=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2007/09/04/BU57RRKSH.= DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, September 4, 2007 (SF Chronicle) Putting passengers first/Test run: United, other airlines try to improve cu= stomer service in effort to restore trust in industry that has taken a beat= ing David Armstrong, Chronicle Staff Writer Barbara Higgins used to work at the self-described "happiest place on Earth," figuratively sprinkling pixie dust over visitors to Disney World in Paris and Hong Kong, where she served as a senior customer service executive for the Disney Company. Late last year, she took the newly created position of chief customer officer at United Airlines. Today, Higgins is trying to help the Chicago carrier revive its once-lustrous reputation for customer service. That reputation was badly tarnished when United - like other U.S. legacy airlines - cut amenities and laid off thousands of staff following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and the resulting economic downturn early this decade. Now, the friendly skies are a distant memory for many stressed-out air travelers. Those airline industry cutbacks - intensified by this summer's flight delays, cancellations and exasperating problems with lost luggage - have badly eroded consumer trust. In a recent survey by Unisys Research, consumers rated the nation's airlines among the five least-trusted of 30 industries studied, just ahead of energy companies, and well behind health care and retail banking. Travelers who endured the crowded airplanes and airports over the heavily trafficked Labor Day weekend will understand. United is trying to make up for lost time. Higgins is hoping to bring so= me Disney magic to an industry that hasn't been associated with magic in ages. And she's doing it in the face of competition from archrival American Airlines, which this summer created a position of managing director for customer experience, and prosperous, service-minded Asian and European carriers that have avoided many of the U.S. industry's recent travails. "The skills I used at Disney are transferable and similar," Higgins, an upbeat woman, said at San Francisco International Airport, which United is using as a test bed. "We're moving huge volumes of guests, we're providing individualized service, we're providing individualized meet-and-greet in the airport," she said. "We can do that especially well with frequent fliers and provide a more intimate experience." High-paying frequent business travelers are crucial to United; its premi= um customers, just 8 percent of all United's fliers, generate 36 percent of passenger revenue. And SFO, a gateway to the booming Asia-Pacific region, has the highest number of high-paying customers in United's global system, according to spokeswoman Robin Urbankski, which is why the airline is trying out changes there, she said. In recent weeks, United has been busy sprucing up its reservations stations, doubling the number of automatic check-in kiosks at SFO's Terminal 1 from eight to 16, and pushing more real-time flight information to passengers. The airline is working especially hard to court high-paying travelers, who are whisked to the front of security lines and boarded separately. High-fliers walk down a real red carpet at the airport gateway, where a United worker lifts a red rope to allow them to board at their leisure. "We treat all of our customers with courtesy - that's our baseline for everyone," said Jewell Dagenais, United's customer service manager at SFO. "We are providing differentiated experiences for premium customers." Economy-class travelers without access to lounges are also receiving more staff support at sleek new customer service centers located past SFO's security, she said. U.S. airlines - just now returning to profitability after years of heavy losses - will have to do all this and maybe more to win back the confidence of air travelers, said Ron Kuhlmann, vice president of the Global Transportation Group at Unisys Research. "In cost-cutting efforts to increase profit margins, airlines may perhaps be looking at the wrong metrics and making too many sacrifices in customer service," Kuhlmann said. "Our research shows that service is directly related to how people feel about an airline. By focusing more on service, airlines can better instill consumer trust, which is ultimately crucial to any carrier's success." American is another airline that appears to have gotten the message. "We've taken a great number of steps in recent years to improve the customer experience," said Tim Garton, American's executive vice president for marketing. "We simplified our fare structure, put a new, robust booking tool on www.AA.com for customers who prefer to make travel plans online. We have easier-to-access entertainment systems. We offer greater comfort for business- and first-class passengers. We're upgrading our in-flight entertainment technology. We will soon be testing onboard connectivity to the Internet on transcontinental flights." But American, the world's biggest airline by passenger traffic, acknowledges that it has a long way to go. The Texas carrier says it is redoubling efforts to inform passengers sooner about flight delays, streamline the boarding process, keep the interior of planes cleaner and quickly untangle problems with lost or misdirected luggage. Both American and United are being forced to scramble to catch up with foreign carriers known for lavishing creature comforts on travelers, among them Cathay Pacific Airways, Singapore Airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways. United in particular faces under-the-radar competition on its lucrative Asia-Pacific routes from Korean Air, a fast-growing airline that has spent millions upgrading aircraft for premium fliers and promoting its extensive network of connections to China. Korean Air has four weekly flights from SFO to Seoul, with connecting flights to many big Chinese cities. United has applied to the U.S. Transportation Department for permission = to launch daily nonstop service next year between SFO and Guangzhou and daily nonstop service between Los Angeles and Shanghai in 2009. "United is trying to get one or two more routes," said John Jackson, Korean Air's director of passenger marketing and sales for North America. "We can easily match that. We serve 22 cities in China, and 15 cities in Japan." Korean, Jackson said, plans to increase its number of flights between San Francisco and Seoul - a route that United also flies - perhaps as soon as next year. At United, Barbara Higgins and her team acknowledge they can't control what moves other airlines may make or what havoc the weather - a major snafu in air travel this year - can play with the best-laid flight plans. But they are, she said, striving to improve one thing they have a measure of control over: customer service. Higgins refuses to reveal the budget for United's planned upgrades in customer service but says they will unfold over the next five years. Simultaneously, United is introducing new seats and menus crafted by celebrity chefs in its business- and first-class cabins. She allows that it hasn't been easy bringing a focus on customer service back to a company that's been battered by terrorism, rocked by billions of dollars in losses and long-term givebacks by employees, and weakened further by huge staff layoffs. "It's been difficult for employees, going into Chapter 11," she said, referring to the nearly three years United spent in bankruptcy earlier this decade. "The company was near death. We survived." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2007 SF Chronicle <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".