RSS Feed
Subscribe to RSS FeedNew York to Paris and back: what a week!
The past week presented some special challenges to our industry and to OpenSkies. Once again, there was special advantage in being a small company. As a small company, we can wait till the last minute before cancelling or moving flights even to another city. With just two flights a day we were more flexible in every way to adjust to the world around us. We didn’t have to think about 400 airplanes; we just had to think about getting you home.
Our team got together over this past weekend and assembled plans to take care of customers. We were in the office both Saturday and Sunday, we spent some long hours talking with government authorities, doing flight plans and calling customers among other things. We were in the office both Saturday and Sunday, we spent some long hours talking with government authorities, doing flight plans, calling customers and monitoring Facebook and Twitter to look for any problems requiring our attention. We started flying back to France Sunday night from New York and from France back to New York on Monday. The only window we had was Toulouse, so we arranged for buses to transport passengers to get them ‘home’. We advised passengers of this wrinkle and they were all happy to be on their way. It was almost like something out of a movie.
To all those customers, I’d like to personally thank you for being so terrific under very difficult circumstances. Our product was a bit makeshift that day and we had not one complaint. All the crew remarked how nice everyone was. No doubt about it we have the best customers in the world. We figured people needed to get home so we kept a singular focus…get people home safe and sound.
On Tuesday we resumed a more normal schedule of 2 flights a day. Life was a bit hectic at check-in as it was the first flights from Paris in 3 days. I know I was there the entire time for both flights. Lots of lessons learned but the good news is we were able to accommodate every passenger who wanted to go that day. It was close but we did it. First flights from Paris and no one left behind. The flight plan was a bit longer Tuesday as we needed to make a fuel stop in Lisbon. This volcano was a real pain in the “ash” (I apologize but I needed to get that in there just once). Wednesday saw a much more settled down schedule, thank goodness. Strange as it may seem, this period allowed us to show our customers just how much we care not with words but with action. Except for one day from Newark did we leave any passengers behind and even then we promptly got them on the flight the very next day. The flights have gone out very full and we got our customers where they needed to go…YES!
I can’t speak about what other airlines did during this period but I would be pretty happy to bet we were a leader. We’re all tired but satisfied with what we accomplished this week. Moreover I am very proud of all my colleagues for their tireless efforts; it’s great to work alongside them.
Now I am certain while we tried our best there were things we could have done better. I would be most grateful for passengers to pass on their comments of what they liked and what they think we need to improve on. Every customer comment is a gift and that’s the way we look at it, so please come forward. You see our goal is not just to be good, we know we have to strive to be the best.
Years ago a colleague reminded me of an old Chinese curse…May you live in interesting times. I never found it a curse… frankly I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Okay, now let’s see what next week holds for us, because the week after, we start our service to Washington D.C.
Best,
Dale