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Dec 27, 2003
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I just got off the phone with our "reservation professionals" regarding the travel arrangements of some friends. What a disgrace! These friends are traveling RDU-PHL-GLA on a trip that has been a year in the planning... and which may now not go as planned.
Something as simple as a flight number change prompted res to call them and move them back to a later flight even though there is still a flight at the original time...just a different flight number. The real kicker is that they now have only one hour in PHL to make the GLA flight.
Our reservationist(Mexico City) refused to transfer me to a supervisor stating that she needed a reason. I told her the reason had already been explained and the minimum legal connection time for the international flight is 1hour30min.
The best she could do was give me her initials...CB.
How many customers are we driving away with the BS from res?
 
I just had my first sub par experience with Chairman's. I dealt with a young man, who obviously was rather new to Chairmans' but said he'd been there a while. He was a little too flippant in his responses and appeared to be fresh from general res.

I went to book 3 separate trips with him, and due to his general demeanor, I booked 1. The second has just been done with United, whose OFFSHORE res were actually helpful, and the third is waiting to be done.

I can't and won't use the web site as I don't trust it to get the job done.

See my post elsewhere regarding a friend's web experience.

My best to you all....
 
What "later" flight from PHL-GLA did they put you guys on? There's only one per day, at 820pm. If the connection is really just an hour, then you're only choice is to get an earlier RDU-PHL time to pad the connection more. That would leave the 330pm RDU-PHL as a good choice with plenty of wiggle room.
 
The later flight is RDU-PHL at 1750.
What "later" flight from PHL-GLA did they put you guys on? There's only one per day, at 820pm. If the connection is really just an hour, then you're only choice is to get an earlier RDU-PHL time to pad the connection more. That would leave the 330pm RDU-PHL as a good choice with plenty of wiggle room.
 
Ah ha. I read your post as if there were 2 PHL-GLA flights. It seems simple enough to demand to be moved up to the 330pm PHL-RDU flight then. Any luck?
 
None...arriving one day late and no golf clubs in Scotland
Ah ha. I read your post as if there were 2 PHL-GLA flights. It seems simple enough to demand to be moved up to the 330pm PHL-RDU flight then. Any luck?
 
Coach: $421
3:30 PM 15 Aug 2006
Raleigh/Durham, NC 8:20 AM 16 Aug 2006
Glasgow, United Kingdom 266 / 564

Coach: $424

5:50 PM 15 Aug 2006
Raleigh/Durham, NC 8:20 AM 16 Aug 2006
Glasgow, United Kingdom 1149 / 564
Stops: PHL View Details


YEA I would ask for the EARLIER FLIGHT ALSO
 
Even if the psgr were to make it, the bags will not.
Sorry to get off topic, but this is what we see EVERY DAY more bags missing than you would ever want to think of due to poor conecting times. But it appears the company only wants to sell the connecting time.
 
We've been round and round with marketing (the old US, now we've got to try the new US) on this issue, especially in the summertime. 50 min- 1 hr is NOT enough connecting time in PHL, especially when you throw in ATC/weather. Every day we play the move up game with international people who check in early. We dont ask, we tell them they have to leave on the earlier plane. Problem is, many dont check in early enough to get on the other flight and end up having to be booked for the next day or a couple days later when everything is full across the pond.
Marketings excuse was people want a short connection and we have to be competitive with the other airlines. Well, I really dont care that the other airlines have a 1 hour connection, especially if they have to spend all summer rerouting as well. I would think a nice connection time (the planes leave at 1210pm, 205pm and 350pm) by making people take the earlier flight would be better for customers AND bags making their flights, especially with security measures and having many connections arriving within the last hour overwhelming the system.
I also dont hear a lot of people loving the hour connection when they are checking in when you tell them they have to go from C23 to A21West. Boarding starts 45 minutes before dept and it takes a good 15-20 mins for a normal person with a normal walk to get from one end to the other, let alone elderly or having kids in tow.
Throw in weather during the summer and forget it.
If we truly want to be a customer friendly airline, the international (and domestic for that matter) conx times in PHL need to be increased to more than 50 min- 1hour.
 
FWIW, I was never a ramper. However, as both an ex-pax service agent and supervisor I knew that in PHX the bags of a late connecting flight would usually beat the passengers to the flight. The conx runners on the ramp were that good, as must have been their system.

I'm not saying that the problems elsewhere are people problems, design problems or anything else because I don't have the knowledge of other hubs to make that kind of statement. I simply know that in PHX it generally worked and worked well.
 
FWIW, I was never a ramper. However, as both an ex-pax service agent and supervisor I knew that in PHX the bags of a late connecting flight would usually beat the passengers to the flight. The conx runners on the ramp were that good, as must have been their system.

I'm not saying that the problems elsewhere are people problems, design problems or anything else because I don't have the knowledge of other hubs to make that kind of statement. I simply know that in PHX it generally worked and worked well.


Hey Barbee, Where are you ?
 
Ah ha. I read your post as if there were 2 PHL-GLA flights. It seems simple enough to demand to be moved up to the 330pm PHL-RDU flight then. Any luck?

Guess again! I used to call people and move them up to earlier PHL flights if they were making an INTL connection and I saw weatehr was expected. I called a day or two beofre if possible and sometime s left messages. I out waiver codes in records and even put a note for res that we were authorizing a change. I got a VERY nasty call from a res supervisor that they COULD NOT make those changes without charging the customer. I pointed out we had a waiver and a message in there. She was going to report me to God knows who. Well, they refused to change a Gold prefered and guess what? He got there fro his later flight and it was delayed 2 hours due to flow into PHL. There was nothing on any carrier until the next day. He was very thankful for our attempt at the airport but very pissed at res. It was in house at the time too. The airport works in the REAL world, res works in the future and what is actually in their computer.
 
Service the customer not the machine. FWIW. I'm assuming reality here.The reality to me is that there is not enough connecting time between flights to address marketings 'promises'. After all, it is a contract. When irregular ops, become regular, something needs to be tweeked.
This is the single reasoning for my handle. As you can see, it has been going on for quite a while.
 
I often look for BOS/PHL/CDG flights. It used to be that the only flight from BOS offered on the website would be the 5:30 connecting to the flight leaving PHL at about 8 PM (too short a time). I would have to book it, and then call in to change the reservation to an earlier flight from BOS. Now the website still offers a similarly impractical connection, but at least earlier flights are offered as options at a similar cost, and I don't have to call in and bug anyone.
 
My neice just flew in from Dayton last night and I want to personally thank all those involved in getting her to Phx. Orginally I had booked her DAY to DCA and then to PHX which on Monday looked very good all connections. Yesterday morning I got real nervous when I say that the booking from DAY to DCA was very ify at best. A rez agent in DAY noticed that she most likely wouldn't get on in DCA and rebooked her thru Philly on his own. She made it luggage and all (whew!). I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with many different agents trying to figure out what had happened. Although it remained a mystery almost until the time my niece arrived, everyone was very professional. The agent in DAY is getting one of those atta-boy coupons for sure...thanks!