Star Alliance 10 Years
Again I flew Lufthansa. They are great!
Good (warm) food, excellent service, short connections, arriving on time.
The in-flight magazine this onth dealt with the 10th. anniversary of my favourite airline "group": Star Alliance.
It was really nice to read the interview with the CEO.
He starts by saying that their focus is on... guess what! The customer!
One particular phrase struck me: "not cost-cutting, but customer satisfaction".
Cynical as we are, I am hearing already someone shouting "LIP SERVICE"!
The thing is: in Lufthansa or TAP... IT SHOWS! It always did.
I started flying (only) 10 years ago. Hey! It was when Star Alliance started!
Back then, I used Lufthansa just because it was way cheaper than the others. And the food was good (but then again, so it was in the other airlines). In plus, coffee was free of charge in München, which was nice for someone who did not carry Deutsche Marks.
What happened since then?
Petrol costs went up by a gazillion percent. So "normal" airlines had to cut costs.
Low-frills airlines appeared. So "normal" airlines had to cut costs.
After September 11 people stopped (so they say) using planes. So "normal" airlines had to cut costs.
Whatever reason excuse happened. So "normal" airlines had to cut costs.
SAS had an excellent service, and coming from Helsinki it would be a good option. They stopped serving things for free. Oh well... at the same time, Lufthansa (remember, both from Star) cut down prices... maintaining--or as I noticed in-flight, improved--the level of service? Need I say what I did?
Funny thing... on SAS 60th. anniversary, I flew SAS from Bologna to Helsinki through Stockholm. At the gate in Bologna there was a full tray of local delicacies, including champagne. Nice! A party! Then in the plane... a measly small chocolate. Oh well...
In Stockholm it was business as usual. No party. Next flight, the same small chocolate. What the heck is the SAS marketing department thinking?
Are they EVEN thinking??? How costly would it be to offer a full meal to customers once every 10 years? In fact, I do think it would benefit them in terms of customer loyalty. SAS became a not-so-low-cost low-cost ariline.
Lycka till for them for the next 60 years. Just don't count on me.
How come then my "German friends" manage to offer such a good service at such low ticket prices? I know other companies have higher salaries, but their staff is so rude (a French airline). Maybe Lufthansa has the right catering and other partners. Maybe they are just more cost-efficient. Maybe it is both. Whatever they do, I thank them deeply. I am a loyal customer, who recommends them to just about everyone.
Note: Coffee is still free of charge in München.
Good (warm) food, excellent service, short connections, arriving on time.
The in-flight magazine this onth dealt with the 10th. anniversary of my favourite airline "group": Star Alliance.
It was really nice to read the interview with the CEO.
He starts by saying that their focus is on... guess what! The customer!
One particular phrase struck me: "not cost-cutting, but customer satisfaction".
Cynical as we are, I am hearing already someone shouting "LIP SERVICE"!
The thing is: in Lufthansa or TAP... IT SHOWS! It always did.
I started flying (only) 10 years ago. Hey! It was when Star Alliance started!
Back then, I used Lufthansa just because it was way cheaper than the others. And the food was good (but then again, so it was in the other airlines). In plus, coffee was free of charge in München, which was nice for someone who did not carry Deutsche Marks.
What happened since then?
Petrol costs went up by a gazillion percent. So "normal" airlines had to cut costs.
Low-frills airlines appeared. So "normal" airlines had to cut costs.
After September 11 people stopped (so they say) using planes. So "normal" airlines had to cut costs.
Whatever reason excuse happened. So "normal" airlines had to cut costs.
SAS had an excellent service, and coming from Helsinki it would be a good option. They stopped serving things for free. Oh well... at the same time, Lufthansa (remember, both from Star) cut down prices... maintaining--or as I noticed in-flight, improved--the level of service? Need I say what I did?
Funny thing... on SAS 60th. anniversary, I flew SAS from Bologna to Helsinki through Stockholm. At the gate in Bologna there was a full tray of local delicacies, including champagne. Nice! A party! Then in the plane... a measly small chocolate. Oh well...
In Stockholm it was business as usual. No party. Next flight, the same small chocolate. What the heck is the SAS marketing department thinking?
Are they EVEN thinking??? How costly would it be to offer a full meal to customers once every 10 years? In fact, I do think it would benefit them in terms of customer loyalty. SAS became a not-so-low-cost low-cost ariline.
Lycka till for them for the next 60 years. Just don't count on me.
How come then my "German friends" manage to offer such a good service at such low ticket prices? I know other companies have higher salaries, but their staff is so rude (a French airline). Maybe Lufthansa has the right catering and other partners. Maybe they are just more cost-efficient. Maybe it is both. Whatever they do, I thank them deeply. I am a loyal customer, who recommends them to just about everyone.
Note: Coffee is still free of charge in München.
posted by Andre' Serranho at
01:46
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