"Best Practices" in international air travel

July 24/29 - Traveling from Singapore to Seoul and back again.

Flying Singapore Airlines business class on long haul flights is a memorable experience, as I have written in previous postings. From check in-to landing, every detail is managed with such attentiveness and efficiency; one wishes the flight might last a bit longer. But I had never flown economy class and wondered what that experience would be like. On today’s medium distance from Singapore to Seoul, I had the opportunity to find out.

From years of post 9-11 international travel, I have habituated myself to 3 hour early airport arrivals, with additional cushions for untoward events built in. War ravaged Sri Lanka requiresthis, but so does the United States, where highways can be jammed, checkin lines long and (especially in the US) security check in lines even longer. This morning, I arrived early. Check in took ten minutes with no lines. The service was more modest than the spectacular level business class provides, but cheerful, conscious and efficient.

Whenever I check in at Changi airport or fly Singapore airlines, I wonder, with a bit of nostalgic sadness why American airlines and airports can’t be better. In my early years of international air travel, Pan American World Airways and the Pan Am Terminal at Kennedy Airport set widely admired standards to which others aspired. I wonder if executives of US Air and United Airlines - to target my worst offenders - ever travel incognito on their own carriers, experiencing the dispirited (sometimes bordering on hostile) checkin and cabin service that I have experienced. Do they investigate the best practices of carriers such as Singapore and Qatar, regularly ranked #1 and #2 by international travelers. Are they trying to set a standard of excellence and failing due to incompetence or lack of effort. Or is it that they simply don’t care.

PS. The gate check-in process at Inchon Airport (on my return flight) - was well below Singapore Airlines standards. It was so much below my usual experiences I asked if those in charge were Singapore Airlines employees. One said “yes” but the others were employed by their “partners.” Insofar as is possible, it seems to me that SAL should choose “partners” with care and, having chosen, should be attentive to the level of service they provide.

Introducing 'The Balaton Group.'

On Monday, I traveled via Maalev, Hungarian National Airlines to Budapest. The trip brought back good memories of how helpful Maalev staff members were on my last Hungarian trip, when I left my computer at airport security. How different from the indifferent treatment that is now provided by US ‘legacy’ airlines such as US Air and the carrier on which I flew to Europe, United. More about that later.

My ultimate destination was the Hotel Semmes, located in Balatonsemmes, a small resort village on the shores of Hungary’s iconic Lake Balaton. Hotel Semmes, a modest but comfortable Communist Era resort (not refurbished) is the site of this year’s meeting of The Balaton Group, the 28th.

Dennis Meadows, Donella Meadows, some other global modelers and a few others concerned with what is now known as ‘sustainable development’ founded the group in 1982. It was envisioned as a network of individuals, sharing a common vision and with professional backgrounds similar enough to facilitate communication. The group’s goal was simple: empower members through a culture of mutual support and intimate annual meetings in their endeavors to make human life on planet Earth more humane and sustainable.

I must off to dinner. More about the Balaton Group later. You can also find more in my blogs about the 2007 meeting.

Traveling via US Air - an experience to be avoided

Probably I should stop devoting space and energy to kvetching about bad airline customer service. But contrasts between the service I experienced last week on six Southwest Air segments and this morning, checking in with US Air, are so great that I cannot restrain myself. On Southwest the web reservations and on line check in systems worked flawlessly. Baggage check in lines were short, baggage checking was included in the price of the ticket. In four different cities, was were an abundance of cheerful, high energy customer service staff. Their commitment to making things work was obvious. From beginning to end, every encounter with Southwest made travel a positive experience.

One gropes for an appropriate metaphor to contrast my three days of Southwest Flying with this morning’s experience on US Air. Perhaps being suddenly plucked from Singapore’s International Airport and deposited at a New York Metropolitan Transit Station, deep in the South Bronx, at midnight, will capture the differences. The check in line at a single station was long. It grew longer as passengers struggled with a confusing online check in procedure while the staff member, an overwhelmed young woman offered only the most minimal assistance. I think she was doing her best. Was there anything positive? Only how passengers pitched in to help one another keep up their spirits and overcome adversity.

Sadly, Southwest Airlines does not yet fly from Washington National Airport. Service to East Coast destinations is limited. While it is certainly worth the long and expensive trip to Dulles or Baltimore Washington International, to escape the clutches of US Air and other ‘legacy’ airlines, sometimes that is not possible. The problem is not with front-line staff who, I believe, often struggle to do their best in difficult circumstances. The problem is bad management. One wonders if US Air senior managers have ever flown on Southwest Airlines.

One can only pray that US Air may soon go the way of Bear Sterns, Lehmann Brothers, Chrysler Corporation and General Motors, that the bonuses for failed senior managers will be modest and that there will be no government bailout. Is it too much to hope for that Southwest Airlines might take over the routes that US Air is now serving so badly?

PS: To be fair, I must note that once I boarded the plane, things improved. The plane was clean. The cabin crew were neatly dressed, pleasant and efficient. However they were not employed by US Air, but by Republic Airlines, under contract.

US Air employees - an opportunity to practice altruistic compassion

December 22.
For the past several months, I have been studying and attempting to follow practices outlined by His Holiness, the Dalai Llama in his book, How to Practice: Guide to a Meaningful Life. The message is simple, though the accompanying practice is rigorous and difficult to sustain.

Morality comes first. ‘Help others’ is the basic moral precept. ‘If that is not possible, refrain from doing harm.’ Morality provides a context in which concentrated meditation becomes possible. Concentrated meditation, practiced with discipline leads to ‘calm abiding of the mind,’ in which one is no longer ruled by afflictive emotions, especially anger. Empowered with a mind of calm abiding, through further disciplined practice, it is possible to attain wisdom. Fundamental to wisdom is a deep understanding of the ‘emptiness of inherent existence.’ Wisdom provides a context in which the ultimate goal, Enlightenment, can be attained. Enlightenment may not be attained in a single lifetime, however. It may require many lifetimes of disciplined practice.

I am still struggling with the first step, altruistic compassion towards others. Reading over my earlier posting, “Flying South with US Air....” was a reminder that my progress along the road to Enlightenment, so far, has been very limited. My message was filled with anger, primarily directed toward human beings who, like all human beings, want happiness and do not want suffering (the Dalai Llama’s words).

On my return trip, I vowed to do better. To say that altruistic compassion necessarily has the power to change life’s circumstances in the short-term would be naive. But the US Air employees with whom I dealt did seem much pleasanter, and even more efficient. My trip was far more enjoyable.