Loyalty Truth

Steven Slater is a blogger’s dream. For anyone looking for that quirky story to opine about, Mr. Slater provided a remarkable set of actions that will earn him a bit more than 15 minutes of fame. In fact, I’ll bet the incident that took place this week on Jet Blue flight 1052 from Pittsburgh to JFK will be cited in serious business circles over the next year as some form of turning point in improving the commercial airline travel experience.

Let’s be clear. It is not acceptable for a customer facing employee, whether flight attendant, service write-up person, or cashier to lose control and address others with anger and profanity. The world is a frustrating place but my Dad used to remind me “the veneer of civilization is paper thin”. In other words, we have to maintain control no matter the circumstances.

On the other hand, flying commercially is becoming more tortuous by the day. The restrictions that the airlines deem necessary negatively impact the flight experience and, rather than the intended compliance, are bringing out the worst in many people.

It seems the more travelers are charged for things that used to be free and the less freedoms we enjoy in flight, the more rebellious that paying customers seem to become. Our sense of entitlement is being threatened and we don’t like it. The offending passenger on Mr. Slater’s flight, by all reports, was truly offensive and anyone of us that endures business travel can attest to the selfish, rude, and flat out ignorant behaviour displayed by many passengers these days.

Toddlers learn quickly that ignoring rules and responding with extreme petulance draws further punishment. Mr. Slater executed his own version of a smack down and essentially threw his entire flight into “time out”. Not good, but he certainly delivered his message.

In my opinion, the airlines could defuse frustration for all parties on board simply through improved communications.

I have always wondered if using my cell phone in flight “really” impacts flight operations. Now it seems that placing your mobile device in airplane mode is not enough as we are constantly reminded to “turn everything with an on/off switch into the off position”. I guess Apple wasted its time designing that feature for its iPhone.  Posting simple explanations of policies that impact passengers would go a long way to soothing flyer nerves.

The biggest opportunity for airlines to create goodwill with their customers is to make compliance with TSA’s Secure Flight Program a breeze. If you are not familiar with the requirements of Secure Flight, read here.

I have received notice of my need to comply from several airlines via emails and in newsletters. JetBlue published a link in an email addressing the topic but I challenge you to find further reference to the topic on their website. Delta currently requires passengers to change the name of their SkyMiles accounts in writing and to provide “legal documents” as support.

I’d rather send them my legal name that matches my passport and redeem 10,000 miles for them to make the change, not that they would ever consider making it this easy.

Neither prosecuting Mr. Slater nor further clamping down on passengers will yield good results for the airlines as a group. Giving more thought to communicating the reasons behind in-flight requirements and making it easy for loyal frequent flyers to comply with new TSA regulations would not only serve as damage control, but represent steps towards restoring civility in commercial air travel.

There’s an App for all this: it’s called social media. Why don’t the airlines considering using it to communicate with their valued customers?