Nonrevs behaving badly... what's new?

[Dont call me Shirley]

same year "splitting the baby")how is it that much different from the Old U's way of DOH?

On a side note I've seen DAL have a screen at the gate w/ all the non-revs listed in order of seniority. No Problems.

UAL uses those screens also, for both rev and nonrev S/B. The screen even shows how many seat are left and when the seats are cleared.

 

[tadjr]

Well, the way QIK/Shares is programmed to assign seats, there is no guarantee that she was going to get her window seat to begin with. If the agents wanted to, they clear all and let the computer go to work. Front center, rear aisle, front middle, middle window, rear middle, etc. No rhyme or reason. Then just tell the nonrevs to deal with it, this is what the computer assigned you. Then just watch the fun unfold on the plane with everyone trying to switch around. She had an attitude and handled it badly. Very often a little please, is there a window I need to sleep before I start my trip might have gotten her a little further along than standing IN FRONT OF THE VERY PEOPLE SHE WAS BADMOUTHING and then wondering why she got the seat she did. Some people are not only rude, but stupid.
I had an employee call the gate one time questioning why someone junior to their party got a window seat while their person got a middle. The reason is because I knew I had X number of seats not sold so I cleared X number of standbys to get them on the plane. Then, at the very end of boarding, after every one else was through biting their nails, we found out we had people who werent going to make it so their seats were canx and assigned to those few people who were anxiously waiting in the boarding lounge to see if they were even getting on the plane at all. Simple as that. I'm not waiting until the last minute to give out a seat just so you get "a good one". If there isnt a good one left are you going to go or give it to someone else who just wants on the plane? (And yes with 23 years, I've had the middle seat more often than I care to remember, but I was at least on the plane.)

 

[hpflygirl]

About a month ago I tried to non-rev PHX-DEN. It was a Sunday and the flight was full. I checked in at home and noticed there was another 3P, 2yrs senior to me, listed as well. I went to the gate 1 1/2 hrs before departure time. SJO flight was being closed out so I waited til the new gate crew arrived before asking for the jumpseat form. The time was noted on the form, ID checked, etc. I told the gate agent about the other 3P that was listed. She pulled up the standby list and I recognized the name as being another flight attendant. I let the gate agent know I was aware if she showed up prior to an hour before departure she would take the jumpseat from me. So then I sat down and waited at the gate til 59mins prior to departure. No other f/a had shown up and there was no one in line, so the gate agent signed my jumpseat form. A/C came in about 10 minutes later, part of the new crew shows up....they invite me to come onboard with them...gate agent says it's ok, so off I go. A few minutes later the "A" comes onboard and says there is a f/a at the gate giving the agent he** because I have the jumpseat. She is demanding the gate agent remove me from the a/c as she is senior to me, and when the gate agent explains to her the procedure we followed she called her a liar and said she was at the gate prior to an hour and I was not. She was in uniform, at the gate, in front of the passengers throwing a temper tantrum. The gate agent came down a few minutes later...just before boarding....and told me the same story. She also said the f/a demanded her name and "threatened" to write her up. I told the gate agent I would hold on to my copy of the jumpseat form that had my arrival time on it in case proof was needed. The gate agent said she finally told the f/a that if she needed to continue throwing her tantrum she would need to take it to the inflight room at B4 as she (gate agent) had a flight she needed to board. She then told the f/a to step away from the gate. The f/a left the boarding area. She came back at the end of boarding to see if she would get a seat, but no non-revs got on.
Having been a commuter I know that after a 4 day trip all you want to do is go home. If the other f/a had actually been at the gate before I boarded and asked me to let her take this flight instead of me I would have let her go. But she wasn't there. And when I got home I looked up her schedule and saw she was a commuter...and her trip had ended 2 hours before departure time. She had ample time to get to the gate and chose not to get there early. I was told later she has pulled this "tactic" a few times before. I guess she doesn't realize that one of these days some gate agent will write her up and she will have a heck of a time getting to work for a month or so without her flight benefits.
I've been here nearly 20 years and I still don't understand why some non-revs behave as badly as they do. When I was hired I was told you take the seat given to you, you get onboard and sit down and shut up. I worked ground in HNL during the 747 days and there were times my 7 yr old son sat in front of me, or across from me on a 6 hour flight when we tried to non-rev to PHX. Usually we were in the middle seats in row 65 or 66....but hey....we were on! And the last time I checked non-reving was still considered a "benefit".

 

[tea42]

i think some are forgetting that we are not entitled to a particular seat...TAD, I too have cleared non revs in the same manner you described....it makes it easier on the gate agent if you can give out seats-any seats-as early as possible. We can clear 45 minutes b4 departure up to capacity...should we have no shows in fc or yc--or should an elite get upgraded-of course there is a possibility of a better seat opening up....anymore, most I have encountered are just happy for a seat. I applaud the PHX agents for turning the other way when they were being bad mouthed. If these FA are commuters they most likely will be remembered. Personally, I would have gotten a supe or manager and pulled them off---it is unexcusable.

 

[sharktooth]

Now, how is this an issue that could in any way be the fault of executives instead of a poorly behaved employee who has a snit at the indignity and horror of being assigned an aisle seat?

I blame the "execs" for a poorly thought out and poorly implemented system, not just the "split the baby" management style but for coupling that with junk for a computer system.

I have viewed two standby lists for the same flight/day on adjacent monitors pulled up nearly simultaneously and, the lists were significantly different. The agent instructor could not explain why.

I am not excusing his/her bad behavior, they were likely correct but went about it the wrong way. Someone else implied that poorly designed systems tend to cause more stress than necessary and I followed up with his comments.

Look for more of this as Dougie pushes for his on-time bonus, without fixing the system by providing the proper tools to begin with.

 

[hpflygirl]

Standby is by doh now.....how could it not be in the right order, or manipulated to move someone up on the list?

 

[Travelpro72]

I have gone to the gate in PIT and was told they were not clearing nonrevs yet only to see a girl with more than a year junior to ME get her boarding pass automatically. MMMM HMMMM it was less than a minute later as I stood RIGHT in front of him. I walked up and said, "may I have mine NOW". Oh I batted my eyelashes too. Apparently that was what it took.

 

[nycbusdriver]

Just wondering...

Assuming there are empty seats enough to get every non-rev on board, does the company POLICY allow agents to pick and choose seats regardless of the established seniority boarding policy to accommodate families with children, or couples/friends flying together? If not, then perhaps the flight attendant (who was totally out of line with her behavior) had a valid point, should have just shut up and taken her seat and written up the gate agents for not following policy. If the company POLICY allows discretionary seat assignments out of boarding priority, then the agent should write up the flight attendant for her behavior.

 

[hpflygirl]

I was a gate agent/supv/trainer in a field station for 10 years before becoming a flight attendant. At that time if you cleared the standbys all at once the system would assign aisle/window seats before assigning middle seats....except for the exit row seats and permanent block seats...which had to have a special code in front of the seat number to have it assigned. If we weren't too busy we would look at the seat map to see if there were any exits or perm block seats left and then change out the middle seats for these. Many times if we gave a non rev a middle seat they would ask if there was a window or and aisle. Hardly ever did anyone complain about having a window/aisle seat. We had a lot of commuters out of our station so most of them were happy to not have to ride the jumpseat!
As for the f/a who complained she wanted a window seat instead of an aisle, I'm sure she wanted to nap and it is easier to do that in a window seat....but, I'll bet if she was working the flight instead of commuting she would have appreciated the effort the gate agent made to put the families together instead of just sending them onboard with 5 middle seats and telling them "the flight attendants will take care of it". There are a lot of newer gate agents in PHX that don't think to take care of certain seating issues at the gate prior to boarding. We always love it when we get to the gate and the agents working the flight are our "favorites"....those that have been around awhile, know the rules and follow them (ie. jumpseating, non revs, bags). That makes the whole boarding process a lot easier.

 

[galley princess]

I think assigning specific seats on seniority is a nice thing but unrealistic. What is it? Close the door 10 minutes prior to departure now? Having agents check in revenue travellers with their requests, and then clear nonrevs and do it by request is a lot to do and get a flight out on time. If the tools were there then maybe we'd have an argument, but if it has to be done by hand then it just isn't realistic.

I am always grateful for a good seat, but I am always grateful for A SEAT. I am blubberingly grateful if you put my kids next to me.

Flight attendants need to be realistic about what it is to be an agent and the pressure that they're under. Sit down, shut up and be happy you're going home or going to work without too much drama. Seniority gets you on the plane. The fact that we've apparently lost the transparency of the system is a concern, but throwing a fit at a gate because you didn't get a window? Am I missing something here? What part of this is defensible?

 

[Career Reserve]

About a month ago I tried to non-rev PHX-DEN. It was a Sunday and the flight was full. I checked in at home and noticed there was another 3P, 2yrs senior to me, listed as well. I went to the gate 1 1/2 hrs before departure time. SJO flight was being closed out so I waited til the new gate crew arrived before asking for the jumpseat form. The time was noted on the form, ID checked, etc. I told the gate agent about the other 3P that was listed. She pulled up the standby list and I recognized the name as being another flight attendant. I let the gate agent know I was aware if she showed up prior to an hour before departure she would take the jumpseat from me. So then I sat down and waited at the gate til 59mins prior to departure. No other f/a had shown up and there was no one in line, so the gate agent signed my jumpseat form. A/C came in about 10 minutes later, part of the new crew shows up....they invite me to come onboard with them...gate agent says it's ok, so off I go. A few minutes later the "A" comes onboard and says there is a f/a at the gate giving the agent he** because I have the jumpseat.

Is this west metal because on the east the j/s is given out "at the close out of the flight" and things get really crazy when a senior f/a comes running and takes it after you have patiently (and nervously) waited for the close out.

 

[john john]

Well, the way QIK/Shares is programmed to assign seats, there is no guarantee that she was going to get her window seat to begin with. If the agents wanted to, they clear all and let the computer go to work. Front center, rear aisle, front middle, middle window, rear middle, etc. No rhyme or reason. Then just tell the nonrevs to deal with it, this is what the computer assigned you. Then just watch the fun unfold on the plane with everyone trying to switch around.

Just a QIK/SHARES designs flaw families flying together on the same PNR same names and SHARES/QIK will assign seats all over the A/C

 

[hpflygirl]

Yes, it was a West flight. I am a West flight attendant and so was the other woman. She knew the rules. The gate agents were knowledgable and were not intimidated her....much to the other flight attendants dismay. Even the Capt came to the back of the a/c before boarding and told me he saw the woman throwing her tantrum at the gate when he was coming back with his paperwork. He told me under no circumstances would I get off the a/c for any reason....and if anyone came and told me I need to, I should send them to see him in the flight deck.

 

[sharktooth]

Even the Capt came to the back of the a/c before boarding and told me he saw the woman throwing her tantrum at the gate when he was coming back with his paperwork. He told me under no circumstances would I get off the a/c for any reason....and if anyone came and told me I need to, I should send them to see him in the flight deck.

My understanding is that the tantrum was thrown well after boarding started, when the agents were assigning seats to non-revs. There seems to have occurred a time warp between that account and yours. I have this image of a pilot swimming like a salmon upriver. Is this a Doctor Who episode?

and, you were afraid of being taken off the flight, why?

 

[Twicebaked]

Standby is by doh now.....how could it not be in the right order, or manipulated to move someone up on the list?

West went back to first come first serve. Or they are supposed to. Arbitration ruling.....