CHICAGO — Is it possible for a career airline executive tapped to become Amtrak’s new Long-Distance Services Business Development Vice President to leverage a passenger train’s unique attributes into a better product than his predecessors did?
Trains News Wire caught up with the man in that position, former Sun Country Airlines and MLT Vacations marketing executive Larry Chestler, at Chicago Union Station just before he boarded Amtrak’s Cardinal on Oct.1, the first day the train began offering the latest, entree-in-a-bowl iteration of “contemporary” dining, designed to cut onboard labor costs [see “Analysis: ‘Evolving’ menu on tap for all eastern overnighters,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 17, 2019].
On the job for only a few weeks, Chestler freely admits, “(I’m) still too new to have a clear sense of the dynamics of our linear route structure and the ‘peakyness’ of some of the segments; what demand is driven by people riding all the way through versus others riding portions of the route.” Up to that point, the Portland, Ore., native had only ridden the Coast Starlight and one other Amtrak long distance train.
“The role I’m stepping into as the commercial leader is take all of the elements and look at what (the trains) need to be more successful — whatever that definition is,” says Chestler. “My team should have enough knowledge about the traffic use and customer base of (each) train and what its role is in the national network to be able to clearly advocate what it brings.”.
Pricing and inventory management “are very vital levers,” he believes, but “going forward I think part of my job is advocating on behalf of long distance routes.” That said, he added, “my role is not to be siloed on long distance [because] other parts of the business aren’t my competitors or rivals, they’re my partners.”
Chestler says he is “keenly interested” in understanding how passengers connect between the inter-regional, state-supported, and Northeast Corridor trains. He got a taste of how important that revenue is when visiting Chicago Union Station’s Metropolitan Lounge at about 1 p.m., when it was packed to capacity with mostly sleeping car passengers transferring from eastern long distance and Michigan Wolverine arrivals to Empire Builder, California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle, and Midwest corridor departures.
Although one purpose of his trip to Washington, D.C., was to observe how the new food offerings were served and being received by passengers, Chestler would spend the night in an extra-wide coach seat of the train’s business class section. This is something Amtrak managers at all levels almost never do, but all roomettes and bedrooms in the Cardinal’s lone sleeper had been sold out weeks in advance.
A second Viewliner sleeper hasn’t been available because a car damaged in the February 2018 Silver Star collision has yet to be repaired and Amtrak has only one of 25 Viewliner II sleeping cars — with a different room configuration — on the property.
“My trip was an enlightening experience—not a great night of sleep for me in the business class seat,” Chestler emailed Trains News Wire after the journey, “but it was good for me to experience the product as the majority of our customers do, in a seat.” He adds, “The flexible dining food service was well-received by our customers and the onboard staff did a nice job delivering the product. I met some nice fellow travelers, and enjoyed the scenery through West Virginia.”
He also revealed that the deployment of a Viewliner II diner on the triweekly train’s two sets of equipment won’t take place “for the time being” because Amfleet II lounge cars, “are the most suitable for this service given the configuration of the cars and the Cardinal’s passenger volume.”
Wow, an Anderson appointee who actually rode a long distance train – in business/coach no less. We’ll see.
After just finishing a two week trip on Amtrak one thing this new guy could do is restore Food on the Eastern trains this garbage they are serving as flex meals is only worse if you look at the nutritional values as it is mostly sodium.Also it would be nice if they put out printed schedules again as we landed on the Silver star and found out it has no meal service which when you are traveling by sleeping car is kind of expected.Nothing like another airline guy to be here to help.Trumps plan is to do away with all trains or maybe just passenger.Please we must not let this happen!!!
another UNQUALIFIED person who wouldn’t know how to run a train unless LIONEL was on the side !
Did anyone catch the third to last paragraph in this piece to the effect that a Viewliner sleeper damaged in February 2018 has yet to be repaired? Why hurry with the repair — the only people being inconvenienced are your customers.
Sun Country was a different type of airline as a charter operator. In some ways Sun Country was a Coop rather then a traditional business. Sun Country also was an operation that really thought out of the box. During the 80’s for a few years they were flying a 727 to Hawaii a couple of times a month.
Glad he’s riding a train. That’s a good start. I’d suggest he ride in coach though, get the full experience.
Another airline executive. Bet there is a mandate in his contract to remedy (destroy) the Long Distance problems of Amtrak. If the current warfare model is used, Food service on long distance trains will be “bread and water” very soon. Amtrak management at this point would use cattle cars if they could get away with it. After all, airlines are happy to fly their version of airborne cattle cars now. SO SAD.
William Ensinger, he did right in coach, overnight on the Cardinal…but I guess you missed that part when skimming the article. The rest of you don’t read very well either, nor comprehend much, he was on the Cardinal, and said, and I quote: ” He adds, “The flexible dining food service was well-received by our customers and the onboard staff did a nice job delivering the product. I met some nice fellow travelers, and enjoyed the scenery through West Virginia.”” That tells me he actually talked the passengers and got their comments on the food service, that he was taking out of his rear end…that says something for the man.
Before we crucify the new guy let’s give him a chance. I’m sure the contemporary microwave bowls ARE and upgrade to the typical convenience-store fare normally available in the Cardinal’s cafe car (hasn’t been a diner on this route in years). I hope to run into Chestler on my upcoming travels, so I can have the opportunity to respectfully share my thoughts and experiences with Amtrak LD travel. I’d consider that an opportunity to lobby for dining cars, private varnish and more sleeper and business-class space on these runs.
I don’t understand, why do people who has a conflict with airlines, half to run a Railroad, they are looking for passenger for there airlines, that’s the reason for the cutting the dinner car,
@Scott Lyke: I wonder if he will also travel the East Coast Long Distance Trains? The Crescent, Lake Shore Ltd. The Capitol Ltd.The Florida Trains. Or they are not LD enough?
Great! Another airline guy. Having said that, I am glad to see that he’s riding trains and sampling the service. Unfortunately, he looks too young to have truly experienced train travel as it was during the 50s, so he isn’t in a position to compare it to current offerings. Plus, no matter how much he advocates for long distance trains, he will be up against it with higher ups. I wish him the best.
Another new hire with no experience. I love the comment that the “flexible dining food service was well received by customers”. Nonsense. Amtrak has lost my business.
CHRISTOPHE – Regarding your second sentence. BINGO. Triweekly trains are bad for the carrier and bad for the riders. There is no excuse for them.
I recently got a bit of advice from a veteran airline employee: If you want to get somewhere by air, choose the carrier with the most flights per day on that route, like three or more. That’s flights per day, not flights per week.
Riding the rails is a great first step, so this is encouraging.
Someone needs to fill him in on the dismal economics of tri-weekly trains.
When did he work at Sun Country Airlines? When they were basically a charter airline? When they were a scrappy challenger to Delta’s MSP hegemony? Or in the last few years when they’ve become a low-cost, charge-a-fee-for-every-little-thing airline?
I think the first step is to ride all of the long distance trains. Perhaps as he examine the product he’ll see what Anderson does not – the long distance trains don’t just serve the end points. Maybe analysis will show them how useful these trains really are.
I’d also like to see a switch from Amtrak’s weird accounting to GAAP, but that may be dreaming…
We’ll see how he does, but I’m skeptical.
Amtrak has NOT banned private cars. They reduced the number of places where they can be cut in and cut out of train. The places where this can be done are at the beginning and end points and places where trains spend 30″ or more. The rates were raised somewhat, too.
Hmmm… Not sure what to make here… A lot of ppl here griped and complained when Moorman became the CEO… He’s a freight guy, be better to hire an airline exec because they move people. Then Moorman does exactly that and brought in an airline exec… Of course people are still griping because of the changes that have happened for various reasons.
Now there’s this guy, Chester. He’s supposed to be advocating for the LD trains, but still comes from the airlines… I have at least some cautious optimism here… At least he has ridden some of the LD trains. That includes spending the night on board not in a sleeper, rubbing elbows with other passengers. Did Anderson or Moorman ever do that?
The real crime committed by Anderson was the elimination of private rail cars.
M SINGER post below, SINGER’s second paragraph, says it all. No further analysis is needed.
If anyone really believes the new food service is being well received I have ocean front property in Nebraska to sell cheap.
Anybody keeping track how frequently the VP just for long distance routes has flipped over under Anderson? Is it because the others just could not get along with the prince-in-waiting Gardener? Or, simply that Anderson seeks to have an all airline management group?
Do wonder if Chestier bothered to vet what he is getting into, as does he even know the grand plan of Anderson/Gardner to slowly bleed and eliminate the long distance routes? Perhaps Chestier is also familiar with bus operations..?
Funny how only at Amtrak is the decades old dismissed maxim that your skills are transferable, given how companies today shun that concept.
A potential article in the making could be to analyze if the passenger train was ill-served by railroad freight managers promoted up into that business line, or, even worse by ex-airline jocks managing passenger trains? Also, except for the saintly few riding in Gardner’s wake, what happened to Amtrak’s philosophy of promoting from within?
Perhaps TRAINS can create a scorecard by VP position of duration on job and prior experience?
What different room configuration in the Viewliner II sleeper? You mean no toilets in the roomettes, or something else? Did they eliminate a bedroom or a couple of roomettes to accomodate the communal john?
if a freight RR guy with 20, 30, 40, 50 years experience were appointed, it’d be the same thing. No experience with moving passengers, At least this guy moved passengers in the airlines, which means more than moving freight, right?
Airline is hiring a mechanic for a 737, I never worked on a 737, I’ve only worked helicopters for 25 years, even though I have an A&P, they wont hire me, get it? NOT THE SAME.
Another airline reject; heaven help us!