United Sets Sights On World's Best Airlines Club, As Qatar Leads New Top 10 List
by Barbara Peterson /New York -- If anyone doubted that United is working overtime to put recent events behind it, its chief executive has now set an admittedly high goal: to be nothing less than the “world’s best airline.”
Speaking to an industry group at a Wings Club luncheon in New York last week, United chief executive Oscar Munoz gave an optimistic assessment of his airline’s outlook, referring only briefly to the notorious passenger-dragging incident several months ago.
“Our mission is very clear — to be the best employer, have the best customer service and become the best airline in the world,” Munoz said. According to a report in Air Transport World, Munoz appeared “upbeat and energized.”
Munoz spelled out some recent moves that should bolster the airline’s reputation, including new labor contracts worth $1 billion, which he said mean that United “has some of the most motivated employees” in the industry. (American Airlines recently raised employee wages as well, for similar reasons.)
He also mentioned a new board and a new executive team, which will focus on the bigger picture of how best to exploit its vast global network. But he acknowledged customer service is an issue, and suggested that the industry as a whole needs to give front-line workers more autonomy to resolve difficult situations, rather than requiring them to follow rigid rules. There were no details on how and when this might happen.
United’s goal of cracking the various “best airlines” lists that have proliferated in recent years is, of course, a tall order, judging from the most recent one to emerge, the Skytrax Awards, which gave Qatar Airways top honors. The awards, which Skytrax likes to call the “Oscars of the airline industry,” are based on extensive passenger surveys conducted over a one-year period.
The number-two spot this year went to Singapore Airlines, followed by All Nippon Airways, Emirates and Cathay Pacific (see full top 20 list below). As usual, there wasn’t a single U.S.-based carrier on the list. But many observers have noted that the foreign airlines that get these accolades are regarded as “flag carriers” for their home countries, and some receive either overt or indirect support from their governments. And the service culture in many other regions of the world is distinctly different from the bottom-line focus of U.S. companies.
As Munoz’s remarks suggest, that focus on costs has its own hidden costs, if a reputation for poor service drives customers away. He said one of his first goals after taking the reins at the company more than a year ago was “to change the conversation from ‘What’s wrong at United,’ to ‘What’s next?’ ”
Skytrax 2017 20 Top Airlines
1. Qatar Airways
2. Singapore Airlines
3. ANA All Nippon Airways
4. Emirates
5. Cathay Pacific
6. EVA Air
7. Lufthansa
8. Etihad Airways
9. Hainan Airlines
10. Garuda Indonesia
11. Thai Airways
12. Turkish Airlines
13. Virgin Australia
14. Swiss Int’l Air Lines
15. Qantas Airways
16. Japan Airlines
17. Austrian
18. Air France
19. Air New Zealand
20. Asiana Airlines