here is no better feedback about our service than what we hear and learn from our customers. That is why several years ago, we established a Consumer Advisory Board to hear firsthand from our customers about what we are doing well, what we are doing wrong, and most importantly, what we need to do to improve our service.

Through the rapport we have built with members of the Consumer Advisory Board, we have been able to make some of our policies more customer-friendly and at the same time gain valuable insight from those of you who use our product the most. For instance, at an Advisory Board meeting last fall, a customer suggested that we put a calendar on our Web site for customer convenience when booking travel. As a result, we implemented the suggestion the very next day. This is just one small example of how our customers effect change at US Airways. Let me share with you a few more:

A Consumer Advisory Board member emailed her observations of our upgrade policies:

It appears as though it is more difficult to upgrade lately. Your telephone and gate representatives have indicated they are receiving complaints, and business associates of mine have shared their experiences with me.

We recognize the importance of having the ability to upgrade to First Class, and we try hard to ensure that there are ample seats available in our First Class cabin. We have been reconfiguring seats on some of our aircraft, like the Boeing 757s, where we reduced the number of First Class seats from 24 to 8. These reductions have taken place primarily in leisure markets, where the demand for First Class seating is less than on other routes. Swapping the Boeing 757 for an Airbus 321 aircraft on longer cross-country flying, for example, has actually increased First Class seat availability. Of course, we want to sell as many First Class seats as we can, and we are trying to strike a careful balance with your desire to upgrade.

Sometimes, Consumer Advisory Board members are asked to serve as liaisons between other customers and US Airways, as in the case of this example from a Jacksonville Beach customer:

Once the doors to the aircraft were closed, the flight attendant in First Class came back and asked two non-working crew members traveling on the flight if they would like to be upgraded. After we took off and cleared 10,000 feet, I approached the flight attendant and expressed my disappointment. She was defensive and told me I should have asked her about an upgrade sooner, rather than going through the airport agents. When I was standing in the First Class cabin talking, I also noted there were two pilots in uniform seated there as well. I fly more than 75,000 miles every year on US Airways, and am surprised by the way I was treated on this flight.

It looks as if we really dropped the ball on this one. We do allow employees in uniform traveling to or from a duty assignment, as in this case, to be upgraded only after a flight has departed and once we are sure that no other customer has requested an upgrade. We are a service business, and our first priority is our customers.

To further elaborate, customers at times do ask our flight attendants if they can move to an available First Class seat once the airplane pushes back. Because flight attendants do not have access to a customer’s Dividend Miles account information, which also tells us the selection order, we generally are unable to accommodate the request. Also, flight attendants have no way to process payment for the difference in fares, collect upgrade coupons, debit the E-Upgrade account, and so on.

The selection criteria must be applied fairly and accurately. We know that there are times—although not often—that a First Class seats goes vacant when a customer desires to upgrade. As rarely as it happens, we regret that this occurs, but an on-time departure better serves the majority of passengers on board the aircraft. The bottom line: Customers should always seek an upgrade through online services at usairways.com, an airport kiosk, a reservations sales representative, or a ticket-counter or gate check-in agent—and not plan to upgrade once on board the aircraft.

A customer from Seattle, Washington, contacted us about being refused access to the First Class lavatory:

I was surprised when the flight attendant curtly told me I could not use the bathroom in the front of the plane. She made me go to the rear of the aircraft, and it was difficult to maneuver past the beverage cart in the aisle.

Security regulations require us to keep the area near the cockpit door free from congestion. Even passengers in First Class are asked not to stand in line to wait for the lavatory. Our Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft, and our Airbus 321s and 330s, have been designed with mid-cabin lavatories that decrease the problem of maneuvering in the cabin. That said, we continue to reinforce with our staff the need for sensitivity when interacting with customers.

“Your Turn” offers a monthly sampling of issues brought to the attention of the Office of Consumer Affairs by you, our customers.