CLT-FCO Non-stop?

[FlightChic]

CLT isn't as small of a town as you all might think and most of the people who live here are from other places so the small town mentality with nothing better to do premise doesn't fly with me. While I try to stick to domestic trips, the times I have gone through customs I never had any problems despite all the rumors and trust me I was shaking because I even had food with me that I brought from home since I was in the middle of a trip and listed it all without any problem whatsoever. I was so afraid they would make me throw it away and then visions of starvation entered my mind. Anyway, I will be going through customs in a couple of days on my trip so I will report what happens. I guess I have been lucky considering so many people have had bad experiences in CLT. I've been through customs in PHL a million times and never had a problem and in ATL and MIA lots of times too (as a pax though).

 

[galley princess]

Point taken Flight Chic.

The thing that irritates me, that seem marked in CLT Immigration, but also happens a lot in PHL is this bloody attitude that Immigration gives you. "You're just another piece of meat and we don't have to give you a special line so be grateful." Customs doesn't even bother, they just say "you don't get a line here".

Newsflash: I'm not grateful. I'm working. It's called facilitating interstate and international commerce. If I had to wait in line with all of the customers there would have most likely been a move by someone fifty years ago to pay me for that time. As it is now, I get to endure long lines and every once in a while an aforesaid "be grateful" attitude for free.

Finally, when I think about it, I'm sort of embarassed, because everywhere I have ever gone as a crewmember in Europe I am treated better than my own country treats foreign crewmembers. I invariably wince as Marly Lou flashes a smile at a 15 member BA crew and says you don't mind, do you? You take longer." As she butts the hundred meter line in PHL. Again, newsflash: THAT'S LAYOVER TIME, IDIOT. I''d love to see her face if someone did it to her abroad.

In general, PHL is pretty good, but I do wish that they would at least allow foreign crews to get through Customs easier in the summer. It really is poor.

 

[ClueByFour]

The thing that irritates me, that seem marked in CLT Immigration, but also happens a lot in PHL is this bloody attitude that Immigration gives you. "You're just another piece of meat and we don't have to give you a special line so be grateful." Customs doesn't even bother, they just say "you don't get a line here".

Newsflash: I'm not grateful. I'm working. It's called facilitating interstate and international commerce.

Newsflash: %90 of the time I'm passing customs, I too am working. And generating more international commerce than you do or your pilots do on a $$$ basis. And yet (without global entry), I don't "get a line." Get over it.

I had a crewmember like that try to muscle past me not so long ago in the customs line, and was (frankly) overjoyed to see the officer bounce them to the back.

 

[nycbusdriver]

I invariably wince as Marly Lou flashes a smile at a 15 member BA crew and says you don't mind, do you? You take longer." As she butts the hundred meter line in PHL. Again, newsflash: THAT'S LAYOVER TIME, IDIOT. I''d love to see her face if someone did it to her abroad.

In general, PHL is pretty good, but I do wish that they would at least allow foreign crews to get through Customs easier in the summer. It really is poor.

Marly Lou better be careful. I got on line behind a BA crew once, and the captain offered to let me pass his crew. I was in no hurry, so I declined. One of the flight attendants from my crew came breathlessly up behind me, hoping to make a flight home leaving shortly. I asked the BA captain if he would mind if she passed through instead of me. He talked to his crew and they were all in agreement to let her go first. She gratefully moved to the front of the line when a customs supervisor (they're all pretty much Barney Fife morons) yelled from four booths down the line that she was NOT to pass to the front and she needed to get back where she belonged. It was very humiliating, and totally uncalled for. What's it to him if the others in line wish to defer to her? And why scream from 40 feet away with hundreds of passengers in earshot? Those PHL customs supervisors are in sore need of taking the parking lot transition to the emergency room.

 

[Coach Cabin]

Newsflash: %90 of the time I'm passing customs, I too am working. And generating more international commerce than you do or your pilots do on a $$$ basis. And yet (without global entry), I don't "get a line." Get over it.

I had a crewmember like that try to muscle past me not so long ago in the customs line, and was (frankly) overjoyed to see the officer bounce them to the back.

Wow, it is really interesting to see a businessman's perspective. I understand your point, please try to understand ours. Many crew members go through imigration/customs daily. I went through imigration/customs 6 times last week which, BTW, are two seperate processes. 2 times I sailed through immigration ( it takes only about 15 seconds for a US crew member to be processed). Since I was quickly through immigration the passenger bags were not yet up on the carousels, so no line and only another 5 seconds to go through customs......then on my way home with a rare chance to have dinner with my family before doing it all over again the next day.

The other 4 times I got "stuck" behind a British Airways crew ( Yes, there is a crew line in PHX). By the time they were all finger printed and photographed, I had been in the crew line for over half an hour. Meanwhile, the bags had been delivered from from BA's LHR flight, not to mention US Airway's, PVR, GDL, SJD, CUN, ACA and my MEX flight.

Once our crew is finally through immigration, the customs line is now a thousand deep .... and there is NO crew line. Crew members are now forced to wait another hour in the customs line, or to "muscle in" to the front of the line. When we "muscle in" our co-workers (the customs agents who see us every day) have no problem bouncing us to the end us the line....apparently to the applause of the overjoyed passerngers, to whom we have been sincerely trying to provide a postive experience on US Airways. Thanks a lot.

So by "muscling in" we take 30 seconds of your time and save 2 hours of ours ( which, BTW, we are not paid for.....our clocks stop when the plane blocks in at the gate). I spent over 8 hours just last week alone, patiently standing in imigration/custom lines so as not to offend customers like you who are "overjoyed" at seeing crew members being bounced to the end of the line. Thank you for your business, it's a pleasure to serve you.

 

[autofixer]

Not to mention that crewmembers are not being paid to wait in the customs line, while Mr. Businessman is. I assume if you are traveling to make a sale or some other form of commerce, you are paid for it. Even our expense pay stops 15 mins. after the airplane blocks in. Always remember, anytime you see a crewmember in the airport or lines, etc., we are not being paid. Any time you see a pilot, he/she is not being paid. Like I said before, pay me for my time and I'll wait all day.

 

[aptboeses]

Wow, it is really interesting to see a businessman's perspective. I understand your point, please try to understand ours. Many crew members go through imigration/customs daily. I went through imigration/customs 6 times last week which, BTW, are two seperate processes. 2 times I sailed through immigration ( it takes only about 15 seconds for a US crew member to be processed). Since I was quickly through immigration the passenger bags were not yet up on the carousels, so no line and only another 5 seconds to go through customs......then on my way home with a rare chance to have dinner with my family before doing it all over again the next day.

The other 4 times I got "stuck" behind a British Airways crew ( Yes, there is a crew line in PHX). By the time they were all finger printed and photographed, I had been in the crew line for over half an hour. Meanwhile, the bags had been delivered from from BA's LHR flight, not to mention US Airway's, PVR, GDL, SJD, CUN, ACA and my MEX flight.

Once our crew is finally through immigration, the customs line is now a thousand deep .... and there is NO crew line. Crew members are now forced to wait another hour in the customs line, or to "muscle in" to the front of the line. When we "muscle in" our co-workers (the customs agents who see us every day) have no problem bouncing us to the end us the line....apparently to the applause of the overjoyed passerngers, to whom we have been sincerely trying to provide a postive experience on US Airways. Thanks a lot.

So by "muscling in" we take 30 seconds of your time and save 2 hours of ours ( which, BTW, we are not paid for.....our clocks stop when the plane blocks in at the gate). I spent over 8 hours just last week alone, patiently standing in imigration/custom lines so as not to offend customers like you who are "overjoyed" at seeing crew members being bounced to the end of the line. Thank you for your business, it's a pleasure to serve you.

I certainly understand that it's frustrating to wait in the long line for customs but it is part of the job. It's part of the joy of using a government service! We are lucky to have crew lines for immigration. I wish we had them for customs too. I just plan to be there for a little while. If the waiting to get through FIS is too much for you perhaps you should work domestic trips that don't have international legs that way you don't even have to worry about it. There's nothing like walking right off the airplane and heading straight to car to go home!

 

[autofixer]

The problem is all USAirways crewmembers are International. We have Trans-Atlantic, which is another story, but our trips often have international legs (Cancun, St. Marteen, etc.) mixed in among a domestic trip. So you cannot just work domestic trips, they don't really exists.

And oh yea Mr. Businessman, I forgot: the next time you are waiting on a crew to arrive for you flight to where-ever, and you want to gripe and complain that USAir sucks, keep in mind that that crew may have just came from Cancun and had to wait through the customs and Immigration line. Maybe that is why they tried to muscle their way to the front...they had to continue their trip. And maybe some smug businessman had to point them out to Barney Fife. I know, it is not that way on the Dean Martin movies, you know the one where the crew flies one leg JFK-MIA and partys 36 hours at South Beach.

 

[aptboeses]

Not to mention that crewmembers are not being paid to wait in the customs line, while Mr. Businessman is. I assume if you are traveling to make a sale or some other form of commerce, you are paid for it. Even our expense pay stops 15 mins. after the airplane blocks in. Always remember, anytime you see a crewmember in the airport or lines, etc., we are not being paid. Any time you see a pilot, he/she is not being paid. Like I said before, pay me for my time and I'll wait all day.

That's something you should get your union to address. I completely agree with you. If I am representing the company I should be earning wages not just a meal expense.

 

[aptboeses]

The problem is all USAirways crewmembers are International. We have Trans-Atlantic, which is another story, but our trips often have international legs (Cancun, St. Marteen, etc.) mixed in among a domestic trip. So you cannot just work domestic trips, they don't really exists.

And oh yea Mr. Businessman, I forgot: the next time you are waiting on a crew to arrive for you flight to where-ever, and you want to gripe and complain that USAir sucks, keep in mind that that crew may have just came from Cancun and had to wait through the customs and Immigration line. Maybe that is why they tried to muscle their way to the front...they had to continue their trip. And maybe some smug businessman had to point them out to Barney Fife. I know, it is not that way on the Dean Martin movies, you know the one where the crew flies one leg JFK-MIA and partys 36 hours at South Beach.

Pure domestic trips do exist. I fly them myself pretty often. The whole point being if you don't like the immigration/customs process you can avoid it for the most part.

 

[ClueByFour]

The pay issue is between the employee and the company. You guys are not paid to commute. But yet, a good chunk of the airline does.... You are what you negotiate.

I'm not paid hourly to stand in the line. My time traveling, however, is reflected in my overall compensation. Again, you are what you negotiate.

As for the "next time your flight is running late, think about the poor crewmember stuck in customs" gambit, can anyone give me a figure as to how many published lines (particularly East) include a customs event followed by another leg? I'll bet that list is relatively short.

Finally, we have the "but crewmembers might be in a rush to get home." We all are.

For anyone entering at PHL, Global Entry solves half of the problem for a hundred bucks. It might be useful for AFA and USAPA to lobby the feds to put the machines in CLT and PHX.

 

[cltflyer1]

The Fco-Clt leg is listed as 10 hrs and 50 minutes.. i didn't think our A333's had those kind of legs.

 

[nycbusdriver]

For anyone entering at PHL, Global Entry solves half of the problem for a hundred bucks. It might be useful for AFA and USAPA to lobby the feds to put the machines in CLT and PHX.

Before long, the lines to use the Global Entry kiosks will string out to the dozens, thus negating any benefit. Unless, of course, the customs people are actually proactive enough to install more machines as lines get longer. Oops....I made a joke. Customs people....proactive! LOL!

 

[Coach Cabin]

The pay issue is between the employee and the company. You guys are not paid to commute. But yet, a good chunk of the airline does.... You are what you negotiate.

I'm not paid hourly to stand in the line. My time traveling, however, is reflected in my overall compensation. Again, you are what you negotiate.

As for the "next time your flight is running late, think about the poor crewmember stuck in customs" gambit, can anyone give me a figure as to how many published lines (particularly East) include a customs event followed by another leg? I'll bet that list is relatively short.

Finally, we have the "but crewmembers might be in a rush to get home." We all are.

For anyone entering at PHL, Global Entry solves half of the problem for a hundred bucks. It might be useful for AFA and USAPA to lobby the feds to put the machines in CLT and PHX.

I can't fathom all the animosity here against flight crews. Some of our LODO's go through customs/immigration 100 to 200 times a year, yet the general concensus seems to be: "Make 'em wait in line with everybody else." What's wrong with a little professional courtesy?

Would you guys have them get rid of the employee line at security and "make 'em wait" since crew members ,in effect, "muscle in" ahead of you there too? Would you be "overjoyed" to see crew members bounced to the back of that line, as well? What's the difference?

The vast majority of crew members extend every consideration and courtesy they can to our passengers. Yet, when passengers have a opportunity to return that courtesy, even in the smallest ways, it seems too much to ask. Oh well, I guess that is just the nature of the airline biz these days.

 

[cltflyer1]

Already online this winter Rome is slashed to 4x weekly on 762. Cdg is also operating 4x weekly this winter on 762.