Lately, I fly a lot. I feel like I’m flying Jeff Pulver levels of a lot. And this has me thinking. Airlines: most of everything you do inside the plane needs reconsidering. Here’s my advice.
- Amtrak has somehow managed to figure out how to give me power for my laptop. Please, can you try? Add the expense on as a surcharge. (You’ll hear that last part a lot in this post).
- Don’t charge me for soda pop or cheese snacks. Just add $6 to my ticket, to everyone’s ticket, and give it to me. That’ll cut down in money fumbling time.
- This in-flight ad bull has to stop. I’m captive, but if you float down a television, do not pummel me with stupid ads, *or* if you’re going to do ads, do them about destinations, so that we learn something useful while accidentally receiving marketing.
- Please adjust flight attendant training for smart phones. If I turn off the phone part of my phone, I can still use the apps without risking the plane’s safety. Don’t have your attendants poking at me to shut it off just because it can also be a phone.
- Is there any way we can fix that “get off the plane” part of my trip? The amount of time between that bell ding and actually walking by the pilots to thank them for a non-bumpy landing seems to last forever. Isn’t there any kind of Disney people-in-line engineering that would fix this process? Tazers for slow people? At this point, I’d pay an extra 10 bucks for you to restrain people so I can just leave efficiently.
- Take the lead of airlines like Southwest and others (most recently, the flight attendant from Mesa Air) and really have fun with those pre-flight announcements. This guy had us all laughing and cheering all the way through his “in the event of an emergency, the floor lighting will be illuminated” speech. Laughing like you’d pay money laughing, I’m saying. Can you just try to liven that part up? We’d listen more intently.
- If the flight is a red-eye (like half my flights from the west coast to the east), could you not come on every few seconds to update us on things like our altitude, on our beverage choices, on your offers of rewards cards and the like? We pretty much know the beverage choices. I mean, you’re not making smoothies, are you? Shush and let us poor bastards sleep.
Okay, I’ve griped enough. Now it’s your turn. What else would you want to tell an airline about the travel process?
And what does this have to do with social media? Simple: I have a voice. I have a community. I have reach. ALL companies have to think about that. We are not silent. We are not complacent. We intend to influence.
The world is two-way.
Agree?
Speaking of sneaky: Las Vegas Sale: Air + 2 nights from $245 - Expires 10/20/08
(Finding great deals is sneaky).
Photo credit, Aaron Escobar
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{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
don’t tell us about airspeed, altitude, or what direction the wind is coming from - we could care less.
the magazines tend to focus on the chairs, the wine, and the goodies… for the 6 people who paid twice as much up in business/first class. How about focusing on the MAJORITY of customers in the plane?
Don’t make me pay for more leg room if I’m tall. Just put in one fewer row. Sheesh - is this so hard?
The same in the waiting area - United rolls out the red carpet… only for a choice few of it’s guests. What if they treated EVERYONE with a red carpet mentality?
just stuff off the top of my head…
British Airways has smoothies…
This is Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Social Media Kingdom, and I am Marlin Perkins. We are observing social media in its natural habitat. Jim has closed in on the Chris Brogan blog and we can now get a close look at social media in its most pristine state. Chris has just posted his wish list for airplane travel amenities, noting some ideas that would make business travel much more palatable. The ideas make complete sense, and it would seem that implementing them wouldn’t be too difficult.
Now, we sit and wait. Will the airline’s PR people engage in social media? Will they step out of the brush and open the lines of communication? Would they ever consider trying something new? Does anyone know where Jimmy Hoffa is?
Find out next week, on Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Social Media Kingdom.
In other words… ensure Congress does not bail out the airlines, let them fail and die, and let people who are actually human beings and not corporate robots restart the airlines!
Otherwise, nothing will ever happen…
mp/m
You should talk to Chris Elliott (travel ombudsman, Tripso, elliot dot org. You two have a lot in common :-)
I agree with you completely. Except for I’d add if you’re going to provide an in-flight movie - make sure the movie system will actually work instead of allowing me to watch just long enough to get hooked and then having to shut the whole thing off due to ” issues.”
I think the airline industry is one of the worst at not listening to their customers. A Seth Godin blog post I read said we have to speak with our wallets, which inspired me to write my own post about a customer service experience that ended my relationship with American Airlines. The post got the most page views to date of any post on my blog - I suspect someone in PR at American Airlines found it and forwarded it around. Now if they would just listen to what I wrote and do something about it…
http://larissagaston.typepad.com/blog/2008/09/flexing-my-cons.html
I think the airlines are doing a great job. Their customer service is excellent, their flight attendants are courteous and the messages they give are wrought with insight that common sense alone could not give… I’m kidding, the last time I flew the lady couldn’t bring me the right drink (ginger ale), “forgot” to pick up the trash from the bag of crackers she carelessly tossed at me and didnt wake me to say “Hey the plane is landing, turn off your mp3 player and put your seat belt on.” I woke up because I felt my body leaning forward when the plane started descending.
If I were in charge of their marketing, social media, well anything at all I would be pushing for the use of some sort of social software where people can post and rate their likes and dislikes about flying. They could use something like one of Spigit’s products or even just create one themselves.
Let people vote on ides, new features, and use a bit of crowd sourcing to find what your customer want from an airline company. But they won’t do that because they know that they have us by the short hairs and if they ever get in trouble (again) Uncle Sam will bail them out because they are so ingrained into how our country (and the world) works.
I would love to see some social based customer service initiatives start up by the big names in airlines, hell they could spin it into a commercial series showing actual customers feedback and how they implemented it and that get tons of people to feel good about flying with that company even if they had to up the price of the tickets by $10 each to make it all work.
Recently while traveling, which I don’t do that often we had “technical” delays twice on the same airline. I said to my seat campaion–well nothing much they can do about these delays. He looked at me hard and said “when I give my presentations, I alway make sure all my equipment is working BEFORE I have a room full of people. The airlines can do the same.” He had a very good point and later in the flight when I was offered the opportunity to BUY snacks—I had the thought–”Really they just do not get it.
I soooo agree with this!! Larissa- every movie I have ever seen presented on flights (and I travel about every week) has glitches or they don’t have enough headsets - which they are charging you for? And why don’t they charge people to carry on bags instead of charging people to check bags? If the people that carry on the suitcases bigger than Texas cause delays which upsets everyone - shouldn’t THEY pay rather than the rest of us that are willing to bite that 15 minutes at the baggage claim? And on flights that are longer than an hour, why on earth do they only offer “refreshments” one time? the word “refreshments” requires them to be REFRESHED! Right? And yes - why in the world do we need to know the map version of our flight? For crying out loud! And yes, FIX THE BROKEN PARTS OF THE AIRCRAFT BEFORE LEAVING THE GATE!! Katybeth I totally agree!!!
Someday…..will it ever be better? EVER?
;-)
Thanks for all of this, and I totally agree with most of the things that have been said, not only in the post itself, but also in the comments section.
My only addition would be this: the FAA, the TSA, and the government that controls them are actually more in control of some of these issues than you may want to think. And, ultimately, the responsiblity then lies with consumers and voters (that’s us). Building new airports was long considered standard operating procedure for people in Congress to garner favor in their districts, because it only benefited that area…whereas rail and other infrastructure that was interstate not only fell under the pervue of different organizations, but more bureaucracy–and the profits would be split.
So, while airlines need to start acting like they are there to serve consumers once again, or risk loosing flyers to more savvy companies…so does the government. Porkbarrel spending and red tape bureaucracy have done just as much to screw up the industry as the airlines themselves…
I guess my response would be to remind everyone who they work for: not themselves, not money, but us.
My request:
Instead of boarding by row, board by window, then center then aisle. (I’ll be nice and let kids board with a parent) I hate having to climb over people if I have a window seat, or have someone squeeze past me if I’m on the aisle.
And never, ever, allow people to talk on their cellphones in flight. That will be the end of my air travel.
I got the ugly eye from a flight attendant not long ago for having a tiny little ipod shuffle clipped to me. It was off, but earbuds in. She didn’t seem to get that it could be off while the little white cord travelled all the way to my head, but there you go. I still don’t get why having it on would cause problems.
Amrtrak may have an outlet at the seat, but that’s about it. They exploit their monopoly on train travel by jacking the prices up to whatever they want. I mean, I once saw a $200 price quote for a non-Acela trip from NYC to Boston. If I can pay $15 for a bus ride with wi-fi, or $80 for the limoliner with wi-fi and meal service and TVs, I’ll take that over Amtrak any day. Rail transportation in the U.S. is deplorable.
I read an interesting article recently on why behavioural economists should be involved in designing plane journeys. His concept was basically “Charge me a large amount for a ticket and then deduct things that I don’t want rather than cut the fare and charge me extra for stuff I do want.”
An interesting perspective..
http://flyingcafe.blogspot.com/2008/07/why-airlines-should-hire-behavioural.html
Someone’s been traveling too much! LOL. Great post - I think your ‘gripes’ are shared by 90% of travelers. You know what..this IS in fact related to the social media…I really really doubt that airline management reads the terrible reviews they get or at least set up a Google Alert for “MyAirline AND Service”.
I was on a domestic Southwest flight last week and it was probably the most enjoyable flight I ever experienced…the flight attendants made everyone laugh throughout the ‘in case of emergency’ stuff - and we were not disturbed with the ‘in flight menu’ so sleep was easy. When we arrived to DC on a miserably rainy night the flight attendant abruptly said ‘welcome to Cancun’ - needless to say, everyone left the plane happy after that joke.
Loved your comments about getting OFF the plane. Wonder if the airlines might consider Priority Deplaning, like they have Priority Boarding — even if it’s for a fee?
I think the real problem with airlines is that none of them has an incentive to do any better than the next one and they have this mentality. I have had airlines lose luggage and refuse to compensate, have had flights canceled with no explanation - simply because they didn’t fill the flight, apparently - and have been fussed at by flight attendants because they were having a bad day.
If I complain, they say too bad. If I ask what can be done, they say nothing. No refunds, no lost baggage compensation, nothing.
Basically, with only a few exceptions, airlines will not do a lick more than they absolutely have to because that means they are spending a few cents more than the competitor.
Sorry to gripe.
Okay, airlines are perfect and wonderful.
Great post!
I can recall musing about the mobile phone rule.
Here’s the muse…
1. Cell phones comply with FCC regulations to not be adversely effected by other signals (Look at your own electronic devices, good chance that there is a FCC ID on it).
2. Airplanes, and all of their inclusive electronics are also FCC compliant. There’s no chance that using your mobile phone is going to crash the plane.
3. The real play on all of this is that the cellular companies don’t want to deal with 300 people flying and switching from tower to tower as they travel.
and lastly, if the FCC regulations are really the reason (as the airlines say) then WTH do we need compliance if we are not allowed to use compliant devices?
oh, and that “seat belt rule”?
Well, it’s easier to know who was who in the event of an emergency. Morbid, but true.
I’m laughing because I imagine while reading this blog post that a lot of people stood up and cheered!
Well, I fly JetBlue alot and haven’t had a ton of complaints. However, on my first flight into San Diego, we de-planed from both the front and the back of the plane…I was in the back, so it was great. Yet I’ve flown a bunch of times into San diego on JetBlue and they haven’t done it since that first flight. So my comment would be, JetBlue please do this more, and other airlines wake up and follow suit.
Why are some rows full and others empty, spread us around.
Stick a camera on the front of the plane. China Air have it. Stops boredom.
Have a camera in the cockpit.
Load the rear of the plane first.
A smile goes a really long way. I’m sure you’ve had a long day and have had to deal with crappy people, but I promise to be nice - please don’t take out your frustrations on me. True in every profession, but in a plane you’re trapped for hours with the same person.
Slightly different but related: let the TSA screen my bag as I’m being checked in. They do this in other countries, and it doesn’t take longer since I have to stand there for check in anyway. If there’s a problem, I’m right there. Also, learn to re-pack my bag in a vague approximation of how I packed it (ie. clothes covering fragile items) and don’t steal things! I put the TSA approved lock on my bag, when something gets stolen I KNOW it was a government agent with the key…makes me feel reeeeaaal secure about how well they screen these people to be sure that nobody’s some terrorist/psycho who’s going to plant a bomb in it.
Referring to the “livening up the pre-flight announcements” comment, I had a good experience with Southwest, too. The guy making the announcements started throwing packages of peanuts at the passengers, like the ones you see at baseball games.
Why don’t the airlines hire struggling actors as part-time attendants? They might not provide the best or most efficient service, but, isn’t that what we’re already dealing with anyway? Might as well be entertained, if nothing else. How about a fashion show up and down the aisle?
I fly 2-4 segments (for those of you that fly airlines that still count them) a week and I have to agree with everything you’ve said. United hasn’t started charging for beverages yet but US Air charges ridiculous amounts - 6 ounces of coffee is $1 and a glass of $2 wine is $7…remember, exact change is appreciated and I’ve seen cases where they just won’t give it to you if they can’t find change. Heaven forbid they take $5 because they can’t give you the $3 change for a $10.
United has economy ‘plus’ that provides a little extra leg room. You can upgrade your regular economy ticket for around $14 which isn’t too bad. My problem, is that when they have a nearly empty plane they make extra-special announcements to everyone in economy that economy plus upgrades must be purchased and they can’t just move to a new seat. If no one is using them, and the people that purchased got first dibs on their seats (bulkhead, window, aisle, etc) what does it matter if a few people want to stretch out?
Then there is the whole TSA debacle. I understand the need for security (and I’m for a standardized approach) but come on. This year alone I’ve visited 10 airports and security guidelines were different at each one. Some allow shoes in ‘bins’ some don’t, some have forced me to remove phone case (without phone inside) from my belt some haven’t, some don’t like sweaters and some do, the list goes on. It’s like they let each ‘officer’ write their own manual. Again, I’m for the security but apply the same guidelines everywhere so I know what’s coming.
While I don’t agree with all the comments (if you give ‘red carpet’ to everyone what do the people that spend thousands a year and deal with their crap every week get?), flying these days is definitely a disaster and the airlines are in desperate need of reform. Their customer (dis)service resembles that of Comcast…worst cable provider I’ve dealt with.
Wow, I’m really not an angry person but I’ve obviously got a little pent up anger towards the airlines. Thanks for the post!