I thought this was a joke when I first read it. American Airlines has told flight attendants not to provide "above and beyond service" to Coach passengers.
https://viewfromthewing.com/american-airlines-reminds-flight-attendants-not-to-provide-better-service-to-coach-passengers/
I get there will be better service and amenities for higher class fares, but to go out of your way to tell employees not to be exceptional is mind boggling.
Well, considering the total inaccuracies in this article about Delta, I would not trust anything this particular writer has written. No prior to the pandemic passengers and economy on Delta did not get welcoming cocktails etc. This thing is just a piece of junk.
“Delta actually made that a standard for their international coach product along with a welcome cocktail, hot towels, and mixing and matching choice of appetizer and entrees with dessert served as a separate course.”
This entire paragraph is wrong completely wrong. This is the service that Delta gives in premium economy and business class. It was never a service standard for coach. They haven’t returned to it because it was never the standard.
So obviously, accuracy is not this author’s Strong point
Anyone has ever ridden in first/business class knows there is a world of difference between how you are treated there versus coach class, and it has been like that for as long as I can remember.
"If there is anything we can do to make your flight more enjoyable, please keep it to yourself." :-)
Sadly it's not just AA, it was just dumb enough to say it out loud. Here's an article on an incident on Air Canada last week. In summary, a man with spastic cerebral palsy and requires a wheelchair had to drag himself off the plane because the wheelchair assistance never arrived.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/air-canada-wheelchair-1.7010937
Rodney lifted himself down to the floor and used his arms to drag
himself from row 12 to the front of the plane, while in excruciating
pain. Deanna crawled in the aisle behind him to help. An Air Canada
flight crew, including the pilot, co-pilot, two flight attendants and
eight cleaning staff watched, but didn't intervene.
That part about the aircrew not helping is beyond words. Don't be exceptional, heck, don't even be adequate.
Carol: Actually Delta did roll out these items, the welcome cocktail and the hot towel for coach, in the months leading up to Covid, from about Nov 2019 to mid-March 2020. I had a flight booked March 2020 and I was looking forward to this (flight canceled).
https://videos.files.wordpress.com/RGe3O7wH/mf_u5a26702_qv028m3v_h264_19491894k_dvd.mp4
The special cutlery is the only thing that is being done from this video as of summer 2023.
I sound naive but I have had good coach service with Delta. For example just had a 3-1/2 hour round trip to Sacramento and we had 2 full drink services each way with double snacks, then 2 coffee/water services in between. And there are the movie screens on all Delta flights (not RJs though). Honestly any additional interruptions for service would have been intrusive and unwanted.
Had similar good service on a round trip to Anchorage (6 hours) also in coach. Delta seems to be doing a lot to provide quality service in coach, at least on the longer domestic flights. Other than the cramped legroom, can I say that I am pleased?
Inadequacy cuts across all airlines - here's a story about flying Westjet with disabilities
The Gilliards filed a complaint with WestJet and wrote to the CEO of Vancouver International Airport, but received no response. WestJet said because the couple did not save their boarding confirmation number, they could not provide more information about the case.
As usual with headlines, they don't accurately describe the text. The headline incorrectly reads:
American Airlines Reminds Flight Attendants Not To Provide Better Service To Coach Passengers
But the first paragraph says something different.
American Airlines has sent a reminder to flight attendants not to go above and beyond for passengers in economy, as first revealed by aviation watchdog JonNYC. Who is JonNYC anyhow?
The airline told cabin crew that they shouldn’t give economy passengers blankets, pillows, or treats from business class.**
The key statement is taking things out of business class. Obviously, some attendants have done that and some business class fliers who noticed economy had something they should have as part of business class complained. I would agree. Those seats are not cheap and if I'm in Business Class and Business Class amenities have been shorted and used in economy, I wouldn't be happy to hear, "I am sorry we don't have anymore" and find out they were used in economy.
I don't believe management said in writing not to treat economy passengers well.
Sounds like JonNYC is one of those watchdogs who just like to bark and this writer is looking for readership on a misrepresented headline.
Carol, for a brief time, Delta did offer a 'welcome drink' to passengers in Coach at one point. We flew MSP_AMS in February 2020 right before the world shut down and received this service. We had welcome drinks, hot towels and printed menus. We were seated in C+, but all Main cabin passengers received the same service. It was really kind of nice and the FAs didn't seem rushed. Service went smoothly and I rather enjoyed it. Sadly, they didn't bring this back after Covid.
So I just read this Delta statement to my friend, the Delta flight attendant. Here is her response
“ if you got this on a Delta flight in coach the flight attendants really were generous. You get the food on one tray, it’s always been on one tray and we don’t do welcome drinks. We do go down the aisle shortly after takeoff and offer a drink but that is not the same thing as a welcome drink, a welcome drink is given while we are sitting at the gate and boarding. If we extended that service to coach, we would never be able to get the plane boarded.”
Another example of AA doing only the minimum. The kids survived and eventually got to their destination
Carol: Christy actually received it, but the welcome drinks in the video are pre-poured with 1 choice only. It’s not clear if they were distributed before takeoff or right after. But it’s not a lot of work. Similar to passing out ear buds which I believe happens before leaving the gate.
Here's a FlyerTalk article from July 2019 that discusses the enhanced economy service on international flights. Covid, of course, made sure this enhanced service didn't last long. I did receive this service on flights in September of 2019.
https://www.flyertalk.com/articles/delta-brings-back-the-class-in-economy-class.html
In response to the OP. I've read the article multiple times, and have yet to find any mention of "not to be exceptional" or to "not provide 'above and beyond service' to Coach passengers" anywhere in AA's official messaging. Am I missing something?
We need airline service equity!
