=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/2008/09/21/BUK4130F7Q= .DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday, September 21, 2008 (SF Chronicle) As fares, fees rise, passengers want service Harry R. Weber, Associated Press (09-21) 04:00 PDT Fort Worth, Texas -- On a recent rainy day at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, a suitcase bound for Colorado Springs lay on the ground outside a terminal under a maze of American Airlines conveyor belts that ferry bags to and from nearby planes. A field representative for the airline who was showing a reporter the long, circuitous route checked bags take put the suitcase on a belt where it was supposed to be. He said it likely fell off a belt or a baggage handler's vehicle. He didn't know how long it had been off its path. The airlines have been imposing new fees, raising fares, reducing flights and, in some cases, cutting out free snacks in coach. But several big and small airlines alike have struggled relative to the industry in terms of baggage handling, on-time performance and other customer service metrics. Earning terrible grades An annual University of Michigan survey released in May found customers giving airlines the worst grades since 2001. With the slow travel season now upon them, airlines face the dual challenges of increasing revenue to cover heavy fuel costs while also improving their product to give air travelers a return on their added investment. "We realize that in order for us to regain that brand recognition and the customer loyalty that we used to own in the '80s and '90s, we ought to do something very dramatic and different," said Mark Mitchell, American's managing director of customer experience. Delta Air Lines' regional subsidiary, Comair, had the worst on-time performance in July among airlines surveyed by the Department of Transportation. From January through July, American Airlines' on-time arrival rate was the lowest among U.S. carriers, while United Airlines' was second-lowest. Comair had the highest mishandled baggage rate in July, while the highest number of complaints received by the DOT that month were about Delta. The fourth-highest number of consumer complaints received by the DOT in July was about US Airways, which said in a Sept. 3 memo to employees that they would not be receiving a $50 bonus for the month because the airline's on-time performance did not place in the top three among the 10 largest U.S. carriers. Executives blame weather, congestion in the Northeast and air traffic control issues for some of the problems, but they also acknowledge company-specific problems. They say there have been improvements since the latest DOT figures were released. American is keeping planes on the ground longer in some cities before turning them for their next flight so that if something goes wrong, there is extra time to board passengers and baggage. It plans to block a limited number of seats from being sold on flights in key markets this Thanksgiving to give it flexibility in reaccommodating customers. And to make it easier and quicker to locate mishandled bags, American is equipping personnel with automated handheld bag tag scanners. "There are huge costs when you have inconvenienced your customers," said Dan Garton, American's executive vice president of marketing. Wild travel tale Dorothy Boydston, a 48-year-old electrician from Hawaii, knows what Gart= on means. On a recent trip from Santa Barbara to Denver to see her daughter, Boydston had to spend a night at a Phoenix hotel at her own expense because she missed her US Airways connecting flight after, she said, an airline employee wrote the wrong gate number on her ticket. That came after she had to pay $15 to check a bag she tried to carry on the plane to Phoenix, when the airline told her there was no room in the overhead bins. The next morning, she was still at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, on standby for another flight to Denver. Asked if passengers should get better customer service in light of the higher fares and fees they are paying compared with a year ago, Boydston said, "What customer service? There's no customer service anymore." "To the degree we don't deliver on that, it certainly does impact our brand," said Lee Macenczak, Delta's executive vice president of sales and marketing. "We are not satisfied where we are. We have a lot of work to do." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2008 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".