Sully’s the Hero, Not USAir
USAir has gotten an undeserved publicity windfall from the exploits of pilot Chesley B. Sullenberger.
Yes, Sully landed a jet in the Hudson, and with everyone on board surviving. He deserves to be celebrated. But it doesn’t change my opinion.
USAir is a lousy airline, one of many. And it can’t market its way out of that fact even if it bills itself as the best at water landings.
Let’s start with the most basic gripe: the reduced service.
It just so happened that I took a USAir flight from LaGuardia to Charlotte in December. Once we had cleared LaGuardia (and the Hudson), they brought the drink cart around and I asked for coffee.
“That’ll be one dollar,” I was told.
“What? You’re charging for coffee?”
“Yessir.”
What could I say? I’m an addict, so I came up with the exact change, and it wasn’t easy getting to my wallet in that cramped seat. In return, I received a thimble-full of weak coffee.
I thought of demanding my dollar back, but I didn’t want to get arrested as a terrorist.
Flying used to be fun. On my first airplane flight from New York to Chicago decades ago, they served brisket of beef followed by blueberry pie.
But those days are over, and passengers are now treated like cattle. Granted, not all airlines have gone to USAir’s extreme, but they’re moving in that direction, and that may be why I find Starbucks containers under my seat. (Did I forget to tell you? They barely clean the cabins anymore.)
Let’s not discuss the delays and lost luggage. You’re better off taking Amtrak.
I have one question about the passengers on Sully’s flight: Did they charge them for the coffee when they got to the dock?
February 10th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Ray brings up vaild points when it comes to service but I wouldn’t take it all out on US Airways. While they have cut back in certain areas, they have invested in other areas like improving on-time flight departures. The U.S. Department of Transportation just released its Air Travel Consumer Report and US Airways ranked #1 in on-time performance among the big six airlines; outperforming American, Continental, Delta, Northwest and United. They also invest in hiring the best staff — like the pilot who safely landed the US Airways plane in the Hudson. Not giving US Airways some credit for this amazing story is like not giving credit to the towns, hospitals and schools who hire only the best police officers, doctors or teachers and see quality of life improved as a direct result. I agree that we cannot diminish what Chesley Sullenberger achieved, but we cannot diminish US Airways who spend millions of dollars training and investing in the best staff.
February 10th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Oh come on Ray, stop whining. Between baggage fees, charging for snack boxes, etc. you should have known that USAir charges for beverages. They may be one of the few that does so but, oh well, at least we get a economical flight and most of the USAir staff are very friendly. I fly USAir, American, Delta and when I cannot avoid it, United (I am trying Continental in a couple of weeks). These companies are losing billions and a lot of the problems are the economy (although they have made mistakes along the way). Chill, fly enough that they treat you better, or if you don’t have to fly that often, be happy that you get to avoid what I put up with almost every week.
February 10th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
I have a similar low opinion of US Airways and have learned the hard way never to take anything but cash compensation from US Airways. When a travel problem inevitably develops, their favorite ploy is to apologize profusely for the problem and then with, great ceremony, hand over a piece of manilla tag board with a number and poorly printed text saying it entitles you to round trip airfare or some discount between $200 and $300, depending on how flagrantly they have screwed up your day’s travel. They even ask you to give them a secret password that you will use to validate the voucher when you use it. The staff does this so well, I think they must give them acting lessons.
This piece of cardboard is a worthless prop. I have received 4 of them over the past 3 years and tried to use them for travel every time I was booking my next flight until they expired after 1 year. The last one expired in December and I will never take another one. I have never received anything but entertainment from trying to redeem one of these vouchers. The reasons they give for not having seats available sound like science fiction. The discount they offer off of an inflated fare price leaves the remaining fare still twice as high as I can book the same trip for on another airline.
February 10th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Actually, I disagree strenuously thet USAir has come out of this in a positive light. At best, it’s neutral– the geese weren’t their fault. At worst…well, you have daily images of a USAir plane in the Hudson on international news for days. Hey, did they get the logo in the shot? Worst product placement ever, unless you’re Continental and your charred hull of a plane sits on a Denver runway for months. USAir can pount their chests about how it’s people like Sully that make their airline great, but you had half of it right– Sully gets the credit, USAir gets the latest ferry on the Hudson.
February 11th, 2009 at 8:06 am
I am only a Silver Preferred customer with US Airways and I find US Airways fundraising scam by selling everything (including Water at $2 a bottle) to passengers appalling unless you are flying 1st Class. The flight attendants have now become “Waiters & Waitresses”. What’s next? Are they going to start working for tips?
February 11th, 2009 at 10:13 am
I think you are all missing the point. We have some extraordinary news in a dire time for our country and the company behind the news story wisely uses it to make us all feel good about humanity and the airline that happened to have the right pilot at the right place at the right time. If that can be used to market this airline and bring hope to all people who fly on US Air or any airline, then so be it.
I liken this story to an incident in World War II where six of our finest were staged for a photograph where Old Glory was being erected on Iwo Jima. It was not the first flag erected, nor the same men that erected it. However, it was the picture that captured the hearts of America at a time when our nations hearts needed to be lifted by some good news. Were these men the hero’s of Iwo Jima? No, it was the thousands of dead and wounded soldiers on the beach and across this desolate piece of rock in the Pacific that were the real heros. But what did the United States Government do? They siezed the this opportunity to sell war bonds by parading these soldiers around the country knowing that this is what the people back home needed to see and hear at the time.
Frankly, every time I see the captain and crew of US Airways Flight 1569 being interviwed and praised on different television shows, I am proud of them and feel sorry for them at the same time. I am proud that they did the job that they were trained to do, they did it right, and they did it well. They at the same time were blessed by the right conditions and the best options possible for them. Therefore, God also deserves some credit here. On the other hand, I feel sorry for them to be used as pawns in a marketing promotion which clearly makes them appear to be uncomfortable.
Let’s hope that these wonderful everyday people will not be scarred for life as were the Iwo Jima Flag Raisers were after the public specticle that was made of them. On the other hand, if their sacrafice of privacy and chance heroism makes us all feel better about getting on an airplane flown by strangers that we pay to trust our lives with, and if this can place a positive light on US Air and the Airlines industry as a whole, then let marketing get the most out of it.
September 13th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
It’s not just USAir that’s gotten the undeserved publicity windfall, it’s Chesley B Sullenberger, who, when the hysteria dries up, will – along with his conspirator, Jeff Skiles, certainly rank as two of the most inept pilots in the entire history of aviation.
Now, before you all rip me a new one, hang in there…you might learn something.
Sully, the ‘lifelong safety advocate’, should have practiced what he preaches, because he not only failed to keep his eyes focused on his job, he opened his big yap and distracted the pilot flying the aircraft – not once, but twice – first, during the critical taxi phase at one of the busienst airports in the world, and then again, just minuges later, when he made his famous “beautiful view’ comment that ended up in them getting dunked in the very river he was talking about.
The list of infractions and f-ups committed by Sullenberger and Skiles that day makes a list as long as your arm, and were it not for the hero worship, both Dum and Dummer would be facing jail time for criminal negligence.
The real ‘hero’ of the day? The non-American-built aircraft that was programmed with the ’sense’ to overrule the fools that tried their level best to kill themselves and everyone else on board.