America West - They stepped up to the plate when needed
Written: Aug 22 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good customer service, great prices.
Cons: Lousy "snack" and some planes have cramped seating.
The Bottom Line: If you want a airline company that seems to care about their customers, I'd recommend America West.
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| poseidon's Full Review: America West |
This morning I just came back from a very well needed vacation. Work has been tremendously difficult this spring and Summer, and I’ve been very close to burning out. The best means of getting rid of all this stress was to take a vacation.
I went ahead and did my searching through Expedia.com and Travelocity. I rather enjoy using these services (I also search through Hotwire) because they give me a variety of options, including where I’m staying, who I’m flying with, and gives me a rating of each of the hotels I’m looking at staying.
Michelle and I are saving up for our wedding, so we didn’t have a ton of money to spend on a lavish vacation. While Colorado is beautiful, we both really wanted to get out of the state. She hasn’t traveled much in her lifetime and expressed an interest in Las Vegas. I had been there four or five times before, and since it had been several years since my last visit, I agreed it would be a good, inexpensive and fun experience.
Through Expedia.com, we were able to look at various vacation packages. One package of particular interest involved us flying out on America West Airlines and staying at Harrah’s hotel, all for the low-low price of $230 per person – all inclusive of fees, taxes, etc. (there is a processing fee for using Expedia but it is nominal).
I had never flown on America West before and, in all honesty, had never heard of America West. I went ahead and booked the trip because it was affordable and compared to the other airlines, the prices were excellent.
We left on August 19, 2001 at about 2:50pm. Our flight left exactly on time and got us into the Las Vegas airport a few minutes earlier than scheduled. For this, I was very happy.
We were flying an Airbus A319 – it was about the size of a Boeing 737 (I do not pretend that I am an expert on plane models, sizes and specifications, this is simply my observation). We sat directly over the wing, and the seating arrangement wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated.
I’m a little over six feet tall, and with many airlines, it is difficult for me to get comfortable. My legs are long and I find that I’m typically cramped in a standard coach-class seat (especially on United, Delta and American Airlines). I was seated in the middle seat between Michelle who had the window seat (she’s also six feet tall) and a gentleman in the aisle. I won’t say that I had plenty of room to stretch out, but I also wouldn’t say that I was uncomfortable.
We didn’t check our bags, so I cannot comment on the baggage service. Whenever possible, I prefer to carry my luggage in the cabin with me versus checking it at the front counter.
The “snack” was a bit disappointing, yet also interesting. I was under the mistaken impression that the airlines no longer served peanuts due to the 1/10th of 1% of the population who are allergic to peanuts. The snack consisted of a mixture of raisins, granola and peanuts, all in about a 1-oz. serving of it (maybe less). We did, however, get a soft drink and was provided with the entire can instead of just a glass that was 90% ice.
The ride back was a different story altogether. We had an 11:40pm departure back to Denver and were set to arrive at 2:30am. I chose the time because I wanted to have as much time as possible in Vegas. To get this price, I wasn’t forced to take the “red eye” flight. There were other options available that were priced similarly.
But this presented a problem. About ten minutes before we were scheduled to board, there was some sort of mechanical issue with the plane. The desk clerk initially told us it would be a short delay, probably less than thirty minutes. However, at that thirty-minute time frame, they said they were still working on the problem and told us to sit tight.
An hour later, they said that the problem had still not been resolved. For our trouble, they were bringing out cans of pop for us in hopes that it would soothe our woes. I’m not sure how many people took advantage of this, as it was nearly midnight and I couldn’t imagine too many people wanting the caffeine to stay awake.
About thirty minutes later, they again told us that the mechanical problem wasn’t resolved and that they would be bringing pillows and blankets in case this was for the long haul. I started getting worried because I had to start working at 8am. The way I figured it, I was going to come into the airport now at 4am. But, I grabbed two pillows and blankets and Michelle and I found an area to stretch out on the seats.
You couldn’t really fall asleep, though. For some reason the desk clerk found it necessary to get on the P.A. system and inform us every fifteen minutes that there were still mechanical problems and that they would hope to resolve them soon. Each time I managed to fall asleep, I was woken up by this announcement.
An hour and fifteen minutes later, they announced that the problems with the plane were not going to be resolved and that they were going to be looking for another plane to take us all back home. They managed to find one about twenty minutes later and we all got up and walked to another concourse in the airport.
Upon embarking on the plane, the staff provided us with courtesy packets for our trouble. Inside were a five-minute phone card, a coupon for a free alcoholic beverage of our choice, and a flight coupon good for up to $100 off our next flight with America West. While this packet wasn’t anything worth writing home about, I would say that the airline at least showed some compassion in the situation in which they placed all of us.
We were placed this time on a Boeing 737 that was slightly more cramped seating-wise than the Airbus A319. However, this wasn’t a sold out flight so many of the passengers were able to move to a different seat in order to make spacing more comfortable.
In every instance, including the flight out to Las Vegas, the crew seemed courteous and caring, and with the disaster happening with our plane in the Las Vegas airport, they showed genuine concern.
While I am not a fan of airlines that delay me to my destination, I understand that things do happen, and I would much rather they find the problem on the ground than when I’m up in the air and it poses a serious problem.
On top of that, I’m also a big fan of customer service. An airline that gets you on time each and every flight you take is fine. An airline that doesn’t lose or damage your baggage each and every time you take a flight is fine. You may credit them for great customer service just for doing their job and fulfilling the promise that they made.
However, the proof of the pudding comes in what happens – be it any sort of retailer or service person – when a problem arises. This is where you can really judge how well a company is run and what steps they are willing to take to keep you as a customer and rectify the situation.
I think that, given the time of night/morning and the circumstances involved, America West Airlines didn’t do a perfect job. But they did their job nonetheless and they did it with a smile on their face. I think that counts for something, especially in a day and age where companies seem to care less and less about customer service.
I’m going to go ahead and give America West Airlines three out of five stars. I’m not really happy with the in-flight “snack” and I always am a bit concerned when airlines try to jam as many seats as possible on a plane, as it appeared it was on the Boeing 737. I would have also liked to have a better compensation package than what we received, but at the same time I’ll commend them for offering it without being asked. I felt that the staff was friendly and seemed to put customer needs up front.
And I will, for the customer service experience, go ahead and recommend America West Airlines.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
poseidon
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 - Top 200 |
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Member: Jeffrey Schwartz
Location: Sunrise, FL, USA
Reviews written: 511
Trusted by: 1097 members
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