A Bad Day @ Phl

[BoeingBoy]

I thought some of our posters might be interested to see the evolution of delays throughout a day. This is a somewhat unusual day for PHL - not because of ATC delays but because it got so bad that US requested further delays due to ramp congestion.

So here is a look at the day from ATC's viewpoint, with only those bits that affect PHL....

The day starts normally enough for a summer day. This is the ATC command center advisory from 6:00 AM (1000Z) with the operations plan:

ATCSCC ADVZY 012 DCC 07/17/05 OPERATIONS PLAN
VALID FOR 171000 THRU 171600

TERMINAL CONSTRAINTS:
NY METROS/PHL/DC METROS/ATL/PIT/CLE/DTW-LOW CIGS/PM SCT TSTMS

ENROUTE CONSTRAINTS:
ZNY/ZDC/ZOB/ZID/ZME/ZMP-TSTMS
[NY, Washington, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Memphis, Minneapolis Centers can expect thunderstorms to affect operations]

1. ROUTES
UNTIL 1600Z -ZBW/ZNY TACTICAL REROUTES.
[Boston & NY centers can expect rerouting of aircraft until 1600Z]

2. ZNY
UNTIL 1500Z -NY METROS/PHL GROUND STOPS POSSIBLE.

The next operations plan update comes out about 7:30 AM (1130Z):

ATCSCC ADVZY 015 DCC 07/17/05 OPERATIONS PLAN
VALID FOR 171200 THRU 171800

TERMINAL CONSTRAINTS:
NY METROS/PHL/DC METROS/ATL/PIT/CLE/DTW-LOCIGS/TSTMS
[Low ceilings/thunderstorms could affect these airports]

ENROUTE CONSTRAINTS:
ZNY/ZDC/ZOB/ZID/ZME/ZMP-TSTMS

1. ROUTES
UNTIL 1600Z -ZBW/ZNY TACTICAL REROUTES
AFTER 1830Z -POSSIBLE CHOKE POINTS FOR EWR/JFK

2. ZNY
UNTIL 1500Z -PHL LIMITED AIRBORNE HOLDING, CDR'S, GROUND STOPS POSSIBLE

The 9:30 ops plan update is still only covering the possibilities:

ATCSCC ADVZY 022 DCC 07/17/05 OPERATIONS PLAN
VALID FOR 171400 THRU 172000

TERMINAL CONSTRAINTS:
NY METROS/PHL/DC METROS/ATL/PIT/CLE/DTW-TSTMS

ENROUTE CONSTRAINTS:
ZNY/ZDC/ZOB/ZID/ZME/ZMP-TSTMS

1. ROUTES
AFTER 1500Z -EXPECT CHOKE POINTS FOR EWR/JFK

3. ZNY
AFTER 1800Z -PHL LIMITED AIRBORNE HOLDING, CDR'S, SWAP, EXPECT
GROUND DELAY PROGRAMS IN SUPPORT OF SWAP

Finally, at 10:30 AM 91430Z)ATC starts assigning ground holds for flights estimated to arrive PHL between 1800Z & 0200Z (2:00PM to 10:00 PM):

AIRPORT: PHL
ARRIVALS ESTIMATED FOR: 17/1800Z - 18/0159Z
PROGRAM RATE: 38/38/38/38/38/38/48/48
[The arrival rate per hour for each hour of the period covered - 2:00 PM till 10:00 PM]
FLIGHTS INCLUDED: ALL CONTIGUOUS US DEPARTURES
SCOPE: (Manual) ZSE ZLC ZFW ZAU ZMP ZDV ZKC ZME ZID ZMA ZHU ZJX ZOB
ZBW ZTL ZNY ZDC ZOA
[This list covers about every ATC center in the lower 48 except Los Angeles & Albuquerque]
ADDITIONAL FACILITIES INCLUDED:
CANADIAN AIRPORTS INCLUDED: CYHZ CYOW CYUL CYYZ
DELAY ASSIGNMENT TABLE APPLIES TO: ZNY
MAXIMUM DELAY: 127
AVERAGE DELAY: 64.5
REASON: WEATHER, SWAP SUPPORT
[SWAP = Severe Weather Avoidance Plan]

At 3:11PM (1911Z), the ATC command center issues this ground stop:

AIRPORT: PHL
GROUND STOP PERIOD: 17/1909Z - 17/2000Z
SCOPE: (2ndTier+CZY_AP) ZAU ZMP ZID ZJX ZOB ZBW ZTL ZNY ZDC CYHZ
CYOW CYUL CYYZ
PREVIOUS TOTAL, MAXIMUM, AVERAGE DELAYS: 407/60/18.5
NEW TOTAL, MAXIMUM, AVERAGE DELAYS: 1090/87/49.5
REASON: WEATHER, TSTMS
PROBABILITY OF EXTENSION: MEDIUM

About 45 minutes later, this is issued cancelling the ground stop and returning to ground holds:

AIRPORT: PHL
ARRIVALS ESTIMATED FOR: 17/1949Z - 18/0359Z
PROGRAM RATE: 34
[Hourly arrival rate per hour for the period in the line above - notice it's lower than before]
FLIGHTS INCLUDED: ALL CONTIGUOUS US DEPARTURES
SCOPE: (Manual) ZSE ZLC ZFW ZAU ZMP ZDV ZKC ZME ZID ZMA ZHU ZJX ZOB
ZBW ZTL ZNY ZDC ZOA
ADDITIONAL FACILITIES INCLUDED:
CANADIAN AIRPORTS INCLUDED: CYHZ CYOW CYUL CYYZ
DELAY ASSIGNMENT TABLE APPLIES TO: ZNY
MAXIMUM DELAY: 384
AVERAGE DELAY: 181.5
REASON: WEATHER, TSTMS
REMARKS: GROUND STOP CANCELLED, FLTS RLS ON NEW EDCTS. GDP WILL BE
REVISED AS CONDITIONS WARRNAT. THE FOLLOWING FACILITES ARE GROUND
STOPPED UNTIL 2100Z: ZOB/ZAU/ZMP.
[Flights released on new Estimated Departure Clearance TimeS (Takeoff, not taxi). Aircraft departing airports within Cleveland, Chicago, & Minneapolis Centers still stopped]

At 4:14PM (2014Z) the ground stops go back in effect:

AIRPORT: PHL
ADL TIME: 2014Z
GROUND STOP PERIOD: 17/2014Z - 17/2130Z
SCOPE: (2ndTier+CZY_AP) ZAU ZMP ZID ZJX ZOB ZBW ZTL ZNY ZDC CYHZ
CYOW CYUL CYYZ
PREVIOUS TOTAL, MAXIMUM, AVERAGE DELAYS: 3538/175/117.9
NEW TOTAL, MAXIMUM, AVERAGE DELAYS: 4055/224/135.2
REASON: WEATHER, TSTMS
PROBABILITY OF EXTENSION: MEDIUM
REMARKS: NO RTES AVAILABLE.

An hour later, things are getting worse again:

AIRPORT: PHL
ADL TIME: 2114Z
GROUND STOP PERIOD: 17/2014Z - 17/2230Z
SCOPE: (ALL+CZY_AP) ZSE ZAB ZLC ZFW ZLA ZAU ZMP ZDV ZKC ZME ZID ZMA
ZHU ZJX ZOB ZBW ZTL ZNY ZDC ZOA CYHZ CYOW CYUL CYYZ
PREVIOUS TOTAL, MAXIMUM, AVERAGE DELAYS: 6349/281/127.0
NEW TOTAL, MAXIMUM, AVERAGE DELAYS: 8764/287/175.3
REASON: WEATHER, TSTMS
PROBABILITY OF EXTENSION: MEDIUM
REMARKS:

Another hour passes (it's 2214Z or 6:14 PM) and it gets even worse - look at the acceptance rate:

AIRPORT: PHL
ADL TIME: 2214Z
ARRIVALS ESTIMATED FOR: 17/2215Z - 18/0459Z
PROGRAM RATE: 28/28/34/34/34/34/34
FLIGHTS INCLUDED: ALL CONTIGUOUS US DEPARTURES
SCOPE: (Manual) ZSE ZLC ZFW ZAU ZMP ZDV ZKC ZME ZID ZMA ZHU ZJX ZOB
ZBW ZTL ZNY ZDC ZOA
ADDITIONAL FACILITIES INCLUDED:
CANADIAN AIRPORTS INCLUDED: CYHZ CYOW CYUL CYYZ
DELAY ASSIGNMENT TABLE APPLIES TO: ZNY
MAXIMUM DELAY: 403
AVERAGE DELAY: 221.9
REASON: WEATHER, TSTMS
REMARKS: GROUND STOP CANCELED, ACFT RLSD ON NEW EDCT'S.

Just before 8:00PM things are getting better - the delays are coming down:

AIRPORT: PHL
ADL TIME: 2354Z
COMPRESSION PERIOD: 17/2354Z - 18/0745Z
[ATC has been "compressing" the departure times - EDCTS, i.e. reducing the length of the delays]
PREVIOUS TOTAL, MAXIMUM, AVERAGE DELAYS: 22689/367/189.1
NEW TOTAL, MAXIMUM, AVERAGE DELAYS: 19824/397/165.2
REASON: WEATHER, TSTMS

Then at 8:20PM our ramps get so congested that we request a US only ground stop (gotta love that east operation at PHL):

ATCSCC ADVZY 003 DCC 07/18/05 "US AIRWAYS" GROUND STOP
DESTINATION AIRPORT: PHL
FACILITIES INCLUDED: ZNY2+CZY
EXPECT UPDATE: 0130Z
REASON: RAMP SPACE.
PROBABILITY OF EXTENSION: LOW
REMARKS: THIS A US AIRWAYS GROUND STOP ONLY AS PER THEIR REQUEST.
RAMP SPACE IS BECOMING AN ISSUE AT CONCOURSE A/B/C.
180022-180300
05/07/18 00:21

An hour later things are getting better on our ramps - most of the big evening push is over:

ATCSCC ADVZY 011 DCC 07/18/05 US AIRWAYS GROUND STOP CANCELLATION
DESTINATION AIRPORT: PHL
RELEASED FACILITIES: ALL
REMARKS: US AIRWAYS OPERSTIONS BACK TO NORMAL.
180123-180300.
05/07/18 01:24

Finally, at 10:20PM, the ATC ground stop program is cancelled:

AIRPORT: PHL
ADL TIME: 0219Z
GDP CNX PERIOD: 18/0219Z - 18/0803Z
REASON: WEATHER
REMARKS: PLEASE ABIDE BY MIT RESTRICTIONS
[MIT - Miles In Trail or increased in trail spacing for arriving aircraft]

So there it is - a day in the life of PHL in the summer....

Jim

 

[Robc98]

and with those delays came every plane coming to our city from PHL having no bags on them....that city is a joke and will be the demise of this company....its just a matter of time

 

[tadjr]

You could have played this same scenario out quite a few days this week. Thurs and Fri were just as bad. You should see the amount of paper that comes off in the coordinator and ops office just from issuance and updates of ATC conditions in one day. Last week you also had fog/low ceilings in the am that started the stops and GDPs from about 8am thru the entire day. Of course, delays tonight will once again carry over to crew rest delays for tomorrow am and we can play catch up all day again until the storms hit tomorrow and start the process all over again.

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

BoeingBoy, it is ever a good day in PHL? 🙂 Thanks for the details.

Robc98, I wonder what the PAWOB numbers are going to be for the week?

I'm guessing that when the July DOT Report Card comes out, poor Amy Kudwa (sp?) or Dave Castlevetter will have to blame "an unusually severe thunderstom pattern" for what may be very weak on-time (and PAWOB) numbers.

In all fairness to the public affairs people at US (and probably CO as well -EWR has been getting hammered also) the other reason for the horrible delays is - as has been metnioned before in the forum - that air traffic is back to (or above) per 9/11 levels.

Anyone remember the summer of 2001? The system couldn't handle it then and can't handle it now.

That being said, somehow a bad day in the NE ends up being a "Charlie Foxtrot" in PHL. For all the familiar reasons. I can only hope that Mr Parker will have an "I don't want to hear the reasons for the problems; I want to hear solutions" attitute to PHL.

 

[BoeingBoy]

As several of you have mentioned, yesterday wasn't an unusually bad day at PHL - more the normal this month.

Today is no different, starting off with a ground stop at 7:30 this morning and turning into a ground delay program. The latest before I go off to work....

AIRPORT: PHL
ADL TIME: 1514Z
ARRIVALS ESTIMATED FOR: 18/1509Z - 19/0359Z
PROGRAM RATE: 36/38/38/38/38/40/40/40/40/40/40/40/40
FLIGHTS INCLUDED: ALL CONTIGUOUS US DEPARTURES
SCOPE: (NoWest+CZY_AP) ZFW ZAU ZMP ZKC ZID ZME ZMA ZHU ZJX ZOB ZBW
ZTL ZDC ZNY
ADDITIONAL FACILITIES INCLUDED:
CANADIAN AIRPORTS INCLUDED: CYHZ CYOW CYUL CYYZ
DELAY ASSIGNMENT TABLE APPLIES TO: ZNY
MAXIMUM DELAY: 262
AVERAGE DELAY: 139.1
REASON: WEATHER, LOW CIGS.
REMARKS: GDP WILL BE REVISED AS CONDITIONS WARRANT. ANTICIPATED
SWAP AFTER 1800Z. FLTS RLS ON NEW EDCTS.

Jim

 

[tadjr]

Jim, you beat me to it. I just copied the info to post here. Glad I have today off. I just cant bear going into work AGAIN knowing that its only noon and its already a s^&* day. It wouldnt be so bad if it were ONLY PHL affected, but you know the routing doesnt keep the PHL planes in PHL all day and by the end of the night we're rerouting (or actually rebooking for tomorrow mainly) everything.

 

[evprincess]

On top of the ground delay this morning, apparently the bag belt was out until 8:15am. Then of course due to the onslaught of bags, there were numerous bag jams. CLT sent their own message letting everyone know they got 3 cart load of bags off the delayed noon arrival with all the Caribbean bags misconnecting. It's crazy the amount of money this company spends on bad deliveries.

 

[WestCoastGuy]

Every day of the year, PHL drags down the rest of the system to its level. The millions that are spent to clean up the mess from PHL is amazing. Yet, Crellin is setting in his office in his little "dream" world of USAirways. We can't purchase simple office supplies, but there is always money available to spend cleaning up the daily fiasco from PHL........ :down:

 

[Prince of PAWOBs]

Is there a website link anyone can post to get the delay information? I would love to monitor that while at work.

Whereas I don't think US needs to hire yet another VP in charge of something, I do think it would be a good idea to appoint someone to solve the PAWOB problem. If US really wants to save money, they should concentrate on bags that miss instead of pretzels.

 

[Harry Callahan]

www.fly.faa.gov

 

[jimntx]

I'm guessing that when the July DOT Report Card comes out, poor Amy Kudwa (sp?) or Dave Castlevetter will have to blame "an unusually severe thunderstom pattern" for what may be very weak on-time (and PAWOB) numbers.

[post="282376"][/post]​

The follow-on press release will be that while the unusually severe thunderstorm pattern caused the delays and bag mess-ups at PHL, the company has discovered that the unusually severe thunderstorm pattern was caused by unusually high numbers of flight attendants calling in sick.

 

[StewGuy86]

Is there such a thing as a GOOD day in PHL?? 😀

 

[barbeetantrums]

There has been a rumor flying around that AWA management may want to re-emphasize PIT. Sounds like they are not impressed with PHL. However, this is a rumor. Treat it as you would any rumor. Karl Rove was NOT the source of the rumor. :disguise:

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

I do think it would be a good idea to appoint someone to solve the PAWOB problem. If US really wants to save money, they should concentrate on bags that miss instead of pretzels.

[post="282570"][/post]​

Does anyone on this forum have information on how much the company does spend on PAWOBs - bag deliveries, interim expenses?

(I hate to guess at the lost revenue from customers that are alienated.)

 

[etops1]

There has been a rumor flying around that AWA management may want to re-emphasize PIT. Sounds like they are not impressed with PHL. However, this is a rumor. Treat it as you would any rumor. Karl Rove was NOT the source of the rumor. :disguise:

[post="282592"][/post]​

i highly doubt that.