Beat of Hawaii and Beyond: Travel Deals, Tips, Events, Culture

Beat of Hawaii is fortunate to have such wonderful readers.

Following the recent post on our “first impression” experience with A.A., we heard from a reader, who is also a working American Airlines flight attendant.  I found this candid take compelling and wanted to share it, front and center:

Let me fill you in on a few items from the other side of the dolly trolly. Other work groups (as well as flight attendants) are now on their 5th year of pay cuts that were forced upon us by our own unions and accomplished by holding back SEC filings by managment. Flight Attendants took an actual pay cut of 17%, with benefit cuts it comes closer to 30%; conversely, AA executives have had bonuses EVERY year. All work groups are in contract negotations that may take years before settled. Why have we been holding on? The economy (where are we going?), the hope that we may get retro pay, we need the contractual raise so that we can complete our “best of 4″ (your retirement is based on your best 4 years of work plus other factors), and of course some of us actually like to fly.

Now, why is service not up to par onboard? We are down to FAA minimums of flight attendants working the flight, a marketing department that can’t make up its mind what it wants to sell on board, the Flight Attendants working your flight are suffering from lack of sleep, no food, having to work twice as much to make ends meet. You try to be chipper and glee when passengers treat you like crap and you work for a company that treats you worse.

Make it better for yourself on any airline. Be responsible for your own belongings, bring a sandwich, a bottle of water and a polar fleece jacket (no mater where your traveling!). Don’t let children travel alone, buy a seat for your child (yes, I mean all children- lap children are not fair for those sitting around you and it is unsafe) . Don’t treat the airplane like an open garbage can. No one wants to hear your audio - no Jr. can not play Barney out loud! Don’t wrap your coat around the back of your seat - that space belongs to the guy behind you.

It’s a different time. Travel has changed. It will get better someday - but it’s will never be like it was.

Aloha - thanks for the vent.

Thanks for the fabulous report from inside AA!

I’ve finally started to notice some softening in Hawaii airfares.

The fare below is down from over $500.  Weakness in the market is (as I had suggested) forcing the airlines to begin to either lower Hawaii fares or reduce schedules.

San Francisco to Honolulu

• Airline:  United
• Cost:  $451 RT (all-inclusive)
• Dates:  Travel through December 12
• Thanksgiving week for about $50 more (now that is a great deal!)
• Best found directly on ual.com

I recently had the opportunity to fly American Airlines between New York’s JFK and Seattle. While it’s true that one flight does not an airline make, impressions do count and can make or break an airline in today’s competitive market. Let me know if you agree or disagree with my observations.

What I found:

• Old appearing, dirty and not (cosmetically) well maintained 757 aircraft.
• Surly, careless flight attendants. We were struck by their lack of focus on or regard for the passengers. Their conversations were primarily between themselves and there was little engagement with their customers. This was not a single flight attendant, but appeared to be the crew overall.
• On-time performance. We were both pleased and surprised.
• Check-in. The kiosk check-in system at JFK worked flawlessly and efficiently. We were on our way to security within about 5 minutes of our arrival. Kudos here.
• Efficient baggage service. The bags arrived at the carousel in Seattle as quickly as we did. Kudos again.

The buzz in the industry:

I’ve been reading more articles about AA since our flight. As domestic airlines no longer offer much in the way of amenities, the way in which they handle the basics may be bellwethers of their ability to even stay in business.

• For the past two years, American has been at the bottom of all reporting US carriers in terms of customer satisfaction, on-time performance, baggage handling and flight cancellations. Even AA’s top executives acknowledge the severity of their problems.
• AA is trying very hard to improve in each of these areas. For example, they recently redesigned their schedule and have increased both flight and ground times in order to try to improve performance. Subsequent results are already reflecting some improvement.
• Employee morale. There is no doubt that airline employees have had a really tough time. The three major unions representing the bulk of AA’s employees, have all had embattled negotiations with the company within the past two years. An incentive plan long in place to attempt to improve both morale and performance produced no significant results. Employee satisfaction appears to be very low, as was readily apparent. This could well be one of their most significant problems.

I’m sure some of you are frequent customers of AA and have a lot more information to share on this. I look forward to hearing from you. This week I’ll also be discussing my experience on United Airlines between Kauai and Newark (with a plane change in Los Angeles).

UPDATED 10/1/08:

Now valid through December 12, 2008

(Including Thanksgiving!)

A small and likely short-lived airfare skirmish is providing a nice Fall travel opportunity.  I hope that some of you who have been asking about Chicago to Hawaii deals can take advantage of it.  Act quickly if you are interested.

• Airlines:  American, Northwest, United
• Dates:  Through November 19 (November 27 on United)
• Minimum/maximum stay:  3/60 days

Yesterday I gave you my advice on what to do when your hotel room does not live up to expectations. Normally I complain immediately if I’m unhappy. On my recent trip to New York I was stuck with a bad room for 6 nights.

Here’s what happened at New York’s Millennium UN Plaza Hotel:

I booked a “superior room” through a Travelzoo promotion for $199 per night. This did not include the unbelievable daily charge of $12.95 for Internet.

At check-in I had just flown eleven hours through six time zones and was not feeling on top of my game. All I wanted was a bed. It was 9am and I was told the room would not be ready until 3pm.

By the time I got to the room I was completely wasted and had actually fallen asleep sitting in the lobby. It was not until the next day that I realized the room was not what I had been promised.  Even then, I was too tired with jet lag to deal with it.  I knew I’d been taken, but couldn’t deal with repacking and changing rooms.  Damn.

Here’s what I’ve subsequently done about it:

1. Soon after checking out, I received an online questionnaire from the hotel, inquiring about my stay. Had I not received that, I was prepared to contact the management directly.

2. The hotel’s general manager responded as follows:

…I had a chance to review the survey that you recently completed. We are sorry to learn that you encountered some service inconsistencies during this visit. In particular, your remarks concerning your accommodations. We also regret that you did not receive any assistance by Front Service and have addressed the poor performance with the appropriate managers and staff so that measures may be taken to prevent deficiencies such as you experienced. In the meantime, please accept our sincere apologies for having caused you disappointment and inconvenience….

Sincerely,
Mark Irgang
General Manager

3. I responded to the General Manager:

…When we checked out, the gentleman at the desk asked how things had gone and I told him about our dissatisfaction with the room and the misrepresentation compared with the photographs of our room type on your website. He said that we were in an old and unrenovated section (however that would not account for the window discrepancy).

Superior room on website photo:

Our “superior” room:

Under the circumstances, I think something more than I’m sorry would be appropriate….

Sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t. It’s important to know when to let go so your vacation is not ruined.

One of the best comments I read recently is saying this to the Front Desk agent at check-in:

“Give me the room you were going to give me after the one I came downstairs and complained about. ”

PS:  If we hear back from the hotel, we’ll let you know.

THIS IS A SUPERIOR ROOM ON THE HOTEL’S WEB SITE:

THIS IS THE SUPERIOR ROOM I WAS GIVEN:

I was expecting multiple windows, a corner room, and updated furnishings, based on the superior category I reserved.

This is the first of two parts on what to do if your hotel room does not meet expectations. Tomorrow I’ll tell you what happened recently in NYC when I was not able to change the above room. Today’s segment offers my suggestions on getting the best room for the price paid.

Here’s what I do:

1. Research the hotel’s site, and reviews before arriving.

I find what people have said about renovations and construction, corner rooms, views, noise, and areas important to me. Descriptions and photographs on review sites and the hotel’s site can be helpful in setting my expectations.

2. At check-in, I ask about the type of room I’ve been assigned.

If it seems appropriate, I may request a room upgrade at the same price. It doesn’t hurt to be members of the hotels’ frequent guest program before making special requests.

3. Proceed to the assigned room without making assumptions.

I may not even schlep the luggage. Before I unpack or use the bathroom, I assess the room in relation to what I expected.

4. Return to the front desk if not satisfied.

If the room isn’t everything I’d hoped for, seen and read about on the hotel’s site and in the various forums, then I go back to the front desk.

Normally the second room will be significantly better. If it isn’t, however, I don’t t hesitate to go back yet again.

If necessary, I ask to speak with the manager. By this point I may have been offered a major upgrade for a small amount of money. If the offer is reasonable, and there was no misrepresentation in terms of the prior room, then I might just say yes and pay up.

Suggestions:

• Ask for what you want based on reasonable expectations given what you reserved and are paying for.
• Realize that all rooms in the same price category are not created equal.
• Don’t be shy, but remain calm and polite. Room change requests are very common and not unexpected by the hotel.
• Consider checking a site like Tripkick, a website which offers room by room hotel guides.
• Sometimes tipping at the front desk doesn’t hurt. In my own experience, however, it usually isn’t necessary in order to get a better room.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s description of what happened in the photos above and what we are doing about it.