Could Have Saved Pax Time

[robbedagain]

yesterday, the 540p flight (operated by a DASH-8) was delayed for more than two and a half hrs. in the mean time the same plane makes up two more of the phlly fflights from abe and back. so of course this 540 delay that turned into a circus
came to be about 3 hrs and a bit more in the minutes by the time the plane came into abe. in the mean time this same plane had to return back to phl as another flight and then makes up the 8p outbound from abe. during this whole time, with the pax booking being 29 and 32 respectivle on the original flight could have been taken by bus from phl to abe which is only a 1hr and 15minute 65mile road trip a heck of alot cheaper than having the operating expenses skyrocketing to keep the same broken plane (that got fixed) show up some 3 hrs plus late!

 

[USHenry]

huh?

 

[MarkMyWords]

So why didn't you bus the customers to PHL and advise the express carrier that there were no more revenue customers in ABE so that they could react accordingly?

 

[robbedagain]

our inside agent had already bused the whole flight of people down to make their connections. it is a total nightmare in phl at the express section. they could have bused all of the folks from the 645p flight and the 540p flight to abe but no the express wanted them to wait and wait and wait and when the pax finally got off in abe, they were not happy customers and to top it off soem of their bags werent put on the flights..

 

[N628AU]

MMW,

Having worked at an express carrier in both the capacity as a hub coordinator overseeing the station operation in CLT, and in the system/maintenance control side of the world, I can tell you it is not that easy.

Maintenance delays have a lot of imperfect information involved. Troubleshooting can lead you in any number of directions. From a station standpoint, the last thing you want is the passengers to be bussed and have the plane fixed either as they are boarding or right after they left.

From an operations control angle, you don't want to quote a big delay off the bat, get the plane fixed, and then have to wait an additional period of time to round up passengers in the terminal to get on a flight they believe is delayed another hour. This is not to mention the fact that dispatchers and maintenance personnel are under immense pressure to run flights whenever possible. The whole thing is a very difficult call. Hindsight is truly 20/20.

 

[tadjr]

huh?

I understood it perfectly. Guess you're not a gate/ato agent? 😛
Sometimes it seems that "ops or dispatch" for some of these guys are working on trying to ensure that everything goes no matter what, when if they made alternate plans, not as many people would end up being affected in the end. What good does it do to run 2 delayed flights when alternate plans could have been made for the 1 flight already with problems and trying to get the second flight back on time?So now you've completed both flights (good), but busted conx on both, so why bother?
Any clearer or still huh?

 

[MarkMyWords]

N628AU -

I understand what you are saying, but I thought that the 3 hour delay was posted for the first flight and cascaded into the second. That being the case, as Tad pointed out, why not cancel the first round trip - especially if it is protectable - and try to run the second on time. I also realize that we don't have all the facts and may be missing a few pieces of the puzzle. Hindsight is always 20/20.

 

[atoguy]

Well just let me say this. Seems the express carriers have a completion goal they have to meet. I have worked many express flights that flew empty just because of completion factor. We have taken care of the customers and advised dispatch of that express carrier that we did not need the equipment. Said they had to run it. Just had one a week or so ago. A/C on maint in PIT. Almost 4hrs late. Had to go PIT/GSO/BWI/RIC. No pax booked GSO/BWI/RIC all taken care of. Advise dispatch that they could probably just ferry the A/C from GSO to RIC. Advised they had to run it. Waste of fuel, crew time and who knows what else.

 

[flyin2low]

Advised they had to run it. Waste of fuel, crew time and who knows what else

Fee for departure strike a bell?

 

[robbedagain]

the cost of operating an empty would probably be the same as if it is a full boat wouldnt it?

 

[flyin2low]

the cost of operating an empty would probably be the same as if it is a full boat wouldnt it?

Obviously not!

 

[robbedagain]

what is the difference for the operationg cost? i know that the erjs are paid whether or not their full does this apply to the wholly owned too?

 

[Capecod]

Fee for departure strike a bell?

I didn't know that the WO were fee for departure? We are talking about a dash arn't we? -Cape

 

[flyin2low]

Although difficult to believe, the wholly-owned operators are also compensated with a fee for departure. It is not a visable cost because of the collusion that the wholly-owneds have with the group. Remember the group has 4 separate companys with separate financial stats and all mixed together in one statement each quarter. You can pretty much bet on the W/O to operate their flights at any cost, regardless of how ridiculous it sounds.

 

[robbedagain]

what i was trying to say is that i have heard that the express such as trans states and mesa are paid regardless of whether or not the planes are full but do the dashes operate that way or no? yes this was the dash the other night when it showed late