The Lipstick Is Gone – Part Deux - A Call to Action
Mar 25, 2005, 2:56 pm
#1
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The Lipstick Is Gone – Part Deux - A Call to Action
Most who post here have grown tired of the continued US operational issues. Many of us believe that Al Crellin, Vice President of Operation is the one person who is and should be held accountable for this continued lack of operational acumen. After all, the President of Comair resigned in short order after the operational melt down of that Delta subsidiary.
To date this management team has taken a different tack. They have continued to blame the employees, even in the face of a DOT report that squarely places the blame of the Christmas meltdown at the address of 2345 Crystal Drive. It is apparent to me that there is no operational plan to turn US around, short of becoming another big brown bus (or tidy bowl blue)
I therefore once again call on the dismissal of Al Crellin. The lipstick is gone and he is the one responsible. If you would like to support me in this quest I ask that you send to the following individuals a tube of lipstick. Any shade will do. If you would like, you can point them to this thread or to this one…….
( http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=414255 )
You may want to mention the lack of functional kiosk and severely under staffing key functions at the airports, poor planning of airport operations in PHL, outsourcing of reservations and baggage claim to a third country that once again will only fail and cost US either hard dollars or future revenue, baggage issues through out the systems, wasting millions on the FLL decision and pulling out two months later, closing of the clubs, lack of preferred check in lines, filthy equipment and gate areas, irrational fares, better use of equipment and employees, lack of catering, i.e flight attendants going to the clubs to get ice for their flights, an award winning web site that works sometimes, the thousands being spent everyday on baggage delivery, or add your own
Should you desire to remain anonymous just send the tube anyway.
I sincerely hope you will join me in this call to action.
Dr. David G. Bronner.
Chairman
US Airways Group
Bruce R. Lakefield
President and CEO
N. Bruce Ashby
Executive Vice President - Marketing and Planning
Christopher L. Chiames
Senior Vice President - Corporate Affairs
Donna Paladini
VP, Customer Service
Address:
2345 Crystal Drive
Arlington, VA 22224
Telephone:
703-872-7000 (Main Switchboard)
Or to the following members of the Board of Directors
Thomas R. Harter
Director
Robert L. Johnson
Director
Cheryl G. Krongard
Director
Joseph J. Mantineo
Director
John A. McKenna, Jr.
Director
Hans Mirka
Director
George M. Philip
Director
James M. Simon
Director
William T. Stephens
Director
Can’t find individual addresses for these esteemed folks so send them to
Address:
Board of Directors
US Airways Group
2345 Crystal Drive
Arlington, VA 22224
Let’s make sure that our voices continue to be heard. Send them a tube today.
To date this management team has taken a different tack. They have continued to blame the employees, even in the face of a DOT report that squarely places the blame of the Christmas meltdown at the address of 2345 Crystal Drive. It is apparent to me that there is no operational plan to turn US around, short of becoming another big brown bus (or tidy bowl blue)
I therefore once again call on the dismissal of Al Crellin. The lipstick is gone and he is the one responsible. If you would like to support me in this quest I ask that you send to the following individuals a tube of lipstick. Any shade will do. If you would like, you can point them to this thread or to this one…….
( http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=414255 )
You may want to mention the lack of functional kiosk and severely under staffing key functions at the airports, poor planning of airport operations in PHL, outsourcing of reservations and baggage claim to a third country that once again will only fail and cost US either hard dollars or future revenue, baggage issues through out the systems, wasting millions on the FLL decision and pulling out two months later, closing of the clubs, lack of preferred check in lines, filthy equipment and gate areas, irrational fares, better use of equipment and employees, lack of catering, i.e flight attendants going to the clubs to get ice for their flights, an award winning web site that works sometimes, the thousands being spent everyday on baggage delivery, or add your own
Should you desire to remain anonymous just send the tube anyway.
I sincerely hope you will join me in this call to action.
Dr. David G. Bronner.
Chairman
US Airways Group
Bruce R. Lakefield
President and CEO
N. Bruce Ashby
Executive Vice President - Marketing and Planning
Christopher L. Chiames
Senior Vice President - Corporate Affairs
Donna Paladini
VP, Customer Service
Address:
2345 Crystal Drive
Arlington, VA 22224
Telephone:
703-872-7000 (Main Switchboard)
Or to the following members of the Board of Directors
Thomas R. Harter
Director
Robert L. Johnson
Director
Cheryl G. Krongard
Director
Joseph J. Mantineo
Director
John A. McKenna, Jr.
Director
Hans Mirka
Director
George M. Philip
Director
James M. Simon
Director
William T. Stephens
Director
Can’t find individual addresses for these esteemed folks so send them to
Address:
Board of Directors
US Airways Group
2345 Crystal Drive
Arlington, VA 22224
Let’s make sure that our voices continue to be heard. Send them a tube today.
Mar 25, 2005, 3:11 pm
#2
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Greenfield, NH
Programs: US Airways Chairman's Preferred, NWA Gold, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,199
I'll be swinging by Wal-Mart this weekend... hopefully nobody I know will see me checking out the makeup section 
Mar 25, 2005, 3:19 pm
#3
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Location: London
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Posts: 8,278
If people actually sign on to this so it's a mass mailing rather than a few random tubes of lip stick - I'm in. If you are supporting this (and I encourage it) please post.
This airline has become an embarassment of epic scope. If it wasn't for my inability to align with any other carrier due to travel patterns, my loyalty to US would be out the window - likely for UA - and my substantially increased 2005 revenue would be with it.
This airline has become an embarassment of epic scope. If it wasn't for my inability to align with any other carrier due to travel patterns, my loyalty to US would be out the window - likely for UA - and my substantially increased 2005 revenue would be with it.
Mar 25, 2005, 3:45 pm
#4
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Athens, WV, USA; a US cockroach long before it was in FFOCUS; now a lowly US5 for only the 2nd time in 20 years.
Programs: US5
Posts: 3,050
Originally Posted by TomBascom
I'll be swinging by Wal-Mart this weekend... hopefully nobody I know will see me checking out the makeup section
Mar 25, 2005, 6:16 pm
#5
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: YYJ
Posts: 4,139
Originally Posted by jimcfsus
Be a real Roach... go to Big Lots, Family Dollar or Dollar General. The cheaper the shade the better.
Mar 25, 2005, 7:50 pm
#6
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Philadelphia, PA USA
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Posts: 302
Al Crellin?
Al Crellin?
Do we finally now have our Boogieman?
Once we send this cretin to the gulag will all be well at US or will more sacrificial lambs be needed? Before I join the mob (love a good mindless riot) I am just wondering, why does this one displease us more than say, David or Bruce? Is he in charge of kiosk maintenance? BTW, what is the total number of working kiosks verses those not functional? How does this total compare to the industry? Is he also in charge of staffing? BTW, what is the correct staffing level we are asking for (demanding)? We should list these numbers by airport and position, broken down by shift of course. I too am not a fan of outsourcing so yeah, off with his head but when we are done here are we going after every other US company that does the same such as IBM, GE, DELL, Merck, etc. or are we just staying with Airlines that do the same such as United, NW, Delta, and (gasp) JetBlue? BTW, all those who love keeping jobs in the US I suggest you look at the labels of each piece of clothing you own as well as the electronics you use. (if you really, really care here is a place to start: www.buyamerican.com). Of course may we add to our list of grievances that US uses Airbus planes? How about from now on we book only those flights that use Boeing aircraft? This is just a suggestion for your kind consideration. Could not agree with you more about the baggage issues but is the issue that our target has not correctly motivated the baggage crew at say PHL? Surely we do not want him to personally load and unload planes, or do we? I too never understood the FLL plan and am surprised that Al Crellin ramroded this plan though the US organization over the objections of all others. This is a fact that I did not know and now knowing I am red with rage at Al Crellin. I even heard of rumor that US had a comprehensive plan to ensure that all planes had the correct amount of ice cubes (7 per passenger if I remember correctly) but that the plan was rejected by...yes, wait for it....Al Crellin! If all this was not bad enough, what really broke the camel's back for me was that when I looked at the source code of the US web site I was shocked, shocked to see that none other than Al Crellin inserted a line of code disabling the BACK function! Could not believe it myself but there is was.
OK now that we are in agreement that this Al Crellin (if that is his real name) must go, what's next? I for one can not wait for a letter writing campaign (would not be surprised if you know who had a evil brother working at the postal service).
I suggest we put up a web site, www.AL-Must-GO.com and to make sure we have the maximum impact - we should put out a press release. Or am I just reaching for the stars here and biting off more than we can chew?
Do we finally now have our Boogieman?
Once we send this cretin to the gulag will all be well at US or will more sacrificial lambs be needed? Before I join the mob (love a good mindless riot) I am just wondering, why does this one displease us more than say, David or Bruce? Is he in charge of kiosk maintenance? BTW, what is the total number of working kiosks verses those not functional? How does this total compare to the industry? Is he also in charge of staffing? BTW, what is the correct staffing level we are asking for (demanding)? We should list these numbers by airport and position, broken down by shift of course. I too am not a fan of outsourcing so yeah, off with his head but when we are done here are we going after every other US company that does the same such as IBM, GE, DELL, Merck, etc. or are we just staying with Airlines that do the same such as United, NW, Delta, and (gasp) JetBlue? BTW, all those who love keeping jobs in the US I suggest you look at the labels of each piece of clothing you own as well as the electronics you use. (if you really, really care here is a place to start: www.buyamerican.com). Of course may we add to our list of grievances that US uses Airbus planes? How about from now on we book only those flights that use Boeing aircraft? This is just a suggestion for your kind consideration. Could not agree with you more about the baggage issues but is the issue that our target has not correctly motivated the baggage crew at say PHL? Surely we do not want him to personally load and unload planes, or do we? I too never understood the FLL plan and am surprised that Al Crellin ramroded this plan though the US organization over the objections of all others. This is a fact that I did not know and now knowing I am red with rage at Al Crellin. I even heard of rumor that US had a comprehensive plan to ensure that all planes had the correct amount of ice cubes (7 per passenger if I remember correctly) but that the plan was rejected by...yes, wait for it....Al Crellin! If all this was not bad enough, what really broke the camel's back for me was that when I looked at the source code of the US web site I was shocked, shocked to see that none other than Al Crellin inserted a line of code disabling the BACK function! Could not believe it myself but there is was.
OK now that we are in agreement that this Al Crellin (if that is his real name) must go, what's next? I for one can not wait for a letter writing campaign (would not be surprised if you know who had a evil brother working at the postal service).
I suggest we put up a web site, www.AL-Must-GO.com and to make sure we have the maximum impact - we should put out a press release. Or am I just reaching for the stars here and biting off more than we can chew?
Mar 25, 2005, 8:26 pm
#8
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: CT (NYC Suburbs), Gulf Stream, FL
Programs: United Premier 1K, American AAdvantage Gold
Posts: 3,089
Crellin, "Shmellin", while many of the bumps in the road over at US appear to come from his area, the truth is that in terms of their senior staff, it's somewhere between incompetent, and what they can attract, given their prospects as a dysfunctional carrier, in bankruptcy.With Clubs closing, no preboards for premium passengers, no inflight service, awful baggage handling, etc., the list is overwhelming. Personally, I've had a snootful. My last 25,000 miles have been on NW and AS
Mar 25, 2005, 9:26 pm
#9
Moderator: Coupon Connection & S.P.A.M
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Location: Louisville, KY
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Posts: 57,955
Originally Posted by TomBascom
I'll be swinging by Wal-Mart this weekend... hopefully nobody I know will see me checking out the makeup section
C'mon, be a part of the solution! Go anywhere else.
Mar 25, 2005, 10:00 pm
#10
Join Date: May 2003
Location: RDU
Programs: TSA/INS/FBI Platinum (stopped last 12 of 13 int'l returns - the computer broke once)
Posts: 2,639
I'm willing to try somewhere else and spend more just to not go to WalMart.
I've not been flying US recently, though I was going to give them a shot until schedule changed at the last minute and I'm not able to go on the trip anymore. With the price of tickets going up recently, I'd been cutting back my travel budget anyway.
I've not been flying US recently, though I was going to give them a shot until schedule changed at the last minute and I'm not able to go on the trip anymore. With the price of tickets going up recently, I'd been cutting back my travel budget anyway.
Mar 25, 2005, 10:39 pm
#11
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: mystic island, nj, USA
Posts: 2,377
Originally Posted by Spiff
Ewww.. Wal-Mart.
C'mon, be a part of the solution! Go anywhere else.
C'mon, be a part of the solution! Go anywhere else.
Well Spiff when you consider that the new hires will be earning Wal-Mart level wages at US then buying the lipstick there seems to make some sense
As For Philly2D comments regarding Al Crellin being the "Boogieman" I offer you this.
Al Crellin's title is Senior Vice President of Operations
Bruce Lakefield stated that over Christmas US Airway suffered "An operational meltdown"
If Organized labor is to be faulted for its part then senior management of the Operation bears at minimum a similar, perhaps even greater burden of accountability for the co called Christmas Meltdowm
One could further argue that the burden of accountability rests squarely in the hands of Al Crellin based solely on the DOT Report which delivered a scathing indictment of US Airways Operations. Hourly employees work only as well as those who supervise and lead them. When leadership is through fear and intimidation then you will see an hourly workforce perform much in the manner of the PHL operation during Christmas Holidays.
Given the above coupled with the DOT Report as supporting documentation who exactly would you suggest be held accountable? Santa Claus, The tooth fairy or perhaps Bug Bunny?? The evidence points to ONE person. To paraphrase Johnny Cochran
If Al Crellin is a twit then he should quit
Last edited by PineyBob; Mar 26, 2005 at 7:16 am
Mar 25, 2005, 11:08 pm
#12
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 4,531
Since November 2004:
AA: 421.30
NWA: 1548.52** (2 full-fare tickets!!!)
Airtran (GASP!) $117.00
Continental: $2147.90 (Paid F to Europe)
Sum: $4234.72 in lost revenue for US. All of the above flights had DIRECT service to my destinations available on US, yet I chose another carrier.
It seems to me there are too many pigs sleeping under blankets in CCY.
AA: 421.30
NWA: 1548.52** (2 full-fare tickets!!!)
Airtran (GASP!) $117.00
Continental: $2147.90 (Paid F to Europe)
Sum: $4234.72 in lost revenue for US. All of the above flights had DIRECT service to my destinations available on US, yet I chose another carrier.
It seems to me there are too many pigs sleeping under blankets in CCY.
Mar 26, 2005, 12:33 am
#13
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: mystic island, nj, USA
Posts: 2,377
Originally Posted by PHLbuddy
Since November 2004:
AA: 421.30
NWA: 1548.52** (2 full-fare tickets!!!)
Airtran (GASP!) $117.00
Continental: $2147.90 (Paid F to Europe)
Sum: $4234.72 in lost revenue for US. All of the above flights had DIRECT service to my destinations available on US, yet I chose another carrier.
It seems to me there are too many pigs sleeping under blankets in CCY.
AA: 421.30
NWA: 1548.52** (2 full-fare tickets!!!)
Airtran (GASP!) $117.00
Continental: $2147.90 (Paid F to Europe)
Sum: $4234.72 in lost revenue for US. All of the above flights had DIRECT service to my destinations available on US, yet I chose another carrier.
It seems to me there are too many pigs sleeping under blankets in CCY.
Same goes for everyone. When you select another carrier let the rocket scientists at CCY know and be vocal as to why.
Mar 26, 2005, 5:02 am
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: MUC/LAX/SMV
Programs: LH, UA, BD, AA, NW, FB, NH, AC, Sixt, Hertz, Avis, *W, HH, Marriott, PC, Leaders Club, AMEX
Posts: 12,406
You might want to point the attention of Scott McCartney from the WSJ to your campaign. Scott is quite influental in this industry, as he's writing the Journal's airline column. (I guess he has probably already found this thread anyway, because a few weeks ago, his column referred to one of my FT threads about US.)
Anyway, you can email him at [email protected].
Anyway, you can email him at [email protected].
Mar 26, 2005, 5:38 am
#15
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA
Programs: UA 2P, AA LT Gold, Marriott LT Titanium
Posts: 3,159
Originally Posted by PineyBob
Well Spiff when you consider that the new hires will be earning Wal-Mart level wages at US then buying the lipstick there seems to make some sense[/B]
I have to say I am getting depressed reading all these negative threads. Other than baggage handling and the long queues for take off in PHL I have had pretty good service - then again I have a long 6 weeks with no flying between my Mar 4 return from FLL until I take the family to RDU on April 15th.
I guess I have seen my share of dirty airplanes and yeah the meals in F suck if you can call them meals. But at the end of 2004 when US was dragging their heels announcing the CP carryover I flew two RT's on UA and things weren't too swift over there either - hated the RJ terminal at IAD and took a 4 hour delay because they didn't have crew for my RJ. Got a letter of apology from them though - never saw that from US.
Flying out of PHL and ABE my options are so limited - plus US and UA are the "preferred carriers" for my company - guess I could defect to UA but they won't match my status since they are *A also.
What to do - I hate to give up the status and 100% CP bonus - UA is in Chapter 11 also - I have been praying for a UA-US merger but doubt that will happen. Looks like US will be owned by the commuter airlines - kind of like the Baby Bells buying AT&T, the phone companies version of a legacy carrier...