PineyBob..
Geeez... :huh:
I was not threatening anyone by that post. I was simply reminding folks of the corporate policy.
If someone on here wants to talk to the media and possibly get caught and fired...that is their personal decision...just thought i should remind people thats' all!!
Besides, it's probably a moot point anyway and the situation appears to be abating as we see here from the Charlotte Observer:
Kiosks down again
at Charlotte/Douglas
More delays expected for evening flights
STEVE HARRISON and PETER ST. ONGE
slyttle@charlotteobserver.com
JASON E. MICZEK / Special to the ObserverPassengers cram Charlotte/Douglas International Airport Monday morning.
Kiosks at center of problems Sunday
Fliers forced to wait
Slideshow | Long lines for passengers
US Airways' self-service kiosks still aren't working, though afternoon lines at Charlotte/Douglas International are much shorter than Sunday and this morning.
The airline turned on some of the kiosks around 1:30 p.m. and passengers used them successfully. But the airline still isn't confident that its computer problems are fixed, and it turned the kiosks off. The airline is urging passengers to arrive at the airport two hours before their flights.
Lines were relatively short at 4 p.m., with passengers taking 15 minutes to see a ticket agent. But the airline expects the lines to get longer this evening when for its 7 p.m. bank of departures.
Because lines were long this morning, the airline held 11 flights to allow passengers to get through the ticketing process. Each flight was held only 10-15 minutes, said Michelle Mohr, a US Airways spokesperson. The airline has no current plans to hold afternoon flights, but they will if the lines grow again, she said.
Some customers have been printing out tickets online before arriving at the airport. That system is working some of the time, but at least one customer noticed some difficulties. Steve Cormier of Palmer, Mass., tried to check in this morning for a flight from Charlotte to Hartford, Conn. The online site said he and his wife had already done so. They had to stand in the long line to clear up the confusion.
"We expect hiccups like that as we transition to the new system," Mohr said.
US Airways' international check-in counters are open today. On Sunday, those counters weren't working, sending hundreds of passengers into the domestic lines, increasing delays.
Earlier this morning, lines stretched through the passenger terminal in a repeat performance of the computer meltdown that affected thousands of passengers Sunday. By 10:30 a.m., they shortened to more reasonable levels, similar to busy weekend travel days.
Passengers are still being asked to arrive at the airport at least two hours before their scheduled departure.
The problem developed Sunday when US Airways switched to a different type of electronic reservation system.
The self-service kiosks at Charlotte’s airport and some other airports were not able to communicate with the mainframe computer system for US Airways. Officials of the airline said the problem developed at several airports, but it was worse in Charlotte than at other sites. Some passengers had to wait 2½ hours in line Sunday. But airline officials said most passengers eventually made their flights.
US Airways officials said Sunday night they still weren’t sure what had caused the problem. “We don’t know,†US Airways President Scott Kirby said. “It’s hard to pin down.†Kirby added, “We hope - and this isn’t a guarantee - that even if the kiosks aren’t working (today), we can check customers in in a decent amount of time.â€
By Sunday night, the self-service kiosks were working sporadically.
The problem surfaced about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, when passengers began experiencing troubles. But US Airways officials kept expecting the problem to be fixed quickly.
By 10:30 a.m., the airline was overwhelmed. Check-in lines at Charlotte/Douglas stretched from one end of the terminal to the other, and back again. US Airways passed out pieces of paper with a hastily typed message: Please go home and try to get a seat on a later flight. The airline estimated that about 500 people missed their flights, not including those who went home or who made flights that had been delayed.
“It’s a big embarrassment to us,†said Chuck Allen, US Airways director of corporate affairs. The airline Sunday waived all change fees, which are usually $100 per ticket. It also is offering customers a refund if they missed flights.
The airline has not decided if it will offer compensation to inconvenienced travelers. “We’ve been focused on fixing the problem,†Kirby said.
The kiosk malfunction is part of US Airways’ effort to become a single airline, by fully integrating the old US Airways with its merger partner, America West.
As part of the merger, the airline adopted a single reservations platform - the Shares system used by America West. US Airways had used a rival system called Sabre. The kiosk problems were mostly in the eastern U.S., where the old US Airways was dominant. Those kiosks used the old Sabre system.
In preparation for the switch, US Airways had dispatched staff from the old America West who are familiar with Shares to Charlotte and several other key airports. The airline also had additional employees scheduled to work Sunday and even more today, because Mondays are busier travel days.
It wasn’t enough in Charlotte.
One anticipated problem was that not all agents were fast on the new reservations system. US Airways had been training employees on Shares by using a computer program that mimics the new system, even while still working in Sabre. But some agents were slower on the new system.
Passengers were upset about the lines - and by the lack of information from the airline. “I don’t even know where the end of the lines is,†David Culp, a Florence, S.C., man who was trying to get to San Diego, said Sunday morning. “No one is telling us anything.â€
Trying to ease the Charlotte problems, the airline was able to turn on a handful of kiosks about 11 a.m. It also opened up some of its unusede counter space and began checking in passengers manually. An agent would review a passenger’s itinerary and issue a temporary boarding pass, allowing the passenger to get through the security checkpoint and formally check in at the gate.
By mid-afternoon, with lines more manageable with 30 to 45 minute wait times, US Airways turned off its kiosks again for more testing. Technicians were trying to make sure the software was working under all conditions - such as when passengers check in by name, flight number, of Dividend Miles account number.
IF YOU’RE FLYING TODAY:
Arrive two hours early if you have to see an agent.
Use Internet check-in at
http://www.usairways.com.
Use curbside services for check-in or checking baggage.
Staff writers Steve Lyttle, Nichole Bell and Amy Rainey contributed to this article.
