Air NZ boss to United: Don't waste a good crisis

With good training and guidance, let the front line agents handle events with the knowledge that management will back them up. Read the Tom Davis story of how he started an airline - Piedmont - and began a culture of training and trusting the front line employees. Then look at what the employees gave him - one of the best run airlines in history with both on-time and customer service excellence. Hire good people, train them well, trust them, back them up - and let them handle the situations. It's a good working environment for everyone - especially the customer.

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.

Let's remember that the "United" flight in question was actually operated by Republic Airlines and the crew that was being accommodated was a Republic crew. The primary connection to United in this case was the aircraft livery. Republic should have used reserve pilots to get to fill in if their crew could not get there. It is amazing that the Republic brand has hardly been mentioned. If I ran United, I would hold Republic responsible for this fiasco.

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 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.

A positive culture is paramount in ANY business model. It's nothing new.

Ronald, good point. That it was a United commuter was not in most stories. But it doesn't absolve United of responsibility. Most people that go into a McDonald's don't realize that it is a local person that owns the franchise and operates the store. McDonald's rigorously regulates those stores - after all their name is on the big pillar outside. They send inspectors to periodically to make sure their franchisees are living up to McDonald's standards. United's name is prominently displayed on the fuselage of the aircraft, in the gate area, etc. Thus, United bears a responsibility to ensure its "franchisees" share a corporate culture of respect for passengers. You are right, between UAL and Republic, UAL should hold Republic responsible. But UAL has a responsibility to the public that sees UAL's name on the aircraft, on the flight code, boarding pass, etc. that it can't slough off onto its commuter operators and say "it wasn't me."

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.

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)

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.

There is a fine line here. When an individual customer or a plane full of them is mistreated by the company, yes, then there is a problem with the culture of the company.
On the other side. if a passenger acts in an uncivilized manner and refuses to comply with FAA rules and crew instructions, then creates turmoil by deliberately acting in a combative manner, the crew is then forced to act.
Air carriers have a duty to treat their customers as "guests", but must not be forced into the trap of kowtowing to the lowest common denominator.