Source: Chicago Tribune
Author: Mark Skertic

Traveler's Five-Day, 7,836-Mile Odyssey Finds Passengers Adjusting But Missing Way Flying Used To Be

United Airlines has been in bankruptcy for 31 months. It has laid off 40,000 employees and cut $7 billion in expenses in a frantic bid to reduce costs--doing everything from eliminating magazines on some flights to terminating employees' pension plans.

It makes you wonder what's left of the nation's second-largest airline after so much financial turbulence.

So finding a pillow on my seat after boarding a United flight in San Francisco was a reminder that there is still some friendliness in United's skies. Then another miracle: headphones in the seat pocket, an item for which some airlines have begun charging.

Not long ago "chicken or beef"--airline food, in other words--was good material for a comedian. Now it's a luxury seen only by those traveling first- or business-class.

This is the new state of commercial airline travel, experienced by this Tribune reporter during a five-day, 7,836-mile journey around the country.

The intention was to get a glimpse into how the financial crisis at United is affecting its passengers, the lifeblood of the company. Its future is important to Chicago because its parent is based in suburban Elk Grove Township, and it is the dominant airline at O'Hare.

Personally, I had only one real complaint. On my first flight, I pulled out a copy of the in-flight magazine Hemispheres, and turned to the crossword puzzle. It had been completed by someone else. Next flight, same story. On every flight but one I needed to find some other way to occupy the time because the crossword puzzle had been done.

But I was just one of thousands flying United, and passengers' experiences, as I witnessed, varied greatly. Some were surprised by how efficient and pleasant a bankrupt airline can be. Others were dismayed. Then there was the man so overcome by the frustrations of today's United that he made a fuss at the gate in Chicago, vowing never to fly the airline again.

The impression shared by the vast majority of passengers is that flying isn't what it used to be. They like today's low fares and they endure the heightened security, but what they see as the constant nickel-and-diming of an airline under siege can be disappointing and exasperating.

Sometimes, too, the stress on United employees, who are not only harried but working under uncertain conditions, seems to come through.

Anita "Kitty" Zamora and her 10-year-old granddaughter were at O'Hare three hours before departure for a vacation in Orlando. They checked in and waited at the gate. And waited. And waited.

A busy gate agent brushed them off when Zamora went to ask about boarding. Eventually, it became clear the flight was never going to board from this location, even though the sign at the gate indicated their flight would depart for Orlando.

Someone had apparently forgotten to change the gate's sign.

"She told me I missed the announcement" for a gate change, Zamora said. "I never heard any announcement."

Then the agent told Zamora something about "people like you" who don't check in properly.

"It's a slap in the face," Zamora said afterward. "What's that supposed to mean, `people like you'?"

Eventually, a supervisor ensured Zamora and her granddaughter were booked on a flight later that day.

It's a snack box world

At Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport, Bob and Tammy Kukla came prepared for a long day of flying.

"We go from Dallas to Denver to San Francisco to Anchorage," said Bob Kukla, a resident of Frisco, Texas, and retired from IBM. "And there's no meals on any of them. It's a good thing she makes a good meatloaf."

At his wife's side was a bag with meatloaf sandwiches, salad, carrots and celery sticks. "You know when you get on [the plane] that you're only going to get peanuts and a drink," Tammy Kukla said.

Frustrated travelers who want more than a bag of pretzels have given rise to a new industry: airport stores that cater to people who want something to eat during their flight.

At the Charlotte (N.C.) Douglas International Airport on a recent Sunday afternoon, there was a line snaking out of the Carry Out & Carry On. It's not cheap--$2.09 for a bottle of Coke, $2.49 for an orange juice and $3.79 for a box of cut vegetables--but the food is fresher than the $5 boxes of snack food sold on many flights.

Business is booming, with customers grabbing items and hustling to make flights. Behind the counter, a cashier hurried to make change while reaching to help the next customer.

"It's a shame you spend all that money for a ticket," said Dorothy, the clerk at Carry Out & Carry On, "and they won't even feed you."

Of course, it's not that way for everyone.

Travelers in United's first- and business-class on a morning flight from O'Hare to San Francisco were greeted by name by flight attendants. Orange juice or water was pressed into their hands as soon as they sat down. Breakfast was fresh fruit or eggs with hollandaise sauce.

The wide seats have a footrest and a headrest that cradles the noggin and a private screen for viewing in-flight movie flips up from the armrest. On the armrest are fingertip controls for music channels, volume, and the back massager. "This is the only way I fly," one traveler said before leaning back and closing her eyes. "I'm spoiled."

Many who fly in the most expensive sections are the same travelers who use the Red Carpet Clubs, United's exclusive VIP rooms that require membership or charge for entry.

The rooms include complimentary food, meeting areas, wireless access and spectacular views of runways. And for smokers, Red Carpet Clubs provide a room where they can indulge their habit.

Passenger expectations differ

When first- or business-class isn't offered, it can be frustrating for some fliers.

Ted, United's discount airline that flies to vacation destinations from its busiest airports, has no first-class section. That's a point of contention with those who regularly use frequent-flier miles to upgrade their seating.

"It's like being on a Greyhound," one traveler wearing a black World Series of Poker cap snapped while waiting to board his 6 a.m. flight out of Vegas.

Ted does have Premium Seating, select rows of seats that offer about 5 inches of extra legroom. Aboard a recent Ted flight from Las Vegas to Chicago, Brian Caywood nudged his fiance, Crystal Johnson, and smiled when he saw he could comfortably cross his legs.

Johnson usually flies Southwest Airlines, but Ted had a cheaper fare when she booked on Expedia. "I'd heard bad things about United, how they were never on time," she said. "Horror stories. But I've got no complaints."

They watched the in-flight movie "Miss Congeniality II, " and each ordered a snack box, the $5 boxes of pre-packaged chips and fruit bars that have replaced hot meals on domestic flights.

Stepping off the plane at O'Hare they found that their connection to South Carolina was delayed.

"So what," Johnson said with a shrug. "It's not too bad."

Then there are the times when customers are pushed too far. For Ed Marquardt, it culminated with him opening his wallet, yanking out his frequent-flier card and slapping it down in front of a United Airlines gate agent with a simple request.

"Cut that up and send it back," he said. "I'll never fly this airline again."

He's just the kind of customer no airline wants to lose--a traveler so loyal he has more than 1 million frequent-flier miles.

Marquardt, a New Hampshire resident traveling with his wife, was fed up with United's flight delays, its taking too long to unload baggage, its dumping its employee pension obligations on a federal insurance agency.

He racked up his United miles with business-related international flights. But there are other airlines that can get him where he has to go, Marquardt said. The final straw came on a recent afternoon when the he and his wife were placed on a small regional jet for a leg of their trip, then given seats in different sections of the plane.

"I'm finished with them," he said. "Done."

Other travelers tell stories about gate agents and other airline workers who went out of their way to ensure customers' needs were met.

Michael Miller, traveling from Medford, Ore., to Hawaii with his family ran into trouble when his flight was canceled because of mechanical problems. United booked his wife and son on a flight, but put him on a different plane that would have him and his family traveling hours apart.

Trying to solve the problem on the phone only caused frustration, said Miller, who was waiting for a connection in San Francisco.

It wasn't until they went to the airport in Oregon that he was able to cut through the bureaucracy. "The United agent said, `What do you want to do?"' Miller said. That simple question was never the first priority of the customer service agents he dealt with on the phone.

"How about that?" Miller said. "It started out as a day from hell, but we finally got a solution."

Employee loyalty survives

United workers have gone through two rounds of pay cuts since the airline entered bankruptcy in December 2002. They've lost benefits and thousands in retirement pay, and have seen their pension programs killed.

Yet some workers say they wouldn't trade their job. One flight attendant in Denver called the job "a lifestyle."

"I don't have to take it home with me," she said, her ID badge turned toward her vest so that her name couldn't be seen. United has threatened discipline for talking to the media, she explained.

"I've had jobs where I took it home" she continued. "The job is always changing. I'm going to new places; I meet new people. I love the lifestyle."

She has been a flight attendant for six years. A co-worker, who said he joined United five years ago, said he can understand the anger some employees have but doesn't share it.

"If they take our pensions, I'm not going to miss it," he said. "I don't have that much in it."

His companion nodded her head. "A lot of them, these mommas, they've never done anything else," she said. "We're the minority. We've done other jobs."

The next day, an older flight attendant at O'Hare angrily stabbed at her luncheon salad when asked about how United has changed. "I still love the job, but I don't like how we're treated," said the woman, a flight attendant with more than a decade's experience.

"They keep taking things away from us."

The people who still work at United are there because they love to fly and they enjoy working with people, United co-pilot R.E. "Bud" Potts, said when a reporter spoke with him on a follow-up visit to O'Hare.

They are also people who can deal with change and sacrifice. As United downsized, Potts saw his job change from pilot to co-pilot and his pay shrink.

"The one thing we've learned is we cannot make these problems affect our passengers," he said. "The passengers pay our paychecks."

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Satisfaction with United below average

United's negative earnings following Sept. 11, 2001, and its subsequent bankruptcy filing have forced the carrier to implement many operational and service cutbacks. A consumer study conducted in March 2005 reveals that United ranked low in customer satisfaction. Factors included check-in/boarding/deplaning process, flight reservation/scheduling process, aircraft interior, in-flight amenities and flight crew.

2005 AIRLINE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION STUDY

Overall index scores based on a 1,000-point scale

SCORE
Industry average: 664
Northwest Airlines 783
America West Airlines 702
United Airlines 692
US Airways 673
American Airlines 672
Continental Airlines 668
AirTran Airways 647
Alaska Airlines 639
Delta Air Lines 637
Southwest Airlines 623
JetBlue Airways 618

Note: Rankings include major U.S. carriers that earn at least $1 billion a year in passenger revenue. ATA (American Trans Air) is included in the study, but is not ranked due to insufficient sample size.

UAL EARNINGS (parent of United Airlines)

Net income/loss; scale in billions of dollars (1194-2004)

2004: --$1.7 billion

Note: United Airlines filed for bankruptcy in December 2002.

Sources: J.D. Power & Associates, United Airlines

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