Airline Service
 

July 31, 2000 <BR> <BR>I recently had a very bad experience with Sun Country Airlines. They failed to notify me of a schedule change. They then compounded this problem by repeatedly lying to me. <BR> <BR>One employee claimed that Sun Country tried to call me about the subject schedule change twice per day on three different days. This turned out to be a lie. <BR> <BR>A second employee claimed that Sun Country sent me a letter about the subject schedule change in May 2000. This also turned out to be a lie. <BR> <BR>Finally, Sun Country personnel admitted that it did not have a notification system. Then, a senior customer service representative lied to me about the fact that she had informed department heads about my complaint. <BR> <BR>Being lied to by one customer service representative may indicate a problem with that employee. However, being lied to by more than one employee may be a reflection of company policy and/or inadequate employee training practices. <BR> <BR>Sun Country also does not have an advance seat reservation system. They need to develop a system that will allow customers to request and reserve the seats they want. I would imagine that this would add a few dollars at most to an airline ticket. I would gladly pay this (and I expect that most other customers would also be willing to do so). <BR> <BR>And, while we were awaiting departure the airplane was not air conditioned. We were very hot and uncomfortable. Again, I would be surprised if an auxiliary cooling system would add more than a few bucks to the cost of each ticket. A cost I would gladly pay. <BR> <BR>I realize that Sun Country is trying to develop a low-cost airline. However, efforts to achieve a small decrease in cost should not come at the expense of a large decrease in customer service and comfort. <BR> <BR>I won't fly Sun Country again, and others might want to think twice before considering Sun Country. <BR> <BR>Sincerely, <BR> <BR>Dr. David Rezachek <BR>[email protected] <BR> <BR> <BR>

I'm sorry you had a bad experience on Sun Country, but I must respectfully disagree that most people would be willing to pay a few extra dollars to get a seat assignment. The phenomenal success of Southwest proves this just ain't so! If a fare is $125 on Southwest or $135 on American, I guarantee that most people will go to the lowest fare. Not all, of course, but most! <BR> <BR>Meals are another example. I think if airlines tried to add $10 for a better meal, people would again flock to the cheaper fare carrier. <BR> <BR>Wish this wasn't so, but it is. The dollar speaks, and the traveling public wants cheaper cheaper cheaper!

Sorry Bill, sorry Dr. Dave, I disagree with both of you on several counts. <BR>First of all, as to the 'cheaper, cheaper, cheaper...' comment, I'm with David: I detest Southwest's lack of assigned seating because it only adds time and hassle to my trip. I won't fly them largely for this reason. And as for meals, I believe Midwest Express spends more than any other carrier on food, seems to me it's something like $11-13 per passenger versus 29 cents for Southwest (food, beverages). The food on MWE is excellent and more than takes the place of eating a hurried airport or drive thru meal. Served in wide leather seat luxury at a slow pace with unlimited drinks of any type. For that I am more than willing to pay $10. Oddly enough MWE isn't usually more expensive than its same market competitiors. <BR>As for lack of on-tarmac AC, that's not just a Sun Country imposition, David. That's a shortcoming that (as far as I know) is due to the limitations of the planes themselves. I've had this happen on a couple occasions, once for 3 hours on a tropical tarmac on American Airlines, once on Continental. <BR>As for Sun Country's deceptive strategy, David, of course that's entirely unacceptable and is a huge red flag to me about their business as a whole. They'll lose lots of customers with this type of behavior.

Airline Service <BR> <BR>Now, there's an oxymoron!

Carl, Midwest Express sounds just comfy cozy---if you want to end up in Milwaukee! But, some of us have other destinations.

I have to concur with Bill. Americans like flying on the cheap, and we're getting what we pay for. When you can fly from NYC to LA for $198, you can't expect much. Heck, I paid twice that 20 years ago! So, suck it up and enjoy the skybus, folks.

to the top for kal and texasgal