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Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Google宣布开发Chrome操作系统 正面对抗微软
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Airlines post rare improvement in customer survey
Airlines post rare improvement in customer survey
By JOSHUA FREED | AP Airlines Writer • Published May 18, 2009
MINNEAPOLIS – Airlines are doing a better job of taking care of the passengers they still have, according to a new study.
Passenger satisfaction with airline service rose 3.2 percent earlier this year, the first increase in six years, according to a University of Michigan study to be released Tuesday.
The increase came as the number of passengers dropped and airlines reduced flying. Also passengers checked fewer bags as luggage fees became more common, making it easier for airlines to keep track of the bags that remained. Enplanements on U.S. routes dropped 1.5 percent in 2008, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
And if fewer passengers are the reason for the improved satisfaction score, imagine how happy they'll be this year, when the FAA expects domestic boardings to fall 8.8 percent.
Southwest Airlines Co. had the highest score, 81 on a zero-to-100 scale. After that it was Continental Airlines Inc. at 68, Delta Air Lines Inc. at 64, AMR Corp.'s American Airlines at 60, US Airways Group Inc. at 59, Northwest Airlines at 57, and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines at 56.
The overall satisfaction improvement at airlines masked some big jumps at individual carriers, according to the university's American Customer Satisfaction Index.
The most improved were Continental Airlines Inc., up 9.7 percent, and US Airways Group Inc., up 9.3 percent. Customer satisfaction at US Airways was on the rebound after a big drop in 2007, when it had the worst on-time showing among big carriers. For 2008, US Airways was first among big carriers for on-time arrivals.
Continental also regained lost ground after a drop the previous year. Delta Air Lines Inc.'s score rose 6.7 percent.
American Airlines' score fell 3.2 percent, though it was still in the middle of the airline pack.
American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said the airline's internal customer satisfaction measurements show big improvements from a year ago. He said American has "customer experience teams" at its airports that look for ways to improve customer service, and that last week American paid out some $14 million in employee rewards for meeting customer service and operational goals.
United's score was unchanged from last year, when it was also in last place.
"We need to focus on the basics of running a good airline, and that means one that runs on-time with clean planes. When our flights are on-time and our planes are clean, we can deliver great service to our customers," United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said.
Claes Fornell, a University of Michigan business professor and director of the research center that compiled the customer satisfaction data on airlines and other industries, said traffic dropoff appears to have as much to do with the airline improvement as any action taken by the airlines.
"Nobody's making any money," he said. "It's very difficult in that environment to provide good customer service."
The study noted that even though airlines showed some improvement, their average score of 64 was good enough for a tie with newspapers but lower than most other industries measured, including utilities (74) the Postal Service (82), express delivery companies (82), movies (70), and cellular phone service (69).
The phone survey of about 25,000 people during the first quarter of this year had them rate their satisfaction with companies in a variety of industries, including airlines. The index was created based on responses to questions about overall satisfaction, intention to be a repeat customer and perception of quality, value and expectations.
Airlines' Consumer Ratings Rise In U. Mich. Quarterly Survey
CHICAGO -(Dow Jones)- Airline passenger satisfaction rose 3% in the first quarter, as measured by the American Customer Satisfaction Index at the University of Michigan.
That was the first time since 2003 that public opinion on airlines has improved from the previous quarter. According to the survey, airline customer satisfaction has been on a downward slide since 1994, with few interruptions.
"It's good news that airlines have improved," said Claes Fornell, who founded the index in that year. But, he said, "I don't think it's sustainable." This year, the recession has cut into passenger traffic, which means lines at airports are shorter and planes have a better chance of arriving on time. Economic recovery is likely to bring a return to cramped conditions on planes and at airports, along with lower ACSI scores, Fornell said.
In the recent survey, the airlines maintained long-held relative postions, with Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) recieving top marks, and United Airlines, a unit of UAL Corp. (UAUA), coming in last. Southwest, the leading low-cost airline, gained ground with consumers this year, up 3%, for an all-time industry high score of 81, while United's score was unchanged at 56. Southwest scored well for its on-time performance, luggage handling, and for low fares.
While the airline industry ranks low overall in the public's mind, "81 would be a good score for any business," Fornell said. On the other hand, "companies that score in the fifties usually don't survive in other industries."
Carriers that showed the most improvement in the quarter included Continental Airlines Inc. (CAL), up 10% to 68, and US Airways Group, Inc. (LCC), up 9% at 59. Delta Air Lines Inc.'s (DAL) score rose 7% to 64.American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp. (AMR), was the only airline that lost ground. Consumers gave the carrier a rating of 60, a 3% drop from the previous quarter.
-By Ann Keeton, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4120; ann.keeton@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires 05-19-09 0016ET Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
University of Michigan airline customer survey
The University of Michigan surveyed airline customers earlier this year to gauge their satisfaction, and scored the airlines on a zero-to-100 scale.
Airline, score, percent change from 2007
Southwest Airlines, 81, 2.5 percent
Continental Airlines, 68, 9.7 percent
Delta Air Lines, 64, 6.7 percent
American Airlines, 60, -3.2 percent
US Airways, 59, 9.3 percent
Northwest Airlines, 57, unchanged
United Airlines, 56, unchanged
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
AIRLINES ARE NOT SAFE ANY MORE-- PROVEN BY CONTINENTAL FLIGHT 3407
AIRLINES ARE NOT SAFE ANY MORE-- PROVEN BY CONTINENTAL FLIGHT 3407
In yet another example of how effective our politicians really are at keeping us safe from STUPID corporate greed... they are investigating the Feb 12th crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407, which was the worst crash in 7 years.
Can you picture these 2 pilots? Marvin Renslow and Rebecca Shaw basically murdered everyone involved in the crash, in my opinion. They merrily chitchat about careers and their inexperience, and ignore the ice building up on their windshield... then they ignored the safety proceedures for correcting a stall...
If you ask me, the families of all involved should sue Continental right into oblivion!!! Why is continental at fault? One of the pilots failed several training tests before and after being hired!!!!! (WAIT a second... he was hired on condition of passing? WTF, he's going to be a PILOT for X's sake!) He finally passed and had only 3 months of experience at the time of the crash! Both pilots also had to "commute" across country to get to the airport they were piloting out of... talk about jet lag! All of the CEO's of the airline industry are STUPID for even allowing these conditions to exist. And if you think it's just Continental...
DEAR CONGRESS: IF PILOTS DON'T PASS ANY OF THEIR TESTS THE FIRST TIME, THEY SHOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED TO PILOT! PERIOD!!!!!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
《金刚狼》
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
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Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Fwd: Asian tigers
Tuesday April 7th 2009
Asian tigers
- Posted by:
- Economist.com | LONDON
Lining up behind the Hong Kong carrier were, in order, Singapore Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Qantas, Etihad Airways, Air New Zealand, Malaysia Airlines and Thai Airways. Interestingly/strangely enough, the exact same airlines made up last year's top ten, albeit in a slightly different order.
Other award-winners included Qatar Airways (best economy class) Etihad Airways (best business class), Singapore Airlines (best first class), Malaysia Airlines (best cabin staff—the recruitment process that Gulliverdiscussed recently is clearly working well) and Emirates (best inflight entertainment). We have to look to Virgin Atlantic's success in the categories for best premium economy class and best business-class lounge to find success for a European or American carrier.
The operating environment for, say, American airlines (unionised workforces, lack of government subsidies, older planes, etc) is vastly different from that for Asian airlines, and this helps explain why they don't appear atop surveys such as Skytrax's. But most passengers will be less concerned with why service standards are lower, than with the mere fact that they are. See the comments on this post for examples.
American carriers are keen to keep foreign airlines out of their domestic market. Surveys such as this help explain why.
(Photo credit: AFP)
ShareComments
alastairbjs wrote:
The American "experience", be this airlines, transit or customs, is an excellent reason for flying via Asia to Europe from Down Under...
zaxxx wrote:
>There is not one US based airline that received government subsidies or is owned by the state, in whole or part.
Every US airline received massive direct subsidy in the form of aid and government-backed loans post-9/11 and massive indirect subsidies through repeated bankruptcy protection. And if you ever saw what government employees and military personnel pay for travel, you'd be astonished.
atharvana wrote:
American airlines treat passengers as dirt. They are arrogant and do not understand that the passengers help put bread on their table. It has been like this for over three decades. The government should let them fail if it comes to that and not bail them out as it is doing with the auto and finance industry.
FlyingForFun wrote:
The appalling service on American carriers is a shame. I would never travel on an American airline when going overseas. Have taken Emirates several times and the service, planes, flight experience is wonderful. Its a shame the U.S. govt will not allow foreign (Asian/Gulf) airlines to fly domestically...what an experience that would be...you would actually get your moneys worth....
hommer_simpson wrote:
American and European airlines have had years of state subsidy, monopolies to hone in their skill and two of the worlds leading aircraft manufacturers (Boing and Airbus) to help them get a leg up, yet all they have done is to find a way to make money without satisfying the customer.
These Asian airlines are run by business school grads who focous on their product and customer, and as such have a different mentality. Customer satisfaction is something to be proud of in Asian airlines, while in NA / Europe its just one of those anoying things. If only the NA / European airlines could find a way to make money without having customers, then they would do great.
jamesyar wrote:
Have to say that of the European carriers, I had the best experience with KLF or BA (but I think I was lucky as they can be wildly inconsistent.)
Compared to Cathay and Singapore though, there were so far behind in every conceivable way.
pierre wrote:
Mike in warsaw states that US and European airlines are state owned or subsadized. This is certainly true for European airlines, but nor for US airlines. There is not one US based airline that received government subsidies or is owned by the state, in whole or part.
I do agree that the service aboard US based carriers is mediocre but will place them with the best overall for safety, and on time performance, and connections.
mikeinwarsaw wrote:
American and European airlines are dominated by State owned/subsidised companies operating in near monopolies with all the downside effect of personnel who are State employees whereby the customer is the least important element of the business. Try flying on Air France (arrogant and rude), Lufthansa (very efficient but "you will obey"), BA (bl...y aw..l), or any East European airline with an attitude carry over from communist times. As to Alitalia:The less said the better! And the USA ones are even worse...
TS2912 wrote:
I used to fly regularly between Singapore and San Francisco and quickly chose Singapore Airlines over United Airlines despite the lower fare offered by the latter. The difference in attitude was evident at every step.
VladTzepu wrote:
Why there is a certain thing that a unionized workforce brings costs up?
Sunday, April 5, 2009
2009年4月1日 Gmail5岁生日
Gmail turns 5
Thursday, April 02, 2009 6:13 PM
Five years ago yesterday, Gmail starting giving people a gig. What started as an internal tool for Google employees is now used by tens of millions of people around the world in 52 languages.
In honor of the occasion, you may have noticed a little cake on the Gmail homepage today.
We wanted to put it there yesterday, but given that Gmail launched on April Fool's day 2004 and has a history of joking around on April 1st since then, we did something else instead.
In all seriousness, we want to give a big thank you to all of you who use Gmail every day, to those who've been around since the beginning, to those who were using an AJAX app before the term AJAX was popular, to those who started chatting right in your email and then video chatting a couple years later, to those who changed your theme on day one, and to those who have turned on some of the 43 experimental Gmail Labs features (and put up with the occasional bugs they introduce)...we couldn't have gotten here without you. Thanks.