Leaving Passengers

[wings396]

I've seen way too many passengers left behind at the gate, and this goes back long before the merger at LUS. One that really sticks in my mind is a time when a group of 8 people showed up at the gate from a connecting flight, and the gate agent spent more time telling the people that they couldn't get on than it would have taken to board them. The most pathetic thing was that the jetway was still up to the A/C, and the fuel truck was still connected to the wing. This is just one of many times that I've observed passengers being left behind when they could have been put on. I get the whole On Time saga, but the common sense factor among gate agents is non-existant. I haven't worked the gate in many years, but when I did, we had different marching orders from above. My station Mgr. at the time didn't want to take delays either, but he flat out told us that if we could get the people on, do it. He said that their tickets pay our salary, take the ticket and get the money...

 

[cynic]

I've seen it happen a number of times, along with a number of other abuses in regards to boarding priority. Certain agents in PHL have always been awful in regards to observing policy and cutting corners.

 

[eolesen]

The more I think about this the more confused I am about what the Pilots Union is doing. I guess they are trying to unite other work groups, but this seems like a very weak issue to try and use, there are a lot more real ones out there they could have chosen, leaving on time is not one of them.....

That pretty much sums it up. Do the math on their idiocy --- 20,000 passengers a month equates to ~650 pax per day, or about one nonrev left behind with empty seats on the plane for every 5 flights. That happens regardless of whatever the pilots think of D-10 initiatives.

BTW, I've flown under both the FCFS and seniority systems, and find FCFS so much easier to predict when you're within an hour or two of departure. Seniority boarding just allows for some laziness on the part of the senior employees who don't bother listing until the last moment.

 

[jimntx]

I have listed fellow employees that are unfamiliar how the check-in process works. When I listed them, they were either 1,2,3,or 4 on the standby list. When they come in the next day to fly out, they are magically 8,9,10, or 11 on the list. FCFS is a ripoff. This is one of the reasons why boarding by SENIORITY is so important.

First off, you need to learn the correct terminology. The terms, Listing and Checking-in, are not interchangeable. They are separate events, and both must be completed in order for a Non-rev to get on the Standby List and a priority number assigned.

Listing for a flight is informing the system that you would like (or, intend) to fly on a specific flight on a specific day if space is available. That's all that listing does.

Checking-in says you are prepared to have your name added to the Standby list in check-in time order. This can be done up to 24 hours in advance of scheduled departure. The computer is very good at keeping track of who checked in first and so on. Yes, when you first check-in you may be #1 on the standby list. But, that is for your particular Priority Code-- let's say D2. If a D1 checks in after you, they will still go ahead of you on the list because D1 is a limited and higher category. You have no problem accepting that someone who is senior to you can bump you down the list. Well, so can a D1 or a D2T.

We get a limited number of D1s each year. I just burned a D1 for a 4-hour ride on the jumpseat when a cancelled flight resulted in there being no seats available on my flight at the last minute. Such is life. That ability to ride on a flight attendant jumpseat is one of the things that keeps me working.