America's Next Airline CEO: Legacy airlines must change leadership to improve results!

Dear Readers,

The Sky Steward, Gailen David, was recently quoted in an MSNBC.COM article regarding the current state of commercial airline service in the US. You may find this article quite interesting.

The Sky Steward continues his campaign to improve travel by promoting Jetiquette. Here is a transcript of a recent address given at Washington Reagan National Airport:

"Hello, I’m Gailen David. In my campaign to promote Jetiquette; I’ve met so many people doing their best to provide exceptional service in spite of many years of challenges in the airline industry. You can’t open up a newspaper without coming across an article chronicling the deterioration of customer service provided by US airlines.

I often ask myself how we’ve gotten to this place and why some airlines in the US do not have the same difficulties satisfying their customers. The most obvious common denominator is the labor management relationship. It seems that the airlines that have more harmonious relationships with their employees, show higher rates of customer satisfaction. Companies with more adversarial environments are seeing higher rates of dissatisfaction among their customers; something that any company cannot afford, at least for very long.

We all know that Southwest Airlines has maintained its position as one of the most well regarded and successful airlines in the world. From the day that Southwest Airlines took flight in 1971, they’ve looked at their people as their most valuable asset. Southwest’s leaders have promoted a spirit of teamwork that serves as its foundation and that in the end results in a customer experience that has made their fun and friendly approach to air travel legendary. You could say it’s because Southwest’s employees are some of the most highly paid in the industry. Although that’s true..I don’t think that’s the whole story. I think it’s all about treating your employees the rights way that prepares them to take care of the customer.

Unfortunately, a much different picture has been painted at many of the nation’s legacy airlines. Despite their extensive route networks, fortress hubs, and vast resources these large airlines possess, they’ve been unable to improve their overall performance and change how their perceived by the general public, as unfriendly, undependable, and even uncaring. In my opinion, the root of the problems at the legacy airlines is the leadership or lack of leadership. These airlines remain plagued by the same problems that existed when many in management first took their positions, some decades ago, but the improvements are negligible. In some cases, as these airlines have laid off workers, grounded planes, and cut routes, these ineffective management teams have continued to take lavish bonuses. I believe that when a corporation furloughs employees or reporting losses, executives should not be permitted to take bonuses for a period of at least 12 months.

For many years, these teams have claimed that bonuses are required to retain talent…well, the truth of the matter is that today’s environment gives access to many talented managers that also have the leadership qualities necessary to keep these companies from suffering the same fate or need of bailout we’ve all witness recently in the banking and auto industries.

Now what does this have to do with you, the airline passenger? Unfortunately, when poor management results in a perpetually antagonistic relationship between labor and management, the customer undoubtedly ends up caught in the crossfire. I spend a lot of time speaking to employees about providing exceptional customer service and the biggest challenge I regularly encounter is a dysfunctional labor/management relationship. It does not have to be this way. The truth is, no one wins in these situations, including the stockholders. It’s a complex problem and the solution starts with having the right people at the top!

I remain optimistic that if everyone stands together and demands swift changes in the management at our nation’s largest carriers, we will all benefit. It’s time to make traveling by air enjoyable again. I’m Gailen David, the Sky Steward. "

Link: Compare executive bonuses at airlines and corporations such as Google