1549 Passengers Get Elite Frequent Flier Status, For A Limited Time
One of the cool things about being one of the few people in the world to survive a crash water landing is that you get preferred frequent flier mile status. The passengers from flight 1549 that crashed in the Hudson river will get US Airways "Chairman's Preferred status," which entitles them and a companion to first-class seat upgrades, choice seating, and priority check-in. In a letter to the passenger, CEO Doug Parker describes it as his airline's "most coveted frequent flier level." But you better get over your PTSD-induced drowning nightmares quick, 1549ers, the status expires in March 2010. The CEO's letter in full, inside...
January 21, 2009
I hope that this letter finds you at home and taking some time to rest and recover from the events of last Thursday.
On behalf of the 34,000 employees at US Airways, I want to acknowledge your courage, the professionalism of our crew, and the outstanding rescue efforts of all of the various organizations and agencies that came together last week to assist with Flight 1549.
We would very much like to see you on a future US Airways flight soon. To that end, we are extending Chairman's Preferred status, our most coveted frequent flier level, to you through March 2010.
I know our Customer Care Team has been providing support and also communicating next steps as we work to recover and potentially return any items from the flight. In the meantime, please let us know if you have additional needs.
Again, we are grateful the events surrounding Flight 1549 ended as they did, and we will continue to applaud our crew and the actions of the first responders for many years to come.
We look forward to serving you again soon.
Sincerely,
Doug Parker
Chairman and CEO, US Airways
Chairman's Preferred Status gives the passenger and companion first-class seats when they're available flying domestically, an upgrade to Europe or Hawaii, choice of seats and priority check-in.
Passenger Antonio Sales from the flight told the New York Post, "That's more of an 'OK, you're not dead, I'll give you something to hold on to.' It's not enough at all."
SURVIVORS' GILT [New York Post]
(Thanks to Crim Law Geek!) (Photo: derek7272)
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Comments:
sorry, but what does that give them?
Way to not die guys!!!! We should put this on a list and link it to the main page on how to get that "unknown airline upgrade"
@lodleader: Chairman's Preferred Status gives the passenger and companion first-class seats when they're available flying domestically, an upgrade to Europe or Hawaii, choice of seats and priority check-in.
@lodleader: Chairman status on USair basically means you will fly first class on all domestic flights, more bonus miles..... I have been a chairman for 2 years with them, I have never once bought a first class ticket because I always get upgraded. It is only nice if you fly them a lot, if not it means jack.
what exactly do these people want from an airline company that experienced a freak accident through no fault of their own? I think being alive should cover it.
How about for life?
Fuck heads.
I actually think this is a nice gesture. I'm already assuming the ticket cost was refunded for the river-bound flight, and I know they're each getting $5k for their lost luggage. I'm sure many of them are talking to lawyers, but I don't see this incident as being US Airway's fault at all. Your plane hits a flock of birds and crashes. You're all alive, and relatively unhurt. What more do you want?
I think several of the quoted passengers come off rather poorly in this article. For one thing, how is this a "frigid" letter? What did they want, "OMG I <3 U GIZ"? And they're really going to sue the airline for not providing them with enough preferred status? I get that if you're freaked out by airplanes for awhile you may not be back on one in short order and may miss the window, and I can understand expressing regret about that. But as the basis for a lawsuit?
I think the most valuable benefit for these passengers is that according to the USA website, Chairman Preferred Status members are "...able to reserve select exit-row seats and Choice Seats anytime after you book your flight at no additional cost."
If I was on this flight, I would want to be in the exit row right next to the door EVERY SINGLLE FLIGHT.
This is certainly a nice gesture to go along with the lump sum payout for property reimbursement they announced a week or so ago which left the door open for additional reimbursement if necessary.
@boxiom: Why? USA Airways employees already saved their frickin' lives after an event that, so far, looks not to be USA Airways' fault.
Every bad thing that happens in life doesn't have to be a winning lottery ticket.
Why is this a "whoop di doo"? This is really nice of US Airways. That guy talking to the NYP is pathetic. That guy is just really bitter. They got $5,000 in reimbursement as well as the cost of the ticket returned. What happened could have been American or United or any other company. It's not US Airways fault and they've handled this potentially disastrous PR situation very well.
I'm probably going to be called an ass but this article really rubbed me the wrong way. Especially what that passenger said. What does he want? US Airways would be fine without him.
This is like giving burn victims free cans of Sterno and Bic lighters.
I can't believe the passenger comments the papers are printing...
Maybe the survivors would like to each receive a hug and a "way to hang in there" from the CEO? Or do they want more financial compensation, like their own private jet preloaded with a flock of geese?
sorry - I'm bitter at this trend of "i deserve better" attitudes.
I'm still waiting for USAir or some other "enterprising" soul to offer them Free Waders!
@Segador: I have to agree with you. They get $5,000 for the lost luggage, which for me would have been extremely generous based on how I packed for my last flight. They also get this 'Elite' status through March of 2010, which granted gently forces them to use the airline again but more than likely flags them through the system as someone that needs to be given preferred treatment considering the circumstances they faced.
I cannot speak for everyone, but for me knowing that I made it off the plane safely, and that I could then reunite with my wife and two children would be all the compensation I would require. Honestly. At that point I would be done with flying.
Whoop de doo my ass.
Yeah...I think this is actually really nice. If the accident had been some fault of the airline's, that might be a little different, but birds in the engines? That hardly warrants any kind of compensation. As a matter of fact, the passengers should just be grateful to the airline that they hired such a wonderful, quick-thinking pilot who knew exactly what to do to keep everyone alive and virtually unharmed.
@bagumpity: How?
$5,000 for your lost luggage. Why? By the time we are done with it, which could honestly take months of extensive investigation, it won't be any good to anyone anyways. So, while your belongings may be worth $1,500 at best we are going to give you a little extra for your trouble.
Oh, and by the way we are going to give you 'Elite' status for a little over a year so that should you choose to fly with us, we will do everything within our power to ensure you have the most pleasurable experience possible.
If your losses go beyond the $5,000, take it up with the airline.
Don't want the 'Elite' status? Don't fly.
End of story.
@boxiom: Maybe because they don't expect people to honestly want to fly right away after such a terrible incident? Perhaps because it is unknown whether or not someone might abuse the privilege and cost them more than they would normally budget for this sort of gift?
There are probably a number of factors. In this case they were going to be screwed no matter what. For some people, as your comment would indicate, there is simply no pleasing people any more.
i agree with @freelunch and others. what more do they want--or feel they deserve? the accident was by no means the fault of the airline and i can't think of anything the airline did wrong!
granted it was a harrowing experience that no one should live through, but in the end, you're alive and (physically?) unharmed -- alive and unharmed thanks to employees of the airline you want to fleece.
I'm getting seriously tired of the entitlement society we are becoming. Just because you had a hardship does not automatically mean you won the lottery at someone else's expense. USAir giving free upgrades for a year is great, maybe extend it for 5 years or something like that, as it won't cost them too much anyway, but seriously WHY ARE PEOPLE EXPECTING ANYTHING MORE?!
If it were me, I would want USAir to pay for my ticket to CLT, (to get me to where I intended to go), and pay for a reunion with the crew so I can thank them personally. That's it. Costs them nearly nothing, but in PR terms, its priceless.
US Airways' CEO is Doug Parker, not Parks.
The Oceanic 6 got Golden Tickets...
What does that Antonio Sales want? It was a freaking ACCIDENT! $hit happens! It wasn't the Airline's fault! You lived!
Hell, all the airline really owes them is some money for their drowned luggage and a refund for not getting them to CLT.
USAir normally sucks, but they have truly gone above and beyond here.
@courtneywoah: And they all got $5,000 for their luggage, and they are local media celebrities of the moment.
However, there have been troubling reports of previous engine issues with this plane. If the NTSB concluded that there was any negligence in themaintenance, then I'm sure they'll have a class action suit.
Still, it's not nearly as good as the Golden Pass that the Oceanic Six got...
Newsflash - Idiots fly and "the internet" gives everyone's opinion equal merit.
@ophmarketing: It must be a sign of the tough financial times we are facing. No more Golden Tickets for airplane crash survivors.
@Sam Wille: Technically, they only need to cover $3,500 per their contract of carriage. So they've already given them $1,500 more than they needed to. If you regularly fly with more than $5,000 per bag, then you need to buy flight insurance.
Is that 1549 passengers or passengers from flight 1549?
I'm on board (sorry) with everyone saying USAir is going above and beyond in this case. I am more likely to use them in the future as a result, and the whiners just look petty and greedy.
@Sam Wille: Why would you be done with flying? That - if anything - is testament to the safety features in today's modern airliners.
Granted, I'd probably need some valium on the first takeoff, but I don't think I'd swear off flying completely.
@Rachacha: I wouldn't want to be *in* the exit row, as I'd probably turn into a bumbling pile of goo in an actual emergency. But I'd want to be near it.
Why are they giving them anything? Airlines cannot be held responsible for "acts of god". They are responsible for proper maintenance of the aircraft and pilot training. Neither of those caused this crash. So the airline is not responsible. Technically they didn't even have to replace the luggage. People assume risk when they get on a plane.
Upgrades for a year does sound a little cheap to me. If I had been on that flight it would be at least a year before I would even consider taking another plane trip.
Y'know, U.S. Airways is definitely one of the more sucky airlines out there (definitely a low bar, to be sure), but ya gotta give 'em props for hiring someone who turned out to be one of the most skilled pilots ever, the perfect person to handle such a situation. True, he likely wasn't hired by the current penny-pinching, customer-oblivious management. What really bothers me is that first they sent every passenger a $5K check, and then they add this, all entirely without prompting. You know if the lawyers got involved, such gestures would be prevented; the lawyers would say such moves would reflect admitted liability. It's more, and quicker, than most companies would do. Props to management for reacting and actually doing something good so quickly. So it really bothers me tremendously that what I'm hearing from passengers now is that it's "not enough." Some are even planning to sue. For more. Much more. And all I can think of, even knowing that some likely lost forever irreplaceable personal possessions, is: Greedy bastards.
@Oranges w/ Cheese: Ever been in a plane crash? How do you know you wouldn't swear off flying completely?
I too have complete confidence in the safety features of airlines and pilots, but if I was in a crash and survived, that'd probably be the end of flying for me, too.
@Oranges w/ Cheese: They'd wait for Samuel L. Jackson to say something disparaging about them at some point during the flight.
@mdmadph: And be the end of riding in a car for you, if you survived a car crash?
Granted, people make irrational choices every day, so a few more won't make much difference.
@Sam Wille: Lucky you to have that option. Me? Trans-Pacific trips are a necessity for me. In such an incident I'd have to take some sleeping pills because I'd be even more scared on a boat out in the open sea for weeks to get to China and back.
@William Gu: American would be fine without him. Maybe United too. But US Airways? They need all the business they can get- they're close to the edge. I'd be happy to see US go under (go see Flyertalk if you want to know why) though.
I'm sure they'd settle for a guaranteed emergency row seat.
Heyyy Ohh!
@Sam Wille: For me the biggie of Elite status is the *G (Star Alliance Gold) status. Preferential treatment on any Star Alliance airline. And bonus miles given on the really good ones too. Hello Lufthansa!
@mdmadph: and you would be letting your fear trump being rationale for as long as you stuck to that attitude.
If you get in a car crash are you going to swear off automobiles?
unrelated, but what happened to the ..more> link at the end of the blurbs?