Sept. 17--New United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz contacted frequent fliers in an email this week, promising to work on the airline's now notoriously poor customer service and its struggles with being on time, while acknowledging, "We can do better."
The note to frequent fliers came Tuesday afternoon, exactly a week after Munoz was announced as the new United chief. His appointment followed the ouster of Jeff Smisek, who resigned amid a federal corruption probe.
"I am excited about the incredible opportunity that the United team has to improve the travel experience essential to the vitality of global business and to the personal lives of millions of people," Munoz wrote.
"We can do better, and will keep listening to our customers to become the top-performing airline."
Munoz pledged to focus on customers and being on time.
"Getting you to your destination, on schedule, can make or break your ability to succeed in a work endeavor or to hug a family member at an important moment," Munoz wrote. "If our performance has not met your expectations, I want you to know I'm committed to learning how to better meet your needs and desires."
United has struggled with on-time arrivals for years. Its on-time rate for July was 73.5 percent, according to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Only two airlines -- Frontier and Spirit -- were worse.
However, the airline is taking steps to improve. As part of its efforts, United in a memo to employees this week said that starting in November it will simplify some of its domestic routing, doubling the number of "out-and-back" routes to isolate weather problems and keep delays from rippling through the network. That means flying from a hub, like Chicago's O'Hare Airport, to a destination and back again, as opposed to a flight leaving a hub and hopping to many cities across the country.
Plans for more out-and-back routings were in the works before Munoz became CEO last week and pledged to work on improving United's flight punctuality.
Munoz in his letter to frequent fliers also echoed his comments to financial analysts last week, when he vowed to emphasize teamwork, innovation and safety at United.
"I want us to be your first choice for every trip you take, and we will put in the work needed to get there," he wrote.
Reaction by frequent fliers to the Munoz letter was mixed on Twitter.
"Kudos to new @United CEO Oscar Munoz for the email introduction. As customers let's hope he is a man of his words," one wrote.
However, some complained that the letter was sent from a no-reply email address.
"Just got an email from @united CEO saying he knows how important it is to listen to your customers. It's from a no-reply address. Nailed it."
Munoz, a longtime United board member and until last week the likely heir apparent to the CEO job at railroad company CSX, took over at United the same day that Smisek, 61, resigned unexpectedly after Labor Day weekend.
United, Chicago's largest private-sector employer, publicly linked his ouster and the firing of two of his top lieutenants to internal and federal investigations involving allegedly improperly currying favor with former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Chairman David Samson. United reinstated a money-losing route from Newark to an airport near Samson's South Carolina vacation home.
A source confirmed to the Tribune that a federal investigation is looking at a Sept. 13, 2011, dinner meeting at a New York restaurant called Novita. That's where Smisek allegedly lobbied Samson to improve transit connections between Newark and Manhattan and to help subsidize a new aircraft maintenance hangar at Newark's airport.
Samson in turn allegedly expressed his dissatisfaction with United's decision to not resume flights from Newark to Columbia, S.C. United added what became known as the "chairman's flight," allegedly so Samson would have a shorter drive to his vacation home. The flight stopped service four days after Samson resigned in April 2014.
United's reputation among the flying public is poor, ranking dead last among major North American airlines in customer satisfaction, according to the J.D. Power 2015 North America Airline Satisfaction Study.
Although, of interest to frequent fliers Munoz reached out to this week, United has continued to rank well in the availability of frequent-flier reward seats.
Among large U.S. carriers, United ranked best, with an availability rate of 75 percent, topping American Airlines at 67.1 percent and Delta Air Lines at 57.9 percent, according to the Switchfly Reward Seat Availability Survey by IdeaWorksCompany.
United increasing its out-and-back strategy, aimed at improving on-time rates, potentially means less flexibility in managing aircraft around United's network but should isolate weather problems to certain geographic areas. For example, it would not allow a winter storm delay in Chicago to cascade through the system and delay flights between two warm-weather cities.
"We're trying to address the frustration of the customer and the employee who is delayed in January between two warm-weather cities because their aircraft is stuck in a cold-weather city with snow," said United spokesman Rahsaan Johnson. While the change will start in November, it will continue past the winter season and therefore could help with summer storms too, he said. So it could theoretically help Chicago flights by isolating them from bad weather near other United hubs, thunderstorms in Houston, for example.
The change applies only to United-operated flights on larger planes and not United Express regional flights. Johnson said he didn't immediately have specific information on how much out-and-back flying would likely help United's on-time rates.
gkarp@tribpub.com
