How US Airways Vaulted to First Place by the WSJ

[ussnark]

The article was not referring to training "videos", it was referring to the recently installed RIDS screens that are located at every B and C con gate in PHL.

I never implied they were "training videos". I was referring to the video screens found on ramp level at most every station, even PHL showing estimated time of arrival by call sign as well as aircraft number and depicting gate, bag smasher infor and departure information as well, for twenty-seven years, in PHL.

 

[usramperTPA]

I never implied they were "training videos". I was referring to the video screens found on ramp level at most every station, even PHL showing estimated time of arrival by call sign as well as aircraft number and depicting gate, bag smasher infor and departure information as well, for twenty-seven years, in PHL.

I worked the Ramp in PHL for several years in the 90's and I can assure you we did not have any video screens at every gate. If you are referring to the FIDS monitors, I understand your point. But they are not installed at every gate, and, in PHL they are only in breakrooms and the bagchutes. Most of the time the FIDS are not even functional or updated promptly. The RIDS monitors that we are talking about, were installed at every gate, mounted high on the building. They have specific flight info for that particular gate. These were installed so the crew on the gate has all the arrival and departure info they need, as well as a reference for the dozens of ABR runners that are buzzing around delivering connecting bags. I commute through PHL twice a month for years now, and I saw the construction crews installing the RIDS screens over the past year. I am flying thruogh PHL this weekend, I will try to take a pic and post it here by Tuesday. Again, I think these are a great idea, if the company maintains them and the flight info on them is kept up to the minute.

 

[ussnark]

Most of the time the FIDS are not even functional or updated promptly.

Indeed. Every time I complained about them, someone or other would tell me it was up to the "city" to fix 'em.

 

[nycbusdriver]

...I think these are a great idea, if the company maintains them and the flight info on them is kept up to the minute.

Ah. The big IF!

The company won't maintain these things. The places where LCC already has this type of informational display are a joke. CLT, in particular, has screens that are almost unreadable, and when you can read them, the information on them is wrong half of the time. It's probably information that has been stuck on the display since 1996.