h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The article gives some good advice about dealing with delays. There's more good advice to be given to travellers, though, such as... If you know an incoming plane is stuck on the ground behind an incoming snow storm, you might as well bow to the inevitable and make other arrangements now.

Now, if only *both* sides of the counter would take such advice, I wouldn't have horror stories to tell about being stuck in Chicago O'Hare Airport.

Horror stories? Like what?

You know, the advice about "the other side" can apply to just about any service industry out there. From taxi drivers to restaurant waitstaff, these people are out to provide a service to the public. I guess the one catch-all piece of advice would be simply: BE NICE, ALWAYS.

Güthwinë

Since you asked... I once caught United Airlines employees lying to me about whether my incoming plane was on its way. As often as they would tell me it was, I would tell them to update the status display or make an announcement or something. Of course, they wouldn't do that. After two hours of this, I gave up and rescheduled. Which turned out to be the right thing to do, since the plane never made it in.

As the overworked gate agent was finally getting rid of me, another agent came along and said, "Isn't that plane's off the ground now?" The first agent immediately responded, "Let him go."

I'll try to be nice to United Airlines agents, but I doubt I'll ever trust them again.

I agree in general with the article (hey - the friendly approach is even more important in third world countries! - I once saw a rude lady get nowhere in Saudi Arabia until she burst into tears, at which point she got everything she wanted), but I must say that the United story just posted rings true. Whether by design or accident, the telephone info at United (at least) is not accurate. I saw a passenger phone the airline to check flight status while STANDING IN LINE where the board listed a delay over an hour, and he was told the flight was on schedule. How doIi know what they said? He told EVERYBODY! I think the actual agents are great, but the system needs some real tweaking, and causes unnecessary rage. The article notes the equal importance of world travellers, grandmas and the bereaved; they are equal too in that nearly all are on a schedule that is crucial to their plans. It is unfortunate when people will miss connections, be stranded where they know no one and are ill equipped to pay unexpected charges for food, accomodations, etc. Many people who are angry, are in fact more than a little frightened. When there are delays, one very BAD PR measure (which I have also seen at United) is having 3 agents serving the few first class passengers while several gates at the coach lines are closed in times of delay and cancellation.

First of all, I would like to apologize on behalf of airline employees everywhere. We'll get you there nine times out of ten, but unfortunately all it takes is one bad experience to ruin a reputation (and no, I do NOT work for United...I shudder at the thought!).

There is quite a bit to be said regarding the systems used by airlines. In a more perfect world, the systems used would be just fine. The problem, however, is that it depends on people to do their jobs (a rather lofty assumption).

On more than one occasion, I have seen that according to the computer a given flight is on time...when it is way past the arrival time. A call to the tower confirms that the flight hasn't even left its original location. So for example, if St. Louis does not put a delay in the system for the flight, other cities can only assume that that flight is on time. This explains why the flight displays show what they show. The flight displays aren't tied into any larger system, they are updated by the employees at that specific location.

Yes, I have seen people call the reservations number and receive contradictory information. I can tell you from experience that they rely solely on the computer and nothing else. They are neither equipped, nor inclined to supply anything other than reservation services. In most cases, the agents behind the counter have the most updated information.

Another problem relating to the system is the lines of communication in general. When one of our flights experiences a mechanical problem (and yes, despite what else you may have heard, mechanical problems are almost always the real reason behind a delay. We do not use it as an excuse) we cannot speak directly with the mechanics to determine how long of a delay we are facing.

First, we have to call flight dispatch. They in turn call maintenance control who attempts to contact the mechanics. The process is then reversed. In our situation, the maintenance hangar is right across the runways, yet dispatch and maintenance control are located in different cities.

It is a horrible system and we do try to present passengers with the most accurate and up to date information possible. The problem lies in the fact that we can only go with what we are told.

Kind of a mess, eh?

I must say that when I flew back to work here in Japan, I was very happy with the service I received from the airline employees. I was flying United (yeah, so I've heard) and had my flight inbound to Sea-Tac delayed by ATC, which put us in the air 45 minutes late, and then we flew circles across the state of Washington until we hit the runway in Sea-Tac, just in time to watch my connecting flight taxi out to the runway for take-off. At this point, confused, troubled, and disturbed, I took my place in the customer service line, which by now was incredibly long, thanks to ATC. I reach the desk, hand my tickets to the nice lady and say "My last plane was late, my current plane is gone, please help me?" That was all I said. She was great. Without even asking if I wanted accomodations, she put me up in a nice hotel, gave me tickets for two meals, booked me (standby) on the next flight, and booked me again on an American Airlines flight that was an hour later in case I was bumped. I left my checked baggage there (and boy, did I pray) and left, rented a car, and went to a friend's house. I came back the next day and was the last person they put on the plane. They checked my extra bag at the gate, made sure my other bags were put on, and whisked me off to my destination. Did I mention that I got an aisle seat on a 777? After boarding on standby? I almost shouted with joy! A ten hour ride in economy without an aisle seat is pure and joyless hell. I must say I was taken good care of and I was happy with what I received.

Which brings me to my question...

What airlines are good to work for? Which would you recommend to fly on? Inquiring travellers want to know from the "other side's" standpoint. Do tell?

S.P.,

First of all, I'd like to apologize for the long delay in replying to your post. In light of recent events, however, I am sure that you understand.

I am trying to figure out just exactly how to answer your questions, but I think I have hit upon a solution. The airlines I MYSELF (and no, this does NOT reflect any company loyalty of any sort would fly on are, in order:

Northwest
Delta
American (except into Chicago, eeek! Good luck getting in there on anyone)
United
U.S. Air (ick and bother)

Those that I would work for:

Delta (still, to my knowledge, have yet to lay anyone off...MAJOR points there)
Northwest
American
United
U.S. Air

I plan on doing another post, time permitting, regarding the impact of Sept 11 on the industry. Topics such as new security, what to expect,etc.

Regards,
Intuitive Pancake (I.P.)