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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 0265.PDF
FEBRUARY , 1940 FLIGHT *47 American Newsletter Reducing Airline Costs : "Service After Sales" : Passenger Handling CONSIDERABLE thought is being given by U.S. air-craft and engine manufacturers to reductions inmaintenance costs and to the amount of service that can be given to airline and other customers. At one time, for instance, the Allison Engine Companywas seriously considering a scheme whereby they would "rent" engines to the airlines, and, for an inclusive fee,would maintain these throughout their life, exchanging them as and when necessary. It was said that this schemewould even include the cost of the fuel and oil used. The Martin Company is now studying an overhaul plan for its"202," which would include the loaning of aircraft to airline customers while the original machines were beingoverhauled. If schemes of this kind become widely adopted in the States, and perhaps even outside, they , ;are bound to have a considerable effect g on the final choice of prospective buyers, and it would probably be as well for the British aircraft trade to consider any stepswhich they, too, can take to compete with this form of "service." There is no doubt that the whole form of thethinking of the American firms, particularly towards their customers (and their agents), in the matter of spares andservice is far and away ahead of anything so far suggested by any British manufacturer. An American agent's com-mission on private or small commercial aircraft is in the neighbourhood of 25 per cent., but for this he is expectedto do far more, in the way of "customer service;/' spare stocking, local advertising and sales promotion generally,than his British counterpart. It will be interesting to see whether, as the aircraft distributor and dealer come moreand more into the domestic picture, and as the competition both in quality and price becomes keener, the manufac-turer will continue to rely on his agents throughout the country, or whether he will begin to think in terms ofdoing his own distribution, either direct or through an affiliated company of his own. It will pay the Britishaircraft manufacturer to watch these developments. • • » This service is not the only part of our public relationswork which will need scrutiny. Self-examination will be necessary in the airline field, too, if we are to hold our own.There is a tendency for us to finish up our everything-is- lovely speeches by saying : "And, what's more, we can givethe best airline service as well. Look how the British steamship lines always got the business because of the ser-vice they gave." True, they did. But it is sometimes for- gotten that, as the speed of the journey increases, sothe need for and chances of rendering a de luxe service on board decreases. Therefore, the type of old-fashioned ser-vice that was offered on a British aircraft—with the atten- tive steward who knew all " his " passengers' likes and dis-likes and who put the studs in the dress shirt without so much as a thumb mark—is, unfortunately, outmoded, and wejnust apply our skill in other directions. This means that, if the quality of the service rendered isto be a factor in attracting trade, we should concentrate on those parts of the journey which are not made by air. Weshould also take a look at our competitors and see how they have got on. An examination of the way the Americanlines handle their public shows that their service isn't all it's cracked up to be, and there is no doubt that, during thew";ir, and quite understandably, it fell off very badly. On some lines it ie now downright poor and an unscheduledstop, particularly if it is overnight, produces a condition "far to chaos. An exasperating habit of most American companies isthat of never telling you definitely, .until the last minute, whether they will start or whether they hope to get throughon schedule. Nothing is guaranteed to make a passenger more angry than to learn at the airport that the flight iscancelled. By that time he has probably missed a train and cannot make other arrangements. This situation be-came so bad over here at one time that those of us who had access to the Aimy Air Forces' Weather Bureaus usedto get our own weather reports ahead of time and then decide for ourselves. But it must not be thought that this sort of thing willcontinue. It won't The public relations officers of all the airlines here have been going very thoroughly intothis question of passengers' comfort—chiefly by means of mailed questionnaires, and they have, by now, obtaineda great deal of most valuable information. They have also considered all sorts of ways of popu- KIBITZER " larising air travel. The stewardesswas one. But even she has been out- moded by the simple expedient ofreducing air travel cost. This latter has made it almost impossible to travel without a long-standing booking. Of all the stunts that have been pulled to popularise airtravel, however, there is one that is hardly likely to be repeated. The story goes that an airline, noticing thatnearly all their clients were business men, and realising that the business man's wife was probably against flying,decided that, for a given period, wives would be included on any single ticket that was bought, and "bring yourwife, too" wa& quite a slogan. Needless to say, the idea was a great success and happy couples flew everywhere. Infact, the company felt they were on a good thing—and so did the business men—until one day the statistical depart-ment sent all the business men's wives a questionnaire to find out their reactions. There were reactions all rightwhen the tired business man got home that night. . . . " And when, may I ask, did I accompany you on an airlinetrip last month? " 01 "Do you mind explaining who your travelling companion was when you visited . . . ? " It tooka long time for that one to settle down. Yet, despite the considerable experience that the U.S.airlines have amassed, and their emphasis on public rela- tions, there is, to a European, still something lacking in theway in which their passengers are handled. This may be because the "American way of life," as they call it, doesnot really lend itself to the giving of service to others, or it may be due to a basic feeling that each is as good ashis neighbour, which, in its turn] develops a form of selfish- ness. Whatever it is—and claims to the contrary notwith-standing—good service is not the most outstanding feature of American airline operation. It is my opinion that, at all times, the passenger shouldbe considered as having a high, rather than a low, intel- lectual rating. In other words, once told what he or sheshould do, that should be the end of it. Passengers should not be nursed, or shepherded, or cajoled, to walk here orthere. If one of them is fool enough to go off on a reciprocal course, that's his business, but provided he is once givena definite heading, surely be can work out his own salva- tion ? If you get into the wrong train at Victoria, it is, afterall, your own fault. It must be remembered, however, that efficiency in thehandling of passengers is not necessarily the same thing as giving them attention and courtesy. Efficiency alonehas an inhuman quality, and there is no reason why the British airlines cannot be efficient and still keep their pas-sengers content and happy. But let nobody imagine that we shall not have to workvery hard if we are to keep such a lead as we already
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