Mess at Charlotte/Douglas continues; kiosks down
Traveling? Arrive early, prepare for wait
STEVE LYTTLE and NICHOLE BELL
slyttle@charlotteobserver.com
Virginia Tech students Sean Moran (left) 20, and friend Kate Kulbok, 21, wait in line Sunday morning at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport to check-in for their flight to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (JASON E. MICZEK - Special to the Observer)
Kiosks at center of problems Sunday
Fliers forced to wait
Long lines for passengers
US Airways passengers are standing in long lines again today, because the airlines’ self-service kiosks remain out of service.
Airlines officials said it will be at least late today before the kiosks, used by most of U.S. Airways’ passengers, will be operating again.
In the meantime, customers must either check in with agents at the desk, or print out tickets online before arriving at the airport.
Long lines stretch through the passenger terminal this morning at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, in a repeat performance of the computer meltdown that affected thousands of passengers Sunday.
Meanwhile, “closed†signs have been posted on the kiosks.
Michelle Mohr, a spokeswoman for US Airways, said the airline hopes to have the system working again by late in the day.
Mohr said US Airways’ computer system specialists want to make sure the system will work properly – all the way through the checking-in and ticket-printing process – before the kiosks are restarted.
“About 70 percent of our customers use the self-service kiosks, so this has a major impact on our customers,†Mohr said.
At 8:30 a.m., lines stretched from one end of the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport terminal to the other. Several hundred people also milled outside the terminal, trying to use the curbside check-in service.
But lines were moving briskly, and there were no signs of anger among waiting passengers.
Mohr said the US Airways Internet system is working, and she encouraged passengers to use print their tickets in advance before coming to the airport.
Passengers also are encouraged to arrive at the airport at least two hours before their scheduled departure.
The problem developed Sunday when US Airways switched to a different type of electronic reservation system.
The self-service kiosks at Charlotte’s airport and some other airports were not able to communicate with the mainframe computer system for US Airways. Officials of the airline said the problem developed at several airports, but it was worse in Charlotte than at other sites.
Some passengers had to wait 2½ hours in line Sunday. But airline officials said most passengers eventually made their flights.
US Airways officials said Sunday night they still weren’t sure what had caused the problem. “We don’t know,†US Airways President Scott Kirby said. “It’s hard to pin down.â€
Kirby added, “We hope – and this isn’t a guarantee – that even if the kiosks aren’t working (today), we can check customers in in a decent amount of time.â€
By Sunday night, the self-service kiosks were working sporadically.
The problem surfaced about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, when passengers began experiencing troubles. But US Airways officials kept expecting the problem to be fixed quickly.
By 10:30 a.m., the airline was overwhelmed. Check-in lines at Charlotte/Douglas stretched from one end of the terminal to the other, and back again. US Airways passed out pieces of paper with a hastily typed message: Please go home and try to get a seat on a later flight.
The airline estimated that about 500 people missed their flights, not including those who went home or who made flights that had been delayed.
“It’s a big embarrassment to us,†said Chuck Allen, US Airways director of corporate affairs.
The airline Sunday waived all change fees, which are usually $100 per ticket. It also is offering customers a refund if they missed flights.
The airline has not decided if it will offer compensation to inconvenienced travelers. “We’ve been focused on fixing the problem,†Kirby said.
The kiosk malfunction is part of US Airways’ effort to become a single airline, by fully integrating the old US Airways with its merger partner, America West.
As part of the merger, the airline adopted a single reservations platform – the Shares system used by America West. US Airways had used a rival system called Sabre. The kiosk problems were mostly in the eastern U.S., where the old US Airways was dominant. Those kiosks used the old Sabre system.
In preparation for the switch, US Airways had dispatched staff from the old America West who are familiar with Shares to Charlotte and several other key airports. The airline also had additional employees scheduled to work Sunday and even more today, because Mondays are busier travel days.
It wasn’t enough in Charlotte.
One anticipated problem was that not all agents were fast on the new reservations system. US Airways had been training employees on Shares by using a computer program that mimics the new system, even while still working in Sabre. But some agents were slower on the new system.
Passengers were upset about the lines – and by the lack of information from the airline. “I don’t even know where the end of the lines is,†David Culp, a Florence (S.C.) man who was trying to get to San Diego, said Sunday morning. “No one is telling us anything.â€
Trying to ease the Charlotte problems, the airline was able to turn on a handful of kiosks about 11 a.m. It also opened up some of its unusede counter space and began checking in passengers manually. An agent would review a passenger’s itinerary and issue a temporary boarding pass, allowing the passenger to get through the security checkpoint and formally check in at the gate.
By mid-afternoon, with lines more manageable with 30 to 45 minute wait times, US Airways turned off its kiosks again for more testing. Technicians were trying to make sure the software was working under all conditions – such as when passengers check in by name, flight number, of Dividend Miles account number.
IF YOU’RE FLYING TODAY:
Arrive two hours early if you have to see an agent.
Use Internet check-in at
http://www.usairways.com.
Use curbside services for check-in or checking baggage.
