Airline Ontime
- Thread starter twaokc
- Start date
B
BigBangTheory
Guest
The guy in 2a
Newbie
- Aug 30, 2002
- 7
- 1
"Sitting while waiting for the crew to guide us in is a frequent problem at Kennedy too."
I'll say that I've seen this problem at AA and UA especially, and it goes back to before 2001 -- i.e. not due to recent staffing decisions.
I noticed this big time starting in 1999, when I started flying Southwest sometimes. Everyone talked about open seating at SW, and note they had no amenities in the air and no perks for frequent flyers like lounges, upgrades, etc. SO -- SW must be just a backpacker's airline; not so -- it got some important things right for the road warrior:
When they pushed back, the crew hustled to the takeoff line. Don't their crews have the same paperwork to complete, necessitating a slow crawl to the runway? Upon landing, they would speed to the gate. The jetway would move into place right away. The door would fly open. We'd all pile off the plane in seconds. The only thing faster was a company private jet.
Now in 2008, all airlines' FF perks have been watered own, and legacy-airline service amenities have been cut back. Yet SW still comes through for the business passenger in-the-know.
[I write this as an ex-AA Platinum and ex-UA Premier Exec flier]. Airline operations are so complex, yet individual companies' procedures have evolved in such isolation, that they won't even realize that their own procedures can be very different from a competitor's. I see less benchmarking of competitors - except for DOT reporting -- than in other industries.
I'll say that I've seen this problem at AA and UA especially, and it goes back to before 2001 -- i.e. not due to recent staffing decisions.
I noticed this big time starting in 1999, when I started flying Southwest sometimes. Everyone talked about open seating at SW, and note they had no amenities in the air and no perks for frequent flyers like lounges, upgrades, etc. SO -- SW must be just a backpacker's airline; not so -- it got some important things right for the road warrior:
When they pushed back, the crew hustled to the takeoff line. Don't their crews have the same paperwork to complete, necessitating a slow crawl to the runway? Upon landing, they would speed to the gate. The jetway would move into place right away. The door would fly open. We'd all pile off the plane in seconds. The only thing faster was a company private jet.
Now in 2008, all airlines' FF perks have been watered own, and legacy-airline service amenities have been cut back. Yet SW still comes through for the business passenger in-the-know.
[I write this as an ex-AA Platinum and ex-UA Premier Exec flier]. Airline operations are so complex, yet individual companies' procedures have evolved in such isolation, that they won't even realize that their own procedures can be very different from a competitor's. I see less benchmarking of competitors - except for DOT reporting -- than in other industries.
No station in AA's system has as many complexities as JFK, 777, A300, 767 short&long, MD80, Most AA nternational cities, then we have the OAL's Malev, Jetairways, Finnair and Mexicana and more rumored on the way.
Maybe, the company should be downgrading DFW, and placing their bets on JFK, the revenue leader.
So enjoy your wait on the tarmac.
They have a limited number of people trained to park aircraft and they run them ragged. It wasnt like that when mechanics parked them in part because all the A&Ps were qualified to park.
Southwest pretty much avoids flying out of other airline hubs and/or extremely congested airports.
You aren't going to wait in line for take off on ISP-MDW like you will on LGA-ORD.
Coop
SLT
eolesen
Veteran
- Jul 23, 2003
- 15,959
- 9,374
They also used to get paid by the segment, not the hour, so there was an incentive to get the turns done quickly.
The fact that they have "all hands on deck" workrules when it comes to turning an airplane around can't be underestimated, either. The FA's are expected to pitch in, so they do a lot of pre-landing cabin prep you don't normally see on other airlines unless the FA's are also expected to clean at the destination (i.e. the C bow).
"Avoiding hubs" is an urban myth. Yes, they avoid ATL, MSP, DFW and the slot controlled airports. But they're pretty firmly entrenched in LAS, PHX, SLC, PHL, DEN, LAX, MCO, and increasingly, SFO, all of which are hubs, and some of which are congested. Even MDW gets a little ugly at times.
The fact that they have "all hands on deck" workrules when it comes to turning an airplane around can't be underestimated, either. The FA's are expected to pitch in, so they do a lot of pre-landing cabin prep you don't normally see on other airlines unless the FA's are also expected to clean at the destination (i.e. the C bow).
"Avoiding hubs" is an urban myth. Yes, they avoid ATL, MSP, DFW and the slot controlled airports. But they're pretty firmly entrenched in LAS, PHX, SLC, PHL, DEN, LAX, MCO, and increasingly, SFO, all of which are hubs, and some of which are congested. Even MDW gets a little ugly at times.
Similar threads
