch a 2:15 flight to Miami. Unfortunately, due to mechanical problems the flight was cancelled and we are now booked on a 6:15 flight – a full four hours after our original departure time.
We are just heading home after a short weekend in the Windy City to celebrate a 40th birthday with some friends. But this exact same experience happens every week for cruise passengers flying to their cruise departure cities. I can’t imagine the stress and anxiety I would feel if I knew I would be late for my cruise because of situations beyond my control.
When planning your flights for a cruise, always plan for the unexpected. Book the earliest flights you can and even consider coming in a day early just to reduce the risk of missing your ship due to flight delays caused by inclement weather and mechanical problems.
If flying internationally or coast to coast, go in 2 days early to acclamate to time differences from jet lag, sight seeing in your departure port, and give you a chance you collect any delayed luggage.
Finally, always buy travel insurance. Travel insurance covers trip delay, trip interruption, and lost baggage. This means that if you do miss your ship due to a flight delay, your insurance will help cover the cost of your additional travel expenses.
I’ll go into a lot more detail in a future blog about what I learned from this particular trip. Hopefully, my next blog will be from the comfort of my home or office and not from this lounge again in 3 hours.
Airlines Rush to add WiFi to Planes
Posted by: | CommentsI was reading Michael Fabey’s recent article in Travel Weekly about how airlines are now rushing to add WiFi to their airplanes. (Read full article) While WiFi has been available on a limited basis on international and some domestic, long haul flights, it seems we have reached the “Tipping Point” where we are so addicted to being connected, we must have it for even the shortest commuter flights.
Fabey reports that every domestic airline is in the process of outfitting their aircraft with WiFi or at least testing it and that AirTran has already equipped it’s entire fleet with it – becoming the first U.S. carrier to offer the service on every flight. Wouldn’t you think it would be someone else other than AirTran to be first? JetBlue maybe. Even Delta or America first. But AirTran? Go figure.
AirTran charges $5.95 for flights under 3 hours and $9.95 for flights 3 hours and longer. Seems like a fair price when one beer can cost you $5.00, and that only lasts me about 8 seconds. Other passengers look at me funny when I’m using my car keys to cut a hole in the bottom of the can, but that’s a different story.
I’ll admit, I’m one of these people who will gladly pay the $5.95. It will save me $10 for every book I buy in the gift shop that I start but never finish. Using the 2 or 3 hours to catch up on a little work is important to me. Besides that, the thought of surfing the web while in flight still amazes me and reminds me of a routine I heard by this comedian on Conan O’Brian. Check it out. The relevant part is about 2 minutes into it, but watch the whole thing. Cracks me up everytime I watch it.
