FIRST-COME/FIRST-SERVED CHECK-IN WINDOW MAY EXPAND

[Snafu]

FIRST-COME/FIRST-SERVED CHECK-IN WINDOW MAY EXPAND
Since asking employees for feedback regarding the boarding process, we’ve heard that some employees would like to see an expansion of the current 4-hour window in which travelers on West-operated flights can check in for their non-rev flight.

The benefits team is considering expanding the window to 12 hours to provide more flexibility for travelers who are on long or complicated itineraries, transferring from work to pleasure travel or transferring between East and West metal.

Have an opinion? Share it with us by sending an email to [email protected] to say “yeaâ€￾ or “nayâ€￾ to a 12-hour window. Feedback will be taken on this topic this week only, and a decision will be announced in an upcoming issue of AboutUS.

[email protected] continues to take your opinions on the boarding process - seniority vs. first-come/first-served - and will do so throughout 2006. But for the next week, we’d also like to hear your thoughts on an expanded check-in window.

 

[rjh]

FIRST-COME/FIRST-SERVED CHECK-IN WINDOW MAY EXPAND
Since asking employees for feedback regarding the boarding process, we’ve heard that some employees would like to see an expansion of the current 4-hour window in which travelers on West-operated flights can check in for their non-rev flight.

The benefits team is considering expanding the window to 12 hours to provide more flexibility for travelers who are on long or complicated itineraries, transferring from work to pleasure travel or transferring between East and West metal.

Have an opinion? Share it with us by sending an email to [email protected] to say “yeaâ€￾ or “nayâ€￾ to a 12-hour window. Feedback will be taken on this topic this week only, and a decision will be announced in an upcoming issue of AboutUS.

[email protected] continues to take your opinions on the boarding process - seniority vs. first-come/first-served - and will do so throughout 2006. But for the next week, we’d also like to hear your thoughts on an expanded check-in window.

If the final boarding priority goes to first-come/first-serve, expanding the check-in window could help out many employees. I have seen complaints from commuters that complain they don't have enough time to check in for their flights at the end of their trips. For the most part (please note the qualifying statement), expanding the window to 12 hours would allow commuters to check in for a flight home before their first "working" flight of the day.

 

[FLY GUY]

My question is if someone has checked in 12 hours before for thier comute home and thier last flight is running late how long before departue time will they hold it.

 

[rjh]

My question is if someone has checked in 12 hours before for thier comute home and thier last flight is running late how long before departue time will they hold it.

Are you asking how long will the seat be held, or the flight be held? If you're asking about the seat, I think it's 10 minutes (same as revenue passenger). Whatever the policy is, I don't think there's any difference whether you check in 12 hours or 4 hours ahead of time.

If you're asking about the flight--I seriously hope we would never hold a flight for a non-rev.

 

[FLY GUY]

Are you asking how long will the seat be held, or the flight be held? If you're asking about the seat, I think it's 10 minutes (same as revenue passenger). Whatever the policy is, I don't think there's any difference whether you check in 12 hours or 4 hours ahead of time.

If you're asking about the flight--I seriously hope we would never hold a flight for a non-rev.

Thankyou, I definately meant the seat not the flight.

 

[crushed]

Doesn't this policy encourage people to come to the airport at the last minute?
If you have already checked in 4 or 12 hours prior then you don't need to be at the gate until 10 mins. prior, right?

 

[luvthe9]

SENIORITY ONLY CURES THIS PROBLEM, PLAIN AND SIMPLE!!!!!!!

 

[hp-csr-phx]

SENIORITY ONLY CURES THIS PROBLEM, PLAIN AND SIMPLE!!!!!!!

I think the rule is 15 minutes prior to departure now. This can be a major pain if you are working a Vegas flight with 50 non revs. At the end of the day only half are still around and you're trying to clear seats. You have to call a name and if they are not there, unseat them and move on to the next person.

 

[rjh]

SENIORITY ONLY CURES THIS PROBLEM, PLAIN AND SIMPLE!!!!!!!

No it doesn't because then you could still have a rush of people showing up at the last minute--because they know it doesn't matter when they show up. Then you have the added problem of someone gettign cleared for a seat, boarded and settled into their seat. Then 10 minutes before departure, a more senior person wanders up to the gate. Then that person who actually took the time to check in early gets bumped.

 

[TheNewLowFare]

No it doesn't because then you could still have a rush of people showing up at the last minute--because they know it doesn't matter when they show up. Then you have the added problem of someone gettign cleared for a seat, boarded and settled into their seat. Then 10 minutes before departure, a more senior person wanders up to the gate. Then that person who actually took the time to check in early gets bumped.

Yup. That's exactly what happened to one of the girls that I recently worked with. (She used to work for the old US) She said she would spend the whole day getting bumped in PHL trying to get home because a more senior f/a would bump her from all the flights that she was listed on.

 

[rjh]

Yup. That's exactly what happened to one of the girls that I recently worked with. (She used to work for the old US) She said she would spend the whole day getting bumped in PHL trying to get home because a more senior f/a would bump her from all the flights that she was listed on.

Plus, it's hard for a person to plan their trips using seniority. Right now, you see how many SA2P's are listed for a flight so you have a decent idea of your chances of making it on the flight. You can see this when you plan your trip, when you list, and all the way until the departure time. When you check-in on the web, you are also shown how many from each boarding priority are already checked in. There are 5 seats left, and you are the first non rev out of 6 to check in. Barring changes with revenue pax, you have a decent chance of making it on the flight.

With seniority--how would that work? You're number 1 to check in--but you have no idea what the seniority is of everyone else.

 

[tadjr]

With seniority--how would that work? You're number 1 to check in--but you have no idea what the seniority is of everyone else.

You can actually pull a list of nonrevs and since we have to list via the database to get on the list correctly, it states the seniority date of the person traveling so you can see where you stand. It also shows nondata base listings (buddy passes not traveling with the employee and other airline listers) so you can tell how mnay of them are part of the nonrev listings. Most people list for flights unless they get rerouted at the last minute or happen to make a connection inbound earlier than they thought and run to the gate. If the flight has seats on it, you can clear standbys at the gate within an hour of departure. If its less than 30 minutes before checkin, they should technically go to the bottom of the list, but at the least, anyone who is at the gate and has already been issued a boarding pass and seat assigned should not have it taken away from them for someone who is not checked in before the 30 minutes. While seniority has its privliges, being on time and checked in correctly does as well.

With 21 years, I personally dont care which way it goes. Sometimes I would be better off with seniority or I can surely get checked in right at the opening bell of time checkin if thats the way it ends up. In my 20 years I dont recall ever being "bumped" from more than 2 flights in a day, but then again, I've learned not to travel when everything is booked full either.

 

[MarkMyWords]

Tadjr is absolutely correct. If I am a gate agent and I am working a flight that has 5 open seats and 10 non-rev's listed for the flight, it is highly probable that I will wait until 10 minutes before departure to assign non-rev seats. At that point, any non-rev boarded will not be pulled for a last minute non-rev.

I have been non-reving for almost 20 years and have only been pulled of an airplane once, and that was because of a revenue customer that showed up 5 minutes before we closed the door.

I have been somewhat impartial to the idea of two different systems for non-reving....trying to keep an open mind. I have weighed the options and looked at the positives and negatives of each. Here is what I think....for what it is worth....

If we were still just and East or West Coast airline, operating in 1-2 times zones, then first come, first serve may work on a somewhat even basis. At HP, you were primarily a West Coast operator with primarily contract employees on the East side. Most all the employees were in the 2 times zones out west. The same could be said for US. Our primary focus was on the east and the vast majority of employees were in the 2 times zones in the east.

Now, as a combined carrier, our employee base is spread primaryily over 4 times zones and our flying is spread over 11 times zones. While opening the check-in window to 12 hours will be a tremendous benefit to commuting crew members, it doesn't make that much of a difference to the rest of the employee groups.

Let's look at one possible scenario. Say I am in FCO and I am taking the long journey to LAX. You can check-in 12 hours before the flight to PHL and be checked in all the way to LAX. Say I was flying FCO-PHL-PHX-LAX because the PHL-LAX flight was full. I could be checking in for the PHX-LAX flight almost 24 hours before departure! In my eyes, that gives me an unfair advantage over every other non-rev that is trying to get on that flight. It gives a disadvantage to those employees that live in PHX. The same can be said for an employee trying to get to Europe. If I am in LAX and connecting thru PHL to get to AMS, departing LAX at 7am, I can check in at 7pm PST (10pm EST). That means I am on the stand-by list for the PHL-AMS flight almost 20 hours before departure. The earliest that an Eastie can get on the list is 6am EST.

Given the distances that we travel and the concentration of employess over more times zones, seniority, in my eyes, is the policy that offers a more equal playing field for all. (And yes, I do realize that East is a more senior airline the the West).

That is just my opinion....

 

[tadjr]

(And yes, I do realize that East is a more senior airline the the West).

That is just my opinion....

Another thing to consider when talking about the seniority thing though is not all of us 20+ year people are going to be able to take vacation at the same time. We have about 13 new hires now in station with 05 seniority dates. How many senior people took the buyouts and are now traveling as S4s? When you look at the seniority of each group as a whole, it looks very lopsided, but check out some individual flights some times and with the exception of possibly a couple hub- West Coast flights where crew are trying to commute, there really is no way to say that one group will ALWAYS be at the top or bottom of seniority. I've also met quite a few HP people who are right up there mixed in seniority wise with the bottom of our old list in station before we hired off the street, and I know that other stations have been hiring during this time. I think both sides of active employees got a big break (at the expense of the retirees/leaves) when they made them an S4.

 

[Zarah]

If I cannot check in by phone then 12 hours is a bigger PITA than 4 hours. The only place I go is to see my parents in Ohio and they do not have a computer.