Heavy thunderstorms continued to plague much of United’s U.S. system this week, complicating life for many of our customers and employees. Irregular operations put those of you on the front lines face-to-face with some unhappy customers. Bad weather also left many of you up in the air about changes to your flying schedule, impacting your personal plans with families and friends.

Well, I saw first-hand how well you handled irregular operations Sunday evening, and I was impressed. My flight from Dallas to Chicago suffered a lengthy creeping delay, which resulted in angry and frustrated customers. Thankfully, we had a flight attendant crew dedicated to providing excellent service under very difficult circumstances. Flight Attendants Millie Monge, Corey Bowen and Mesalina Ramirez not only kept an upbeat attitude, they spread that feeling throughout the cabin by joking and talking with customers. They served what snacks and beverages they could, engaged customers and defused their anger, and answered their questions. Above all, they found many small ways to let our customers know that United cared about them and would get them safely and quickly to their destinations. My compliments to that fabulous crew.

The storms also created exceptionally busy days for our Crew Accommodations Operations group at WHQ and our Crew Desks at OPB, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco. With thousands of crew members misconnecting on Saturday and Sunday alone, the Crew Desks made thousands of changes to trip IDs, while Crew Accommodations handled more than 3,000 calls to assist them with hotels and ground transportation. Of the 1,658 flight delays companywide those two days, only 58 were attributed to Crew Scheduling, and of 178 flight cancellations, absolutely none were attributed to Onboard Service. Thanks to all of you for a great job on the front lines and behind the scenes. I’m sure your customers – whether internal or external – appreciated your efforts as much as I do.

My hosts at the Denver domicile welcomed me graciously this week, and I appreciate their kindness. I enjoyed lively interaction with the flight attendants during my town hall meetings and I spent time at DENTK seeing first hand our flight attendant training facilities. I’ve been on the road for a few weeks now, and the information you’ve shared with me is invaluable.
? One of the top concerns I’ve heard is on cabin deferred items. The Maintenance Division currently is working on various initiatives to improve the reliability of United’s fleet. Onboard is represented on the Cabin Review Team, which is working to decrease deferred and carry-forward items. This effort already has helped clear many of these items on through trips. About 100 items were cleared per 100 departures in April, while 160 items were cleared per 100 departures in July. You’ll see more about this reliability effort in future issues of Onboard Updates.

We had an excellent Purser Seminar in Chicago this past week where we updated pursers on United’s business plan and heard their views on how to better serve our customers and improve our operation. Glenn Tilton spoke to the group, along with Pete McDonald, myself and several directors and managers from Advertising, Flight Operations and Scheduling. The speakers were very impressed with the questions pursers asked, all of which indicated a strong grasp of the business challenges United faces.

Finally, I want to encourage you to provide feedback on some important topics. To help us give you the information you want and need about United and your job in a way that works for you, please take a few moments to complete the communications survey in the Aug. 4 edition of Onboard Updates. In addition, Flight Attendant Scheduling and Support wants to know how you rate the level of service they provide concerning domicile trip assignments, bid packages, interactions with the Crew Desk and other issues. You’ll find the FASS survey on SkyNet. From the Onboard Division home page, click on Scheduling and Support, then the FASS Survey.

Well, that’s it for today. Thanks for listening. Have a safe and enjoyable weekend wherever your travels may take you.