#seriously who flies southwest to chicago

[nowthatswhaticalllosing]

Now That’s What I Call Music! 4

Preface: Hi internet! I belong to a fantasy football league with my friends from college, and I lost this season! I received my punishment for placing last of the 12 teams, and I am required to listen to all of the Now That’s What I Call Music! compilations that currently exist (70 as of May 2019), review them (by rating each song on a scale of 1-10/10), and (at the end of this descent into madness) create my definitive power ranking of each album.

–

Album: Now That’s What I Call Music! 4

Release Date: July 18, 2000

Track Listing and Awarded Scores:

Average Score: 7.72/10

The Good: I checked the math three times. I re-listened to Joe and Savage Garden - are those really deserving of scores of 7/10? They really are. This album is really that good, and it’s not fair.

This album is the Harlem Globetrotters pitted against 69 different iterations of the Washington Generals in its competition against the other Now compilations. This album is that kid who hit his growth spurt really fast in elementary school and just posterizes the other kids in the fifth grade on those 7 foot hoops. 

The album’s first 6 songs average to a composite score of 8.5, and it basically holds up from there. You start off with peak BSB, going into peak (pre-2009 still, we’re 10 years away) Britney Spears, then segue into Mandy Moore’s best song with a quick jump to Italy to remember the time Eiffel 65 earned squatters’ rights on the radio with its release of a catchy song that made absolutely no sense. America briefly became a mere extension of Europop. 

I don’t care for listicles. I know I’m shaping up to make a very, very long one over the course of this blog, but it’s certainly against my will. The below link is an exception, and it’s from Buzzfeed. Since this album came out in 2000, a lot of the songs are from 1999, which was a damn formidable year in music that for all intents and purposes has not been matched since. Take a look. It was a time.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/why-1999-was-the-greatest-year-in-music-history

Anyway, the album continues with Sonique, who I honestly write a few paragraphs on alone. She’s a dance club and LGBTQ icon who landed on Now 4 with her most commercially successful hit, in a song/video that has aged so very well.

The album continues on, playing the late Aaliyah’s “Try Again,” and then going into the third perfect 10/10 song I’ve given so far in this endeavor. No introduction necessary.

And the hits keep coming. 

Full disclosure: I bought this album when it came out in July 2000, and then in November 2000 when Now 5 (which oddly sold 2 million more copies than Now 4) came out, I put Now 4 away for about 11 years. It resurfaced on a bus trip from Chicago to South Bend, Indiana, supplemented by a challenge for my friends and me to kill a handle of Jack Daniels before crossing state lines. If some form of a blackout weren’t concurrently existing with said experience, I would say that there was some sort of nostalgia score boost for Now 4 when I rated these songs, but there was and there isn’t, so there. 

Now 4 wraps up with Train, Macy Gray, the second best Hanson song (gun to my head I can only name this and MMMbop - but give it a listen, it’s totally fine!), and Blink 182. Tell me this album isn’t fantastic. I dare you. I double dare you motherfucker. 

And here’s Macy Gray. I wrote far more than I ever want to write about a Now album at this point, and she can sing me out. Fucking legend. 

The Bad: Things can only get worse from here. I used some positive analogies in The Good, but quite frankly, I don’t know if this album is going to be topped by any of the next 66 I have to listen to. I turn 30 in 4 months, and in the distant future when I look back on my life, my child sitting on my knee while I laze in a rocking chair, he’ll/she’ll ask “Jordan, what did you do during the final months of your 20s?” And even though I still won’t be totally unfazed by the fact that my Labrador learned English, I’ll have to tell the poor dog that I reached the musical mountain top of 1999, only to listen to 20 more years of fucking mediocrity. I’m at the zenith of a rollercoaster. If Now were a guy, he would have peaked in preschool. Sure he’ll keep friends through his teens and maybe into his twenties based on nostalgia alone, but he’ll surely die alone LISTENING TO FUCKING POST MALONE (featured as the opening track on Now That’s What I Call Music! Volume 68). This can’t end well, and I’m sad that the best has come and gone so soon. 

Potpourri: The Montell Jordan song isn’t that great so there’s that. 

Takeaways: I play it off but I’m dreaming of you, I’ll keep my cool, but I’m feeling - I try to say goodbye and I choke, try to walk away and I stumble, though I try to hide it, it’s clear, my world crumbles when you are not near. These are original words that I wrote after listening to this album. Don’t ask me where I got them from, I’m inspired. 

Next up is Now 5. The world is a cruel dark place.  

Current Power Rankings:

Now 4 (7.72/10)

Now 2 (6.67/10)

Now 1 (6.65/10)

Now 3 (6.22/10)

#macy gray #now that's what i call music #fantasy football #now4 #jennifer lopez #hanson #sonique #feels so good #jack daniels #laura flies southwest #who lands at midway #seriously who flies southwest to chicago #literally everyone else flew to ohare #mehmehmehmehmeh

[dipulb3]

Kinzinger is on a mission to save the Republican Party. The question is whether the party wants saving

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/kinzinger-is-on-a-mission-to-save-the-republican-party-the-question-is-whether-the-party-wants-saving/

Kinzinger is on a mission to save the Republican Party. The question is whether the party wants saving

“That, I think, is the question,” said Kinzinger, who is beginning his sixth term as an Illinois congressman. “If it doesn’t want to be changed, that’s a decision Republicans get to make. If that’s the case long-term, I think we will lose elections and will be a regional party that won’t compete on the national stage.”

He knows that his outspokenness could cost him his congressional seat. He’s already drawing a handful of potential GOP primary rivals who are making plans to challenge him, even as he faces a new district boundaries before 2022.

He insists the risks were a price worth paying.

“It could be a kamikaze mission,” said Kinzinger, 43, who joined the Air Force after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and still flies as a pilot in the National Guard. “But it could be the thing that saves the Republican Party.”

The first step to rebuilding the Republican Party, he said, is extracting it from the grips of Trump and what he sees as an ideology not rooted in conservatism, but in relentless fear and divisiveness.

“Any time in the history of the party, there have been competing visions — except for now,” Kinzinger said in a hometown interview here at River Hawk Brewing, where patrons seem far more interested in happy hour than talking politics. “It’s just been Donald Trump’s vision and nobody else has said anything else. We have a right and a responsibility to offer competing visions to Republicans.”

‘I think I’ll survive’

The Republican Party is at a crossroads, yet it’s still Trump country in this stretch of Illinois, where flags are still spotted waving in support of the former President. More than four months after the election, the Trump signs still on display in some front yards make clear that not all Republicans are searching for a new vision for the party.

Elected to Congress a decade ago with the rise of the Tea Party, Kinzinger is now at odds — and increasingly out of step — with the driving movement of his party.

He backed Trump in November, he said, a vote that he began to regret after Trump intensified his false claims that the election was fraudulent. By January 6, when the US Capitol was attacked and Kinzinger was among the members of Congress whose life was threatened, his regret had immensely deepened.

“Knowing what I know now?” Kinsinger said. “If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t vote for him.”

Of the 17 Republicans who supported impeachment in the House and Senate, Kinzinger stands alone as trying to use that vote as a rallying cry to persuade others to join him in turning the page from the Trump era. He is the face of a new super PAC, Americans Keeping Country First, which his allies formed to help other Republicans stand against Trump in the midterm elections.

So far, his phone isn’t exactly ringing off the hook. Yet he insists the journey is not as lonely as it may appear.

“There’s a lot of people on board. They’re not just super public — especially in my business,” Kinzinger said. “I think a lot of folks are waiting to see where it goes. I don’t blame them.”

Here in the sprawling Illinois 16th Congressional District, which stretches across 14 counties from the Wisconsin border, far beyond the western Chicago suburbs and back towards the Indiana line, Kinzinger outperformed Trump by 8 percentage points last fall.

Illinois is poised to lose at least one congressional seat when district lines are redrawn later this year, raising the question of whether Kinzinger is going to be squeezed by state Republicans who have voiced their displeasure at his criticism of Trump. But even as he undoubtedly loses support among loyal Trump followers, he could be gaining a new look from other more moderate voters if his district is redrawn to include more of the suburbs near Chicago.

The calculation of his re-election, he insists, is not why he’s waging a very public fight for the future of the Republican Party.

“Even if I don’t survive long in this job, the reality is, I will have been part of history,” Kinzinger said. “Like in warfare, until you’re willing to put your life on the line — when you’re willing to put your job on the line, then you’re free.”

He paused for a moment, before adding: “I think I’ll survive. But if I don’t, I don’t, and I’m at peace. But only in that understanding can you actually operate in truth.”

His congressional district includes the town of Dixon, the boyhood home of former President Ronald Reagan, who inspired a young Kinzinger.

“That optimistic, powerful, moral clarity that he had,” Kinzinger said. “It’s that kind of stuff that I think Americans are desperate for.”

‘I was a little surprised with Kinzinger’

Conversations with people in downtown Dixon on a recent morning were mixed.

One business owner said he was furious at Kinzinger, whom he called “a showoff.” He declined to be identified because he said he feared it would hurt his business. A half-block away, another business owner took the opposite view and praised the congressman for standing up to Trump. He, too, feared being named because he said too many of his customers are diehard Trump admirers.

Interviews with voters across the district, including here in his hometown about an hour southwest of Chicago, made clear that Kinzinger is making a name for himself — in ways good and bad.

“When he went along with the impeachment of Trump, I thought, what is this guy thinking?” said Dick Tyler, a retiree who was having a late-afternoon beer, who voted for Trump. “But I’m glad there is somebody like an Adam Kinzinger who has the courage to speak out. I know it’s from his heart.”

Some people here described his vote — and his criticism of Trump — as brave. Others question out loud whether it was politically calculated.

“I was a little surprised with Kinzinger,” said Jeff Phelps, as he left breakfast the other morning. “I feel like you should be loyal to your party.”

His wife, Angie, added: “I believe he’s looking out for political gain for himself.”

Rick Cunningham, a science teacher who typically votes Republican, said he was proud that Kinzinger stood up to Trump and wishes more Republicans would follow suit.

“He did what needed to be done. He took a stand for the Republican Party,” Cunningham said. “I just don’t think anybody deserves to have 100 percent allegiance. There’s got to be accountability for what Trump has done.”

A divide has emerged here among Republican officials, too.

The LaSalle County Republican Party voted last month to censure Kinzinger, following a long list of local GOP organizations seeking to rein in their members of Congress who supported impeachment.

“If Adam wants to be a Republican, then act and talk like one be a team player,” Larry Smith, the county GOP chairman, said in an interview. “I think he’s seriously misjudged the nature of his district and the state in general.”

Yet in neighboring Grundy County, party chairman Aren Hansen and his committee rejected an attempt to rebuke the congressman.

“We’re not going to get anywhere as a party in Illinois if we have a party purity test at every turn. It’s okay to disagree,” Hansen said in an interview at the bar he owns, Honest Abe’s Tap & Grill, which decorated to pay homage to one of the state’s favorite Republican sons, Abraham Lincoln. “I don’t agree with his impeachment vote, but I’ll get over it.”

Yet Trump loyalties here — and in red districts and states across the country — run deep. And many Republicans don’t believe their party is broken at all, a challenge that Kinzinger and others are confronting.

“I think part of saving the Republican Party is just being really clear about what the Republican Party has become,” Kinzinger said, noting the legacies of Reagan and Lincoln in his state of Illinois. “We have such a great history, I think, but now we’re off the rails.”

[rollinbrigittenv8]

Southwest Takes Customer Service Seriously — Airline Innovation Report

Southwest is working on its proactive customer service approach. Pictured is the new check-in lobby in Los Angeles. Southwest Airlines

Skift Take: When something goes wrong on a flight, Southwest tries to be proactive in communicating with customers. Is this the right approach? Or should Southwest wait until passengers complain?

— Brian Sumers

The Skift Airline Innovation Report is our weekly newsletter focused on the business of airline innovation. We will look closely at the technological, financial, and design trends at airlines and airports that are driving the next-gen aviation industry.

We provide insights on need-to-know developments in passenger experience, ancillary services, revenue management, loyalty, technology, marketing, airport innovation, the competitive landscape, startups, and changing passenger behavior. The newsletter, sent on Wednesdays, is written and curated by me. We will look closely at the technological, financial, and design trends at airlines and airports that are driving the next-generation aviation industry. You can find previous issues of the newsletter here.

On a Southwest flight from Los Angeles to Atlanta last week, the aircraft’s flaps malfunctioned, forcing the pilots to circle for about 20 minutes to decide how to proceed. Eventually, they landed faster than usual, causing the 737-700’s brakes to overheat.

It was the kind of minor mechanical issue that happens every day at every airline. Passengers were not in danger, and other than a slight delay on the ground while waiting for the brakes to cool, there was little inconvenience.

I was on that flight, and thought little of it until the next day, when I received an email from Southwest. It explained what happened in surprising detail, and said, “Thank you for your patience during this delay, and I hope you will accept my sincere apologies for any uneasy feelings you may have had about the overall situation.” The airline sent a $100 travel certificate.

It seemed odd the airline would send $100 to passengers for what amounted to a 45-minute delay. But it is standard practice, Southwest Chief Revenue Officer Andrew Watterson told me in a series of messages. He said airline travel is a repeat purchase business, and noted $100 isn’t much to keep a customer loyal — even if that passenger flies only once a year. “Keeping customers coming back is far cheaper than acquiring new ones,” he said. “But we do both.”

These emails come from what Southwest calls its proactive customer service team. Team members follow problems with flights, and try to keep passengers updated, Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins said. After a medical emergency, he said, the team’s email might say, “We’re happy to let you know the gentleman paramedics transported via ambulance is doing well.”

Most airlines have teams handling customer service issues, but this group seems more engaged than most. And if agents are handing out vouchers daily to customers that might not even have complaints, it must get expensive quickly. With 143 seats on the plane, this standard mechanical problem might cost Southwest as much as $14,300 in future revenue.

What do you think? Should airlines reach out to customers so soon? Or is it better for an airline to wait until it receives complaints to send vouchers?

Send me an email at [email protected] with your thoughts. Or tweet me. Or even send me an Instagram DM. 

— Brian Sumers, Airline Business Reporter

Stories of the Week

IAG Is Bringing Discount Airline Level to Paris: Goodbye, Open Skies. In 2008, facing competition from all-business transatlantic airlines, International Airlines Group bought Paris-based L’Avion and changed its name to Open Skies. Now, the threat is low-cost carriers, and IAG no longer needs Open Skies. It said this week it will close the premium airline as it expands its new discount brand, Level, to Paris Orly, with flights to New York, Montreal, Guadeloupe and Martinique. Level is positioned to thwart expansion from Norwegian Air.

Lufthansa to Offer Revamped Business Class With Seats 7 Feet Long: Lufthansa has had an uncompetitive business class for more than a decade, but by 2020 when new Boeing 777s arrive, that will begin to change. Last week, it unveiled pictures of its new cabin, which eventually also will be used by other Lufthansa Group airlines. What’s interesting is that Lufthansa is not making all seats identical. Some will be longer, and some will be more spacious. Passengers can choose which they prefer, though if some seats end up being more desirable, Lufthansa likely will charge extra for them, or hold them for elite frequent flyers.

American Airlines Extremely Bullish on the Future: American President Robert Isom is not as quotable as his predecessor, Scott Kirby, but he knows how to stick to talking points. Here, Isom hits most of them, telling the Associated Press American’s plans for basic economy, premium economy and on-time performance are on-track. Also, he said, American will make money in good times and bad.

Best Airline and Hotel Innovators in 2017 From a Business Traveler’s Perspective: Colin Nagy, Skift’s business travel columnist, chooses his favorite travel brands, and he leans heavily toward brands he calls, “friction free.” They include Silvercar, the all-Audi car rental company, Trunk, a new boutique hotel in Tokyo, and Alaska Airlines.

Pilot Shortage? Airbus Explores Development of Single-Pilot Autonomous Plane: Someday this will probably happen, though pilot unions will do all they can to stop it. When might that be? Who knows.

A Good Night’s Sleep Is the Latest Front in Airlines’ Battle for Highest-Paying Customers: Why did it take so long for many airlines to understand what premium customers want most is a good night’s sleep? Most customers probably don’t fly in business for the food, which is often fatty and salty. Or even the wine, since it doesn’t taste the same as on the ground. Customers fly up front so they can arrive reasonably well-rested. Conor Shine of the Dallas Morning News explains how many carriers now make sleep and bedding a priority. Related: Read my September interview with a vendor who helped British Airways find its new premium class bedding. 

The CEO of the Oldest Airline in the World Explains the Major Mistake the Industry Made 20 Years Ago: KLM CEO Pieter Elbers shouldn’t feel bad. His mistake is the same one almost every executive in Europe made. He underestimated the threat from short-haul, low-cost carriers. “My personal view is that for especially the first decade of their existence, network carriers like ourselves sort of underestimated, ignored — almost arrogantly ignored — the rise of low-cost carriers,” he told Business Insider. For another perspective, read my interview with Elbers, published over the summer.

News and Notes

This and that: American Airlines is constructing five new gates at Chicago O’Hare, and American spokeswoman Leslie Scott toured the construction zone, saying the gates for regional jets will open in Spring 2018. They’re the first new gates for any airline at O’Hare since the “new” international terminal opened in 1993, according to American. … Air Canada is rewarding elite frequent flyers with free Gogo subscriptions, but let’s hope the systems have the bandwidth to support them. … United Airlines is asking flight attendants to improve hawking the airline’s credit cards, promising a $50 pre-tax bonus for each approved application. “It’s our goal to win against other airlines, and new credit card accounts is an area that is currently a competitive disadvantage for us,” United told flight attendants in a message. … Delta said it completed the five-day Thanksgiving period — Wednesday to Sunday — without canceling a mainline or Delta Connection flight. … Meanwhile, United said more flights departed on time or early on Nov. 24 than any day in its history. … Someone paid $3,800 on Ebay for a pair of business class seats removed from a United Boeing 747.

Radio Gig: I’m the new airline analyst for “The Opening Bell,” a morning radio program on WGN in Chicago. We’re taping 10-minute segments, airing Friday, about what’s new in the airline industry. You can listen live, or catch one of the segments on WGN’s website.

Subscribe

Skift Airline Business Reporter Brian Sumers [[email protected]] curates the Skift Airline Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Wednesday. Have a story idea? Or a juicy news tip? Want to share a memo? Send me an email or tweet me.

Subscribe to the Skift Airline Innovation Report

[touristguidebuzz]

Southwest Takes Customer Service Seriously — Airline Innovation Report

Southwest is working on its proactive customer service approach. Pictured is the new check-in lobby in Los Angeles. Southwest Airlines

Skift Take: When something goes wrong on a flight, Southwest tries to be proactive in communicating with customers. Is this the right approach? Or should Southwest wait until passengers complain?

— Brian Sumers

The Skift Airline Innovation Report is our weekly newsletter focused on the business of airline innovation. We will look closely at the technological, financial, and design trends at airlines and airports that are driving the next-gen aviation industry.

We provide insights on need-to-know developments in passenger experience, ancillary services, revenue management, loyalty, technology, marketing, airport innovation, the competitive landscape, startups, and changing passenger behavior. The newsletter, sent on Wednesdays, is written and curated by me. We will look closely at the technological, financial, and design trends at airlines and airports that are driving the next-generation aviation industry. You can find previous issues of the newsletter here.

On a Southwest flight from Los Angeles to Atlanta last week, the aircraft’s flaps malfunctioned, forcing the pilots to circle for about 20 minutes to decide how to proceed. Eventually, they landed faster than usual, causing the 737-700’s brakes to overheat.

It was the kind of minor mechanical issue that happens every day at every airline. Passengers were not in danger, and other than a slight delay on the ground while waiting for the brakes to cool, there was little inconvenience.

I was on that flight, and thought little of it until the next day, when I received an email from Southwest. It explained what happened in surprising detail, and said, “Thank you for your patience during this delay, and I hope you will accept my sincere apologies for any uneasy feelings you may have had about the overall situation.” The airline sent a $100 travel certificate.

It seemed odd the airline would send $100 to passengers for what amounted to a 45-minute delay. But it is standard practice, Southwest Chief Revenue Officer Andrew Watterson told me in a series of messages. He said airline travel is a repeat purchase business, and noted $100 isn’t much to keep a customer loyal — even if that passenger flies only once a year. “Keeping customers coming back is far cheaper than acquiring new ones,” he said. “But we do both.”

These emails come from what Southwest calls its proactive customer service team. Team members follow problems with flights, and try to keep passengers updated, Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins said. After a medical emergency, he said, the team’s email might say, “We’re happy to let you know the gentleman paramedics transported via ambulance is doing well.”

Most airlines have teams handling customer service issues, but this group seems more engaged than most. And if agents are handing out vouchers daily to customers that might not even have complaints, it must get expensive quickly. With 143 seats on the plane, this standard mechanical problem might cost Southwest as much as $14,300 in future revenue.

What do you think? Should airlines reach out to customers so soon? Or is it better for an airline to wait until it receives complaints to send vouchers?

Send me an email at [email protected] with your thoughts. Or tweet me. Or even send me an Instagram DM. 

— Brian Sumers, Airline Business Reporter

Stories of the Week

IAG Is Bringing Discount Airline Level to Paris: Goodbye, Open Skies. In 2008, facing competition from all-business transatlantic airlines, International Airlines Group bought Paris-based L’Avion and changed its name to Open Skies. Now, the threat is low-cost carriers, and IAG no longer needs Open Skies. It said this week it will close the premium airline as it expands its new discount brand, Level, to Paris Orly, with flights to New York, Montreal, Guadeloupe and Martinique. Level is positioned to thwart expansion from Norwegian Air.

Lufthansa to Offer Revamped Business Class With Seats 7 Feet Long: Lufthansa has had an uncompetitive business class for more than a decade, but by 2020 when new Boeing 777s arrive, that will begin to change. Last week, it unveiled pictures of its new cabin, which eventually also will be used by other Lufthansa Group airlines. What’s interesting is that Lufthansa is not making all seats identical. Some will be longer, and some will be more spacious. Passengers can choose which they prefer, though if some seats end up being more desirable, Lufthansa likely will charge extra for them, or hold them for elite frequent flyers.

American Airlines Extremely Bullish on the Future: American President Robert Isom is not as quotable as his predecessor, Scott Kirby, but he knows how to stick to talking points. Here, Isom hits most of them, telling the Associated Press American’s plans for basic economy, premium economy and on-time performance are on-track. Also, he said, American will make money in good times and bad.

Best Airline and Hotel Innovators in 2017 From a Business Traveler’s Perspective: Colin Nagy, Skift’s business travel columnist, chooses his favorite travel brands, and he leans heavily toward brands he calls, “friction free.” They include Silvercar, the all-Audi car rental company, Trunk, a new boutique hotel in Tokyo, and Alaska Airlines.

Pilot Shortage? Airbus Explores Development of Single-Pilot Autonomous Plane: Someday this will probably happen, though pilot unions will do all they can to stop it. When might that be? Who knows.

A Good Night’s Sleep Is the Latest Front in Airlines’ Battle for Highest-Paying Customers: Why did it take so long for many airlines to understand what premium customers want most is a good night’s sleep? Most customers probably don’t fly in business for the food, which is often fatty and salty. Or even the wine, since it doesn’t taste the same as on the ground. Customers fly up front so they can arrive reasonably well-rested. Conor Shine of the Dallas Morning News explains how many carriers now make sleep and bedding a priority. Related: Read my September interview with a vendor who helped British Airways find its new premium class bedding. 

The CEO of the Oldest Airline in the World Explains the Major Mistake the Industry Made 20 Years Ago: KLM CEO Pieter Elbers shouldn’t feel bad. His mistake is the same one almost every executive in Europe made. He underestimated the threat from short-haul, low-cost carriers. “My personal view is that for especially the first decade of their existence, network carriers like ourselves sort of underestimated, ignored — almost arrogantly ignored — the rise of low-cost carriers,” he told Business Insider. For another perspective, read my interview with Elbers, published over the summer.

News and Notes

This and that: American Airlines is constructing five new gates at Chicago O’Hare, and American spokeswoman Leslie Scott toured the construction zone, saying the gates for regional jets will open in Spring 2018. They’re the first new gates for any airline at O’Hare since the “new” international terminal opened in 1993, according to American. … Air Canada is rewarding elite frequent flyers with free Gogo subscriptions, but let’s hope the systems have the bandwidth to support them. … United Airlines is asking flight attendants to improve hawking the airline’s credit cards, promising a $50 pre-tax bonus for each approved application. “It’s our goal to win against other airlines, and new credit card accounts is an area that is currently a competitive disadvantage for us,” United told flight attendants in a message. … Delta said it completed the five-day Thanksgiving period — Wednesday to Sunday — without canceling a mainline or Delta Connection flight. … Meanwhile, United said more flights departed on time or early on Nov. 24 than any day in its history. … Someone paid $3,800 on Ebay for a pair of business class seats removed from a United Boeing 747.

Radio Gig: I’m the new airline analyst for “The Opening Bell,” a morning radio program on WGN in Chicago. We’re taping 10-minute segments, airing Friday, about what’s new in the airline industry. You can listen live, or catch one of the segments on WGN’s website.

Subscribe

Skift Airline Business Reporter Brian Sumers [[email protected]] curates the Skift Airline Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Wednesday. Have a story idea? Or a juicy news tip? Want to share a memo? Send me an email or tweet me.

Subscribe to the Skift Airline Innovation Report

[touristguidebuzz]

Congress Warns 5 Airline Execs They Must Improve Customer Service

United CEO Oscar Munoz (foreground) was one of five airline executives take questions Tuesday from a Congressional committee. Lawmakers were concerned airlines do not offer proper customer service. Associated Press

Skift Take: Congress is not happy with U.S. airlines. That's for sure. But how much will Washington do about it? Here's a prediction: Probably not much.

— Brian Sumers

At a committee hearing, members of Congress on Tuesday implored U.S. airlines to focus on customer service, telling several airline executives, including United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz, that they and their constituents no longer will tolerate policies that do not prioritize passenger needs.

“Seize this opportunity,” Bill Shuster, a Pennsylvania Republican and the chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee said, “Because if you don’t, we are going to come and you’re not going to like it.”

That Shuster used a hearing to threaten airlines in such harsh language was unusual. He has long been among the industry’s most passionate defenders, often siding with airlines on contentious issues. But on Tuesday, even he appeared skeptical, asking how airlines could treat some customers so dismissively.

United’s April 9 incident came up often, with Shuster and others asking how airlines could be so cavalier with how they oversell flights. Representatives also asked about other recent events, including a confrontation between an American Airlines crew member and a mother over a stroller. They questioned executives about other matters, too, including fees and a lack of competition in some markets.

“Two million people will fly today — or something close to two million,” Shuster said. “And they’re tired of being treated inappropriately and without courtesy. Something is broken, and the obvious divide between passengers and airlines needs to be addressed.”

Five executives appeared, representing Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines, American and United. Munoz, accompanied by United President Scott Kirby, was the only CEO present. William J. McGee, a consumer advocate, also joined the group.

Among the executives, Munoz was most contrite, repeatedly apologizing for the incident in which United employees in Chicago called airport security to remove a passenger from a flight. The passenger was seriously injured, and received a settlement from United after threatening to file a lawsuit. Munoz called it a “mistake of epic proportions,” and summarized several changes the airline announced last week to ensure nothing similar happens again.

“We had a horrible failure three weeks ago,” Munoz said. “It is not who we are. It is not this company. And frankly, it is not this industry.”

Still, Tuesday’s hearing was more of a fact-finding mission than anything else. Executives made few promises they had not previously announced. And though several airlines promised better training for airport agents, in many cases, executives defended the industry’s existing commitment to customer service.

Focus on overbooking

Several representatives wanted to know why most U.S. airlines often overbook flights, or sell more tickets than they have seats.

It was a question Bob Jordan, Southwest chief commericial officer, seemed to relish answering, since his carrier recently announced it would stop overbooking flights next week. One lawmaker asked if this policy change — Southwest will be only the second carrier to stop overbooking, along with JetBlue Airways — will cost profits. “We are not going to go broke,” Jordan said. “I promise you that.”

But other executives defended overbooking, arguing the practice helps keep airfares lower. They noted that, on many flights, not all passengers show up. If airlines don’t overbook, they said, they might fly with empty seats, and that would lead to lower revenues.

“By overbooking flights in 2016, Alaska was able to list for sale 675,000 more seats than it could have had if it stopped letting customers buy tickets when flights were full,” said Joe Sprague, the airline’s senior vice president of external relations. In some cases, he said, the airline was able to accommodate lucrative last-minute business travelers on flights that were already full.

“Frankly, having those additional seats available for sale allows us to keep fares low,” he said. Still, he said, Alaska is evaluating its overbooking policies.

Usually, airlines can guess how many passengers will not show up, and adjust how many tickets it sells accordingly. Sometimes, though, airlines make errors, and they must remove passengers from flights. They prefer to ask for volunteers — an airline might offer travel vouchers to a passenger who agrees to take a later flight — but sometimes not enough customers volunteer.

Many lawmakers said they didn’t think it was fair to remove paying passengers because the carriers miscalculated and sold too many seats. Executives from United, American and Alaska generally agreed, promising they would offer more lucrative packages to ensure they can find more volunteers. The airlines do not like telling passengers they cannot board, the executives said, and prefer to have volunteers.

United is now allowing agents to offer up to $10,000 in travel vouchers to solicit volunteers. In the past, when the cap was much lower, customers volunteered to take another flight in 96 percent of instances where a flight was oversold, Kirby said. He said he expects the number of volunteers to increase now that agents are authorized to increase payouts.

“We view overbooking, particularly in situations where we can incentivize a customer to take an alternative flight, as a win-win for both airlines and those customers,” Kirby said.

Executives also reminded Congress that they sometimes end up with too many passengers for reasons not related to selling too many tickets. Sometimes, for example, they must switch to a smaller aircraft at the last minute, and there are not enough seats for everyone. Other times, pilots and flight dispatchers ask that passengers be removed because of weight-and-balance issues.

Fees a concern

When oil prices spiked in 2008, most U.S. airlines started charging fees for checked luggage. The carriers, led by American, said they had to recoup their increased costs.

But fuel is cheaper now, and in 2016, according to data released Tuesday, U.S. airlines made a combined $13.5 billion in after tax-profit. With business strong, some lawmakers asked why airlines still charge for checked luggage. According to the government, airlines earned $4.2 billion in baggage fees last year.

But with one exception — Southwest, again — airline executives said they’re not interested in free bags. “We view charging for checked bags as one of the ways we keep all the other fares low,” United’s Kirby said.

American is keeping the fees because it doesn’t want customers who do not check luggage to subsidize people who do. American wants passengers to “pay for just the choices they intend to consume,” said Kerry Philipovitch, senior vice president of customer experience.

At Southwest, however, Jordan said not having bag fees makes the most sense. “We try to make policies that just make sense for the customer,” he said. “We feel like if you are going to travel it makes sense that you can bring your clothes along.”

Responses were similar for change fees. Some representatives asked how some airlines could charge as much as $200 to make changes on a domestic ticket. “They are mostly about our ways of offering low fares to customers,” Kirby said.

The government said Tuesday that U.S. airlines generated $2.9 billion from change fees in 2016. Only Southwest does not assess them.

More threats

Shuster was not the only representative to make veiled threats against airlines. Duncan Hunter, a Republican from California, complained that some nonstop routes have no competition at all, including from San Diego, near where he lives, to Washington, D.C. Only United flies between the markets.

“I have heard a lot of you talk about competition,” Hunter said. “Explain that to me. I think that’s a joke. It’s an absolute joke that there’s competition in the airline industry.”

Executives responded that many routes have nonstop competition, including from ultra low cost carriers Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines. Southwest’s Jordan said the industry has never seen so much competition. “The best measure is probably fares,” he said, adding that ticket prices fell 3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared with 2015.

Executives also noted that airlines compete fiercely for one-stop passengers between most U.S. markets. Passengers who want deals can connect, they said.

Hunter, however, was skeptical. “Competition, really quick, is Jack in the Box, and McDonalds and Wendy’s. … Having only one airline that flies one straight shot, out of all the airlines? That’s not competition.”

Meanwhile, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat from Washington, D.C., wanted to know why United Airlines has a 37,000-word contract of carriage, a document that describes the airline’s rights for each ticket. Other airlines have similar contracts, which, among other things, describe an airline’s rights to bump passengers.

Norton said she wondered why airlines can’t list policies on one page, in an easy-to-understand format. All the airlines agreed it could be done more simply, but only Alaska’s Sprague said one page might be possible.

Overall, Norton said she was disappointed in airlines.

“Essentially you represent four regional monopolies,” she said. “You’ve been able to do everything you want to do — add on fees for basic services that we take for granted. It’s as if you have to tip a corporation to do what they used to do for free as a courtesy.”

Represenative Mike Capuano, a Massachusetts Democrat, criticized airlines for constantly returning to Congress to ask for infrastructure improvements, but not making investments in customer service. He called on airlines to improve — and quickly.

“If you want to keep treating us this way, fine,” he said. “I guess we can only do so much. But there will come a day when Congress won’t accept it anymore on behalf of the American people.”