I probably watch so little TV these days that when I do watch and the show is actually somewhat inspiring, I have to let others know. So, here’s my nudge to have all airline travelers watch the Undercover Boss episode where Bryan Bedford, chief executive of Frontier Airlines’ parent company, Republic Airways, went undercover as Richard last summer to work side by side with employees.
This is a program worth watching. Click here to link to the program. Save some time over the weekend or in the evening — it’s almost an hour-long program.
For airline travelers there is a lot to be learned while watching the show from the short time that cleaning crews have to spruce up a plane when it lands and is getting ready to take off again to the various jobs employeees have to do for airlines at small bases.
My biggest impression from the TV show was how hard-working and dedicated the workers shown on the program were. These were real people with real life problems working to give their families as good a life as they could.
More importantly, Bryan Bedford learned what effect corporate pronouncements have on airline operations where the new corporate rules meet reality.
For example — Seven minutes to clean a plane between flights, having employees loading luggage in 100-degree-plus heat and then move indoors to check in passengers while dripping with sweat, scrimping on chatting with passengers so that the plane can take off on time.
When he returned to the boardroom, he had a different attitude than he possessed at the start of the filming.
The airline CEO worked cleaning aircraft, emptying onboard toilets, as a flight attendant and multi-tasked in the Oklahoma heat at a small airline base with limited personnel.
“I heard that our employees want this airline to succeed, and they have good ideas on how to succeed,” Bedford said Tuesday, “but they think management is not listening.”
As a flight attendant, Bedford said he realized business travelers are important, but it is an “awesome responsibility” to provide a good experience for the leisure traveler “who may have saved a whole year” for the trip.
Bedford said he is so taken with the concept of working alongside employees that he would like all of the company’s officers to do it, though not incognito.
To keep from being recognized, Bedford wore a toupee as he worked in catering, aircraft cleaning and on the ramp. Bedford, who is basically bald, found the toupee as hot as a wool cap while working in what he described as 120-degree heat loading bags.
The show was actually inspiring. Here we had a story of dedicated workers and their problems linked with a CEO who had his eyes opened not only to problems with the operations, but to the quality of his workforce.
If you have the time, watch the program.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
