NEWARK -- The
paper sign taped on a conference room door near Security Checkpoint
2 at Newark Liberty Airport said "Ambassador Program," and it gave
little hint as to the meaning of the message.
Through that door
passed a steady stream of uniformed frontline airline staff,
representing many of the 10 international carriers who make up the
SkyTeam Alliance. They came through on their lunch breaks, on their
coffee breaks and before and after
their shifts to meet and greet representatives of the other partner
carriers in the alliance.
The three-day
Ambassador Program gathering was hosted by Continental on behalf of
SkyTeam in order to provide a resource for employees to learn about
the different alliance carriers.
During Day One,
airline employees moved from table to table, talking with their
counterparts, picking up literature, information and route maps.
The room buzzed and hummed with introductions, conversations,
chitchat. At times it resembled a stand-up version of speed
dating.
Few of the
various airline employees really knew much about one another, the
other airlines or the unique union that has its roots in a 1999
strategic agreement between Air France and Delta (see time line,
below).
Today, the
SkyTeam partnership totals 10 international carriers and five
associate member carriers, offering its 373 million annual
passengers a system of 15,000 daily flights to 728 destinations in
149 countries.
It's because of
the complexity of the global network, the millions of passengers
served and the number of flights operated each year that the
Ambassador Program was established in 2006.
"Over time, the
employees of each carrier will get to know the other carriers --
where they fly, what they offer, their service standards and
benefits -- and they can pass this on to their passengers," said
Marilee A. Purdy, manager of airport services, policies and
procedure, alliances and customer advocacy for
Continental.
Continental will
host two more Ambassador Program events later this year, and
SkyTeam will sponsor a total of 22 sessions in 2007 with various
member airline sponsors. Air France hosted the first event in Paris
in 2006.
More than 900
Newark-based airline employees were expected to drop in at the
recent session.
"Passengers
flying SkyTeam airlines can get frequent flyer miles on any of the
10 member carriers," Purdy said. "This is important to travelers
today. It's just as important that we educate and communicate with
the frontline employees who interact daily with
passengers."
As Purdy pointed
out, "we're competitors, but we're also partners. Meeting one
another face to face solidifies a relationship and builds
camaraderie.
"These sessions
are designed to be casual, optional, fun yet
informative."
The employees
agreed. One of the fun parts of the day involved correctly
answering the 10 airline questions on a form called the SkyTeam
Passport.
Each question had
two suggested answers. For those who were clearly clueless, two
enthusiastic airline reps on the other side of the table broadly
hinted at the right answer. Correct, completed forms were then
entered into a drawing for trips and other prizes.
Sample questions
ranged from the name of Aeroflot's frequent flyer program (Aeroflot
Bonus) to the location of Continental's Pacific Ocean hub (Guam) to
the number of new destinations Delta added to its network in 2006
(50).
The airlines
sweetened the deal with handouts: Computer mouse pads, bags of
trail mix, mini-flashlights and baggage tags.
"I learned some
interesting stuff about the other airlines, I enjoyed meeting other
airline employees and I might even win a contest," said Jackie
Rivera, a Newark-based Continental customer service
agent.
A survey that
attendees filled out as they left asked them to rank the benefits
of the event. Most gave it high marks and said they'd recommend it
to their co-workers.
To contact reporter Gay Nagle Myers, send e-mail to [email protected].