Yogesh D.’s Post

Nearly every week I deal with transportation issues. Of course I care that I get where I need to go on time, but when that isn't possible, I don't think the airlines, Amtrak or even Google & Apple Maps to lesser extents appreciate the degree of difference their #communications make. As a professional communicator, I would love to hear from professional communicators in the #transportation industry about why communication is so often poor or absent. I am sure I am missing something, but basic principles must still apply... right? 1. Timely & accurate information: If a flight is supposed to be departing at 9:30, but it's 9:25 and the inbound aircraft hasn't arrived, if the board says "On Time," everyone knows two things: a) that's nonsense, and b) the airline is making a choice, at some level, to not tell them what's going on. 2. Complete and honest information: If the train can only go 70 mph because it's extremely hot outside and the tracks have expanded, then a) provide that information, and b) provide a realistic timeline for arrivals and departures -- don't push the times back another 10 minutes every 10 minutes. 3. Either of the above is better than "We don't know," but "We don't know" > silence. There is no excuse for terrible passenger behavior, but why keep people hanging, increasing their anxiety, frustration, and -- if the situation persists long enough -- inevitable anger? People will still be upset by a long delay, but if they have some information, they feel more in control, they can consider their options, and they can make decisions for themselves -- and this is KEY. So, Amtrak, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, etc... Why?

I have no inside knowledge of Delta's current operational mayhem, but I have a pretty good idea... The loop of sadness: Solving crew problems in isolation can put an airline in an endless loop of searching for viable crew solutions, hitting a roadblock, canceling or delaying flights, repeat. Meanwhile, the problem list grows. Crews wait for their revised schedules and hotels. Customers wonder if they will ever get to their destination. If the problems are happening right now, the clock is ticking. Speeding up one step of the process doesn’t help unless all bottlenecks have been removed. Solve 1,000 canceled flights quickly, then manually type in the solutions to the crew tracking system? Crews on the clock time out. Start over—loop of sadness. Wait on hold to for a crew coming into the gate, only to miss the notification? Start over—loop of sadness. Rapidly handling large volumes of problems from start to finish is critical to operational disruption recovery. If an airline gets too far behind, they need many extra hands to catch up, or a large reset. Crew recovery is highly specialized, and usually an airline doesn't have an army of extra trained people to help them catch up. Trickling cancellations from getting too far behind only cause more problems to solve later. Hence, the loop of sadness. I've been stuck in the loop, and it breaks my heart to think of all the people affected. My heart goes out to all the Delta crew schedulers, crews, airport employees, and customers affected. Crew scheduling is the hardest job you've never heard of.

Nobody wants to become a regular at the local terminal bar. In just about every aspect of life, oversharing is typically a no-no. In the airline business, however, transparency around delays and cancellations and the reasons behind them can be hugely beneficial. It seems that no carrier is better at this than United Airlines and achingly so. There's nothing worse than being stuck at a terminal because of a flight delay or cancellation and joining the hoards of other passengers at the counter with the ticket agent. Worse of all, the ticket agent knows little about what's actually happening amid scrambling to rebook what could be hundreds of passengers. If you've taken United, you're probably familiar with the flurry of texts, emails and mobile alerts covering everything from departure time, gate changes, delays and cancellations, and even weather reports. On the surface, those messages are what every passenger needs from other carriers. Think about it. Uncertainty or simply having another obstacle thrown your way without explanation opens a Pandora's box of emotions ranging from anxiety and stress to frustration and anger. But as human nature will tell you, some find overcommunicating and the volume of messages itself can be stressful. Knowing too much vs knowing too little can sometimes be a no-win situation. Personally, overcommunicating is a welcome development when it comes to air travel especially for an industry that in the past hasn't really been good about it. Travel is already enough of a headache for passengers as they dodge long lines, cross fingers their baggage shows up where they're going, and deal with excessive fees. Even if the flight is delayed because the pilot is taking longer than expected in the bathroom, that's likely better than the uncertainty that comes with not knowing why you're trapped at the terminal https://lnkd.in/gTNAQ7Bu #airlines #unitedairlines #travel #culture #communications #transparency #vacation #passengers

Commercial aviation is a complex web of intricately related networks, most importantly the Crew network (People) and the fleet network (planes). When the machine breaks down, it can take days to reset. Delta is the latest in the hot seat, but many airlines have experienced prolonged disruptions in recent years. It's common for non-aviation friends to ask why it takes so long to put the pieces back together. The brilliant Claire Taitte provides some insight into the Crew side of operational recovery.

United Airlines is revolutionizing transparency in flight disruptions. Rather than vague notifications, they provide detailed explanations via texts, emails, and gate signs—even when the delay is their fault. Passengers appreciate updates like, “Your flight is departing late because we needed to finish cleaning your plane.” CEO Scott Kirby prioritizes this transparency, enhancing the travel experience. Businesses can learn from this approach: clear communication, empathy, real-time updates, and CEO involvement foster trust and loyalty. #TransparencyMatters #CustomerExperience #UnitedAirlines.

Hello all, Kindly ask you spend several minutes and read information about extremely unreliability of lufthansa. This information significantly saves your time and prevent stress. During last year I flighted via lufthansa more than 20 times. Every flight was with delay without reasons. I overspent in airports during the year more than 26 hours more than it was expected. Delays from 30 minutes till 3 hours as usual. Even for short flights. Many times, I seen situation when gate is empty and passengers waiting for airplane. One flight was first flight of the day (around 6 a.m.) and it was delayed as well for 40 minutes without reasons and compensations. This is company style. Instead of reliable work only bla-bla-show, promises and requirements for understanding. I can understand 2-3 delays during the year but every flight with delay this is total unreliability. Other companies flight without significant delays. 2 times during the year luggage was lost. No information about luggage no messages, nothing. I found luggage in airport after 2-3 days. If you want to spend your money for purchasing necessary things in every city where you flighted and if you want to spend a lot of time to find your luggage you can continue use this luftsomething which is not responsible for nothing. For last two weeks they two times delayed delivery of luggage. Flight was delayed as usual but they have no time to put suitcase to aircraft. At the same time attempts to reach them via call goes to nothing. They cannot provide information where luggage is.   Of course, this is only precaution but if you want to avoid unpleasant situations please take this information seriously. 

Interesting approach by United Airlines. They are trying to overshare when it comes to flight delays, even when it is caused by weather or the airline itself. I wonder if an approach like this would help quell some of the additional misunderstandings the attractions industry sees. In an age where everyone with a cell phone can create a news event because of a sensor doing its job, getting noticed for the right reasons can be challenging in the attention economy, especially when it comes to social media and local news.

My take on unforeseen technical snags in Business Aviation : Business Aviation’s Unique Passenger Handling In the aviation world, passenger handling starkly differentiates between BA and commercial airlines. The expectations, service levels, and operational dynamics differ markedly, especially when unforeseen issues like aircraft grounding or technical snags arise. When a business jet faces grounding or technical issues, the reaction from passengers can be significantly more intense. These clients often have tightly packed schedules and critical engagements that hinge on timely travel. The notion that an unexpected snag is beyond the operator’s control is frequently met with frustration and disbelief. BA clients expect immediate solutions, which could include arranging another aircraft promptly or offering alternative transport options. Moreover, service recovery in BA is critical. The stakes are high, and the cost of losing a client due to such unforeseen events can be substantial. Operators or brokers usually go above and beyond to ensure that their clients are satisfied, offering personalised apologies, additional services, or future travel credits to maintain strong client relations. Educating charter clients, especially those of helicopters, about the inevitability of technical snags and the reasons they are sometimes beyond our control is crucial for maintaining a healthy equation with them. Through proactive communication, the BA industry must foster a better understanding of the complexities involved in operating aircraft/helicopters. By doing so, we may be able to turn potential frustration into opportunities for building stronger, more informed client relationships. #businessaviation #customerexperience #aviationmanagement #crisismanagement #clientrealtions #luxurytravel #aviationsafety #flightoperations #servicerecovery #travelsolutions #aviationindustry

Anyone else notice a significant decline of quality at Southwest Airlines? The last 4 flights in a row in my family have resulted in issues not due to weather resulting in significant delays. Crew issues, plane issues, and just general decline in quality of service at the gate and in flight (awful lot of apathy at the gate and awful lot of "it's going to be a bumpy flight so we won't be able to provide a service...spoiler the flights generally haven't been bumpy). I don't fly as much as I have in the past but I remember a time when I had to start flying SWA instead of American due to a change in job. My initial reaction was "oh no this is going to suck" because I had good status with American. My experience was pleasantly surprising at the time to the point that I almost exclusively fly SWA when I go somewhere and they are an option. To be fair, coming out of STL our other options are usually not awesome so SWA gets a ton of business by default (and I don't blame SWA for the generally horrible T2 experience that's a City of STL mismanagement issue). I just feel like the last 12-18 months they have really struggled to provide the quality of service I once enjoyed. I still feel like the employees at SWA are good folks for the most part...during a recent very confusing and unnecessary 2 hour delay I had a great conversation with a pilot who used his own cell phone to call operations trying to find his crew and then updated the folks in the seating area as the gate agent seemed perfectly content to only update folks who walked through the masses up to the podium to ask. I won't even get into their early boarding policy and the lack of enforcement of the "1 companion" rule or the miracle flights (6 wheelchairs on and maybe 1 on the way off) which could be resolved with assigned seating. At any rate I'm curious what others are seeing...feel free to tell me I am just getting old and curmudgeonly.