New jets for United won’t solve service reputation

Pat to United employees was a great friends with Donald Douglas who was “Doug” to the tens of thousand of employees at the Douglas Aircraft Company and together – with Cyrus Smith (American) and Juan Trippe (Pan Am) and Boeing’s Bill Allen – they were commercial aviation.

United was the major driver or launch customer of the DC-4, DC-6, DC-7, DC-8, Super DC-8s, DC-10, Boeing 247, Boeing 720, 727, 737, 767 and 777.

But this is the 21st century and deregulation, management buyouts and 911 have taken a savage toll on United.

Gone is management who live and breathe aviation, gone is the pioneering spirit and competing airlines and even Star Alliance dismiss United as no competition whatsoever.

In fact the last Boeing order placed by United was 9 Boeing 777s in 1999 – ten long years ago.

“Deregulation, buyouts and 911 have taken a savage toll.”

So when United placed its long awaited 767 and 747 replacement order in December 2009 the most telling part was Boeing’s muted response that it was looking forward to finalising the deal.

The Boeing statement said:

“Boeing is delighted that United Airlines has selected the Boeing 787 Dreamliner for the replacement and expansion of its twin-aisle fleet……Boeing looks forward to working with United to finalise the order at which time it will be posted to the Boeing Orders and Deliveries website.”

So the reality is that the order for 25 787-8s and 25 A350-900s for delivery between 2016 and 2019 is at best an intent and nothing more.
In fact some say they will not believe the order until the aircraft are delivered, such is the parlous state of United.

And United’s parlous state is because of the state of staff morale which many say is at it lowest ebb ever, which is reflected in the lack of customer service.

In fact it is highly likely that United will not take delivery of one 787 or A350 until it ensures that customer handling fiascos such as Dave Carrol’s broken guitar never happen again.

In 2008 guitarist Dave Carroll was sitting at his window seat on a United flight at O’Hare airport in Chicago when his attention was drawn by the lady behind to baggage handlers hurling guitar cases through the air.

Protests to the flight attendants were met with indifference and sure enough when he reached Nebraska he found his guitar had been smashed. After months of fruitless complaining to the airline’s management, he penned and recorded a song titled, “United Breaks Guitars,” and posted it on YouTube. It has now racked up 6.50 million views and result in countless TV talk show spots.

The damage to United is beyond calculation.

The story is the same across the world according to Forbes which reports that world famous blogger Wang Jianshuo in China posted his experience of watching a United flight attendant rap and elderly passenger about his carry on baggage thus; “You only have two choices: put it there, or out of the plane”. To which passengers jumped to the passengers aid protesting; “How can you be so mean!”

That attitude is responsible for United having the 16th highest number of complaints – just ahead of US Airways at 17th, Northwest at 18th and Delta at 20th. Not much to boast about!

In a stinging article in Forbes, titled ‘United Airlines Shows How Not to Run Your Business’, author Shaun Rein, founder of the China Market Research Group, writes that United has lost the right stuff and forgotten the three key elements of business – create brand loyalty, not simply satisfaction; don’t forget why you’re here and don’t forget employee morale.

The 787 and 350 will not help United – because the airline is not.

Pat would be broken hearted.