Computers fail

[LCC_#1]

Well the nightmare of switching over computer systems has happened. For those of us that saw it coming, we are at home, nerves intact, having a cocktail with a big "we told you so" on our faces. See ya on Thursday. I should feel much better by then.


COMPUTER CRASH IN CHARLOTTE

 

[BoeingBoy]

In fairness, I think the Observer somehow got the impression that the switchover was going to be tonight (note the references to "Monday morning") so is mistakenly assuming that this is some kind of computer problem occuring prior to the switch.

Jim

 

[jimcfs]

According to Dawn Gilkerson's blog in AZ Republic...

No huge meltdowns reported (one traveler in Phoenix said check in was a breeze) but persistent complaints about scattered long lines and website problems. One traveler reported getting astronomial quotes for airfares.

US Airways spokesman Phil Gee said there have been some Thanksgiving-like lines, largely due to self-service check-in kiosks being down, and that the airline is waiving rebooking fees and giving refunds for those who don't want to travel today. He said the kiosks are starting to come back online.

Hmmm... it's affecting things that many folks are being rebooked. I don't think I'd call this a smooth switchover. :blink:

 

[ant_us_flier]

Well the nightmare of switching over computer systems has happened. For those of us that saw it coming, we are at home, nerves intact, having a cocktail with a big "we told you so" on our faces. See ya on Thursday. I should feel much better by then.
COMPUTER CRASH IN CHARLOTTE

It hit the philly wire as well.

PHILADELPHIA - If you are heading to the airport Sunday, you may want to give yourself some extra time. Some passengers were waiting in long lines at Philadelphia International Airport because of a U.S. Airways computer glitch.

The airline computer system went down during a merger with America West Airlines' computer system.

An airline official said they are working to fix the problem.

"We've had months and months of planning, hundreds of people working on it, but you never really know until you turn on the switch, and that's what happened this morning," said U.S. Airways spokeswoman Andrea Radar.

The airline hopes it can get the problem fixed Sunday.

 

[ClueByFour]

Is there an "I told you so" smiley here?

 

[Itestwell]

Is there an "I told you so" smiley here?

Who on here said it was going to be an absolutely flawless cutover? Don't you have some huffing and puffing to do about that stewardess that cut the line the other day?

 

[allegheny36]

From what I have read so far the big problem is the kiosks not online fast enough.

But I would hardly call it a meltdown.

 

[rjh]

With this big of a transition, there's bound to be problems. And there would also have been problems if we had gone to Sabre instead of Shares.

 

[Charlie_Tuna]

With this big of a transition, there's bound to be problems. And there would also have been problems if we had gone to Sabre instead of Shares.

Or 1 year ago or 1 year from now

 

[UWCactus]

I don't think you can call it a meltdown either, at least not yet.

If anyone thought for a second that today would be "business as usual" (on this board) then yes you would be disappointed. Longer lines for a transaction such as this, should be expected by the employees..the customer may not have known what is happening. In addition you have people using SHARES now that are not necessarily "up to speed" on the system, it will be a learning curve no doubt.

 

[ClueByFour]

From what I have read so far the big problem is the kiosks not online fast enough.

But I would hardly call it a meltdown.

I'm sitting in CLT with people who generally know what's what (sitting in the Club on a Sunday will do that). It's a meltdown.

I printed my BPs yesterday. When I got to CLT today and went to board my connection, it seemed that there was no record of me ever having been booked on the connecting flight. Instead of solving it, they pushed the plane without me.

Unwilling to wait in the special service line a mile long, I tried the CP line--which worked great for this former CP, since it's not prompting you for DM # anymore.

I am now going to have to wait another few hours, fly via PIT, and hope my luggage actually makes it in my absence (makes me really curious as to how they tagged my luggage at my originating outstation yet can't find my seat on the second leg, but that's another story for another time).

You can see (or could, when I looked awhile ago) the lines weaving across the ticketing lobby in CLT without leaving security.

How long does it take to reboot a kiosk? Moreover, why was the manpower planning not done assuming none of them would come back? That said, it's not merely a kiosk thing.

 

[ALCARLOS]

I don't think you can call it a meltdown either, at least not yet.

If anyone thought for a second that today would be "business as usual" (on this board) then yes you would be disappointed. Longer lines for a transaction such as this, should be expected by the employees..the customer may not have known what is happening. In addition you have people using SHARES now that are not necessarily "up to speed" on the system, it will be a learning curve no doubt.

This is just an excuse! Either it was not adequately tested, or someone said "why bother?" Was this your responsibility?

 

[Bear96]

Well the nightmare of switching over computer systems has happened. For those of us that saw it coming, we are at home, nerves intact, having a cocktail with a big "we told you so" on our faces.

So LCC should not have tried to combine computer systems and should keep two separate systems running, just to avoid the headaches of integration and the inherent risk that glitches will occur during integration?

 

[Dog Wonder]

CLT had 600 plus people in Ticket Counter line. The kiosks were all down in CLT and most other places until around noon.

What constitutes a meltdown? I think what happened to our customers in CLT qualifies.

 

[ALCARLOS]

So LCC should not have tried to combine computer systems and should keep two separate systems running, just to avoid the headaches of integration and the inherent risk that glitches will occur during integration?

Did they not test adequately? Or did they know what would happen and not care?