Case Study - Air Travel

This past week it became necessary for me to travel back to Ohio to be with my family. I had two completely different experiences. On the Thursday’s eastbound leg I traveled on Frontier Airlines and Sunday’s west bound I was on American Airlines. The difference between the two experiences was dramatic. It was the difference between a company that truly strives to be in service to its customer and a company that desired to just get the job done.

Both trips were early morning (6am) flights and both trips required a plane change. I feel this factors out the variances between crews and more clearly gives a feeling for the actual corporate culture. The experiences were consistent between each leg of the flight.

On Frontier, the crews were friendly and energetic. There were smiles during boarding, cabin service and deplaning. The planes were set up with individual video screens where I could purchase a movie or live TV. Head sets were provided at no charge. While I do remember the days when in cabin entertainment was free, it was still nice to have the option. For both legs of travel, cabin service was offered multiple times and the crew passed thru the cabin all during both flights very cheerfully checking on the needs of passengers. My biggest, best and simplest surprise came when a fresh chocolate chip cookie was offered. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but when coupled with the crew’s friendly attitude, it solidified the feeling of friendliness and sense of welcome.

Contrasted with that is my experience on American. On the first leg of my journey, I was assigned a seat in the rear of the plane. Upon boarding I encountered three cabin crew members gathered together discussing how the companies recent benefit changes are affecting them. They seemed bothered that passengers were boarding. The plan was full, but for the last row. This row had purses, jackets and even a piece of luggage in it. It looked like the room of a teenager. The crew seemed to want to only do the minimum when it came to service. The majority of the time they sat in the last row, drank coffee and ate breakfast. Unfortunately I got the same impression from the crew of my second flight. Not once did I receive eye contact, a smile or a friendly word. In addition, my first plane had NO form of entertainment and the second one ran free NBC programming for about an hour, but the head phones cost $2. However, the jack at my seat didn’t function.

I know airlines struggle to make a profit these days. It may appear I am belly aching over amenities, but I am not looking for free services. What I am looking for is opportunities and people that appreciate the fact that I spent almost $500 and choose them. In the end, the Frontier flight cost me more, but gave me choices. Also, the cost of providing both flight crews and drink service where the same, but one appreciated my patronage the other made me feel like I was an inconvenience; Frontier valued my business while American simply tolerated me. When given a choice, I will choose Frontier and/or choose other than American.