274 pax forced out of airport by armed guards?

[LGA777]

Thanks for the update. Does anyone know if we have our own agents in PUJ or are we contracted out? The original OP of the article in question has returned to the US and further clarifies some of the questions people had on the other website in regards to the situation.

In SDQ all the agents and supvs work for Swissport and US only has a Station Mgr so it's probably the same in PUJ. The Swissport agents do wear the full (old) US uniform and name tags, even US laynards for their ID's, you would never know from appearances that the were not actual employees. Almost all the ones I have encountered in SDQ over the years have been Great !

LGA777

 

[Travel Is My Life]

someone was REALLY wrong here.

Who on earth thinks USAirways would pay MORE for guards with arms?!?!

 

[mrman]

So lets blame US Airways for severe weather hitting the area... Since when does Tempe control mother nature? Also, how do 274 pax fit on a A319 or A320, isnt that what flies between PHL and Punta Cana? I highly doubt the 274 pax were all on US.

No lets blame US for poor handling of a weathe situation. Most airlines have contigentcy plans, don't escort passengers with armed guards etc.

Poor PR

 

[Travel Is My Life]

No lets blame US for poor handling of a weathe situation. Most airlines have contigentcy plans, don't escort passengers with armed guards etc.

Poor PR

Again US has no control over the weather. If its unsafe to fly which it was in this case, they arent going to fly. Plus while it would be nice if they got hotels for everybody, which they arent in any way obligated to do for weather, in certain destinations such as this one, finding rooms for 274 pax is pretty much impossible. Its not like youre talking about a major city with thousands of rooms right around the airport. Plus with as bad the weather travel by car, bus, etc. in the area was not exactly safe either. So even if US was going to pay for hotels, how would the pax have gotten there, safely?? US like every airline has contigency plans, just sometimes even the best laid plans don't work or won't help in extreme situations. Also it wasn't US escorting pax with armed guards, thats an airport/government thing, not an airline thing. Get your info straight.

 

[SegmentKing]

The "old" USAirways was very proactive with bad weather... such as moving up flight times, using different aircraft, etc.

I should know, I worked thru 8 hurricanes in my station, and USAirways was *always* the last commercial flight out of my station after all the other airlines closed up shop.

We were also the first back.

 

[Travel Is My Life]

Given that Tempe does control factors that contain for weather, and,

that Tempe has reduced margins in order to save every penny, and,

therefore, what might have been an inconvenient delay has turned into a cancelation, the result of which is, indeed, controlled by Tempe.

Running on substandard tires one might similarly excuse a blown tire with excuses that the pothole was unexpected, you didn't see the nails, etc. when, in fact, it was your cheap decisions about the tires that caused the flat. These cheap decisions have a tendency to add up and (yet another) perfect storm will be in the offing as the carrier lurches from one self-imposed crisis to another.

This was a situation that Tempe has no control over regardless of thier margins, plans, etc. It was unsafe to fly their planes to/from this destination so they didnt fly their planes at the time. Has absolutely nothing to do with reduced margins, etc. Nobody can control the weather. US like every other airline has plans to deal with severe weather but sometimes the best plans just don't work and you get stuck. Happens to everybody and every airline at one point or another. This wasn't a cheap decision it was a safety decision. So go on hating US and Tempe but this is one case in which that hate is just not justified.

 

[ussnark]

This was a situation that Tempe has no control over regardless of thier margins, plans, etc. It was unsafe to fly their planes to/from this destination so they didnt fly their planes at the time. Has absolutely nothing to do with reduced margins, etc.

It has everything to do with reduced margins.

As was mentioned in an earlier post, the CCY led airline was able to accommodate the environment to an unprecedented degree compared to this dismal and pathetically incompetent operation.

If you accustom oneself to using cheap tires, one must then do so with the expectation that you will experience more blown tires. Simple fact of life. No free lunch. Stepping over dollars to pick up pennies is a direct road to failure.

 

[BuffaloJoe]

This was a situation that Tempe has no control over regardless of thier margins, plans, etc. It was unsafe to fly their planes to/from this destination so they didnt fly their planes at the time. Has absolutely nothing to do with reduced margins, etc. Nobody can control the weather. US like every other airline has plans to deal with severe weather but sometimes the best plans just don't work and you get stuck. Happens to everybody and every airline at one point or another. This wasn't a cheap decision it was a safety decision. So go on hating US and Tempe but this is one case in which that hate is just not justified.

I guess that is why US waits to be the last in line to extend that helping hand. US can and will never be the first airline to publicize the fee waivers. They are just all about GREED! Safety? They would fly in there if the plane wouldn't be lost. The only people that care about the well-being of the passengers are the Frontline Employees. Tempe just cares about the Dollar, they don't care if they are robbing a dead person for it.

 

[jcw]

I guess that is why US waits to be the last in line to extend that helping hand. US can and will never be the first airline to publicize the fee waivers. They are just all about GREED! Safety? They would fly in there if the plane wouldn't be lost. The only people that care about the well-being of the passengers are the Frontline Employees. Tempe just cares about the Dollar, they don't care if they are robbing a dead person for it.

Let me get this straight. There was severe weather, the planes could not safely travel to the destination. No other airline flew to the station. No other airline arranged hotels for their passengers.

US put an extra section and a larger aircraft in the day after to transport passengers to their destination and retreive passengers they were not able to pick up.

How is that GREED over safety.

You guys really drink the hate the company at all cost kool aide.

 

[ussnark]

How is that GREED over safety.

Greed and incompetence are two different words, in spelling and meaning. Try most any dictionary.

 

[Be Careful What You Wish For.]

The CCY days-the golden years-when bad things were sent through the mail to insult a particular VFF.

Those were the days.

Ah, the memories...sorry, forgot about the HURRICANE!!!!! for a minute.

 

[BuffaloJoe]

Let me get this straight. There was severe weather, the planes could not safely travel to the destination. No other airline flew to the station. No other airline arranged hotels for their passengers.

US put an extra section and a larger aircraft in the day after to transport passengers to their destination and retreive passengers they were not able to pick up.

How is that GREED over safety.

You guys really drink the hate the company at all cost kool aide.

I understand what you are saying, my point is that why is US always always the last airline to post no fees for a change during these types of emergencies/situations.

No other airline arranged hotels for their passengers, maybe that is the other airlines put some of their flights into PUJ earlier so that they could evacuate them prior to the no-fly time. US always continues to drag their feet.

Greed over Safety, Its only due to the Frontline Employees. I may hate the Company but they gave me reasons to hate them. And person with any type of vision can see that. Devaluating their FF Program, their First Class Product, and the airline in general. Sure baggage improvements worked at PHL but why is that? Could it be that they are now charging for everything? The Only thing US was first to do was Charge for drinks, charge for ALL Baggage.

 

[tadjr]

I understand what you are saying, my point is that why is US always always the last airline to post no fees for a change during these types of emergencies/situations.

No other airline arranged hotels for their passengers, maybe that is the other airlines put some of their flights into PUJ earlier so that they could evacuate them prior to the no-fly time. US always continues to drag their feet.

Dont know all the airlines that were flying into PUJ that day, but AA canx their MIA trip and two SJU trips. Their JFK flight diverted to SDQ and continued the next day to PUJ. Isnt this what US did? Try to land, couldnt, diverted and then flew the next day? The storm was right over the Dominican Republic when this was happening and it was strengthening. It isnt like there was a lot of advance warning. They tried to land (or for those who want to get semantic on me, they flew there hoping to land and were forced to divert to SJU for whatever reason, I dont know if they actually "tried to land").
US has already advised us that tomorrow we will be shutting down TPA after 2pm. They have arranged to get extra help in the morning. Everything on the website is showing canx after 2pm. Some of the other carriers are also showing flights cancelled already and some are still showing running a full schedule tomorrow. We'll see what happens. At least if they check the website or call, they can be rebooked in the am or the next day. As of last Sat, US was already allowing changes for Florida for the storm thru Wed of this week. Some of the other airline websites I've checked didnt have any provisions listed until today for the storm. I wouldnt call this being last minute.

 

[Be Careful What You Wish For.]

I understand what you are saying, my point is that why is US always always the last airline to post no fees for a change during these types of emergencies/situations.

How do you know this?

 

[BuffaloJoe]

How do you know this?

I can read the airlines press releases. US Is generally one of the last to post weather options.

Here is another thing from US Airways Website Press Release,

If US Airways service continues to operate to the affected destinations, you can make certain changes without incurring the standard change fee, advance reservation or ticketing requirements:

* You can move your entire itinerary up to seven days before or after the scheduled origination date.
* You can apply the full value of your wholly unused tickets toward the purchase of a ticket to an alternate destination, although travel must originate within seven days of the scheduled origination date.

How can you move it up seven days? Tempe has to stop using Templates on everything. My 10 Year old Son knows how to use MS Office.