The Express In Phl

[diverboy]

I've only had one problem in 4 years non-reving on SWA..

The gate agent in LAS let a plane go out with 40 open seats because she didn't start clearing standbys until 10 min prior to departure (rev and nonrev).. the flight was underbooked by 50.. and it was a Sunday.. and that was the only LAS-LAX flight underbooked.. so because of her incompetence (really) I had to wait 8 hours to get a seat on the last LAX flight home due to her. What made me even more upset, was that I signed onto a computer in LAS and under standbys left at gate, she put a 0. Made my blood boil. But other than that, no problems. Everyone very respectful if the flight did not have a seat available. Oh, and word to the wise.. watch out if you're flying out of BUR, lots of weight restrictions.

 

[exusair99]

As a U CSA/Ramper at SNA for 2 1/2 years I can tell you that the west coast stations are/were completly opposite in the way Non Revs were treated than the hubs/larger east coast cities. I can remember giving boarding passes to Non Revs at the ticket counter. Not very often but it did happen. Yes thats right I was crossed trained open time IAM then CWA member crazy huh. I wonder if there are any others left at any small stations. Never mind they all are express agents now. The one exception was CLT they seemed to treat us fellow empolyees half decent sometimes.

 

[Frontier69]

Like I have said: It always comes down to training!!! If an agent starts boarding at the proper time and has all of the info for the flt at hand (such as wt/bal restricts and other pertinent info) then non-revs should be boarded and not cause any problems. On the other hand if a non-rev shows at the gate late and makes an issue about getting on the flt, then tuff luck! Bottom line is gate agents should consider employees as INTERNAL CUSTOMERS!!! That is what we ARE!!!

 

[matika]

Hey...I'm a gate agent and I always try to be nice and get my non-revs on. Even if they cop an attitude (which some of them really have).

We've gotten screamed at by non-revs for closing a flight on time (one furloughed guy in particular comes to mind - he pitched a fit right there in the boarding area) when he was nowhere to be found.

Another one, a flight attendant who had been with Piedmont for like two months, got in my face and kept demanding that I seat-assign her, even though the flight was full. There was a group who came to the gate somewhat late (revenue pax) and she said, "Are they standby? Are they gettin' on the plane?"

I said, "They're REVENUE passengers," and let them on.

Unfortunately we had a couple of no-shows and I seat-assigned her. I really shouldn't have. She was out of line...

Some non-revs are very demanding and have attitudes.

Anyway, though, I do my level best each time to get non-revs on. So do most of the agents I know. Where are you guys having all this trouble? (We're express in PIT.)

 

[ktflyhome]

To be honest with you, lately I have noticed a shift in attitude from many Gate Agents. I believe for the most part they are friendlier than ever and do their best with what they have to work with.

The agents I have dealt with in Pit Express have been great. When I got bumped 2 flights in a row for weight/balance, they felt really bad for me, even though there were available seats, they couldn't get me one.

 

[Light Years]

As a U CSA/Ramper at SNA for 2 1/2 years I can tell you that the west coast stations are/were completly opposite in the way Non Revs were treated than the hubs/larger east coast cities. I can remember giving boarding passes to Non Revs at the ticket counter. Not very often but it did happen. Yes thats right I was crossed trained open time IAM then CWA member crazy huh. I wonder if there are any others left at any small stations. Never mind they all are express agents now. The one exception was CLT they seemed to treat us fellow empolyees half decent sometimes.

I have to agree here that the west coast stations have always been great. I used to non-rev alot out of SFO and LAX and never had a problem (although I'm also a very well behaved non-rev) and they were always really nice, made you feel like you were part of a great team. Some of the agents in SFO even remembered me, which was surprising given how many commute out of there. Even the commuting crews are very friendly, unlike some employees who wouldnt even smile at you, much less strike up a conversation.

I'm not sure if its the friendlier left coast in general, the remnants of PSA's smile, or maybe even the distance from the rest of the mess airline, but the stations out there seemed to be so much better organized with catering, cleaning, and teamwork between the crews and customer service personnell.

 

[Hope777]

I do get to fly often so I have had many good and bad experiences. However, the last few time flying from PHL have been very good, they have even assgined my family and I seats early and said that if they needed them they would call me back and see what they could do to keep us together.

 

[robbedagain]

the true sad part was was that i was trying to get to PHF to see my nephew for the first time and to see my niece (only 12yrs old and my nephew being 6yrs) for the first time since last october. had to cancel it out when i got home and explained that the agent was very cruel and harsh. a pss supervisor in my city is filing or should say has filed a complaint on my behalf for the terrible treatment. also i had a boarding pass for the phf flt out 3 feet and had to come back in and later i found out it went out with 4 empty seats after 3 non revs got on

 

[D M G]

It's a shame that employees treat each other like that. I don't think anyone treated non-revs better, and on a consistant basis, than Eastern did.

 

[Hope777]

D M G ...you are correct there. They would ALWAYS tell they were sorry if 1st was full and let the F/A know you were an Employee (of EA or not) so you would not have to pay for anything in coach.

 

[D M G]

D M G ...you are correct there. They would ALWAYS tell they were sorry if 1st was full and let the F/A know you were an Employee (of EA or not) so you would not have to pay for anything in coach.

Exactly.