USAirways Puts the Lie to “It’s not our fault”
by Kevin Hoffberg
It’s not a secret that airlines are in deep pudding, blaming everyone and everything for their miserable financial performance and even worse customer satisfaction ratings. It appears that USAirways decided to do something about it reports the WSJ . . .
The turnaround has been dramatic, especially considering that much of the airline’s service is in the Northeast where air-traffic congestion has been particularly brutal. But even at the nation’s worst airports, US Airways Group Inc. has run more or less on-time. At New York’s La Guardia Airport, for example, nearly 79% of all US Airways flights arrived on-time in May, compared with an abysmal 57% for AMR Corp.’s American Airlines and 58% for UAL Corp.’s United Airlines, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
And how did this miracle occur? Get employees focused on one goal and reward it. Spend money to fix up the systems mess left over from the America West Merger. Hire new managers and worker. Rework how planes and crews are scheduled (an amateur could see that one). Build a new baggage-screening area in super critical Philadelphia. Fill open mechanic positions. Little, obvious things that led to abraded travelers and horrible performance. And it’s working. Amazing. Amazing that anyone is amazed actually. The article goes on to say . . .
The US Airways experience this year shows that airline problems aren’t all the result of airport congestion, antiquated air-traffic control operations and summertime thunderstorms. Even under adverse conditions, airlines can run on-time if they are well-run. Travel woes today often result from weak airline leadership, disheartened and angry work forces, and poor coordination and communications inside companies.
Come on AMR and UAL, make a decision. I made the decision earlier this year to walk away from my million mile status on UAL because I was tired of playing the victim. Now its your turn.
Tags: USAirways, UAL, AMR, on-time-performance
