Wow..Non-Rev trip review

[Bradly71]

So, over last weekend I took my first non-rev trip in 3 years. After reading the messages and discussions on this board, I really had no high hopes for anything.

When I checked in for my flight from IND to DCA everyone was so nice and in generally good spirits. The flight was great too. I hadn't been on the ERJ 170/175 before. It was clean and comfortable, very nice leg room. The crew was very congenial and helpful to everyone. It just all made the flight to DCA nice.

DCA was a whole different story. That has got to be the most ghetto and white-trash airport I've ever been in. I could barely understand the gate announcements due to the heavily accented voices or poorly spoken English. The gate area was filthy and smelled like a restroom. Every time I walked past the special services desk or a check-in desk I would overhear the agents complaining about something. I heard "oh in Charlotte they don't know sh**" , "In New York they do it all wrong".. it was just bad. I knew that paying customers heard that too.

The flight from DCA TO BOS that I took on the "former" shuttle was horrible. That was the dirtiest plane I have ever been on. You could barely see out the windows for all the smudge and residue on the inside of them. The seats were filthy as well. The outside of the plane was horrible looking with paint chipped and cracked, and several body panels that didn't match the rest of the aircraft. The crew practically threw drinks and pretzels at the passengers as they hurried down the aisle. As for the other passengers on the flight, oh my. It was like a greyhound bus station had thrown up - but it was the same kind of crowd I saw in the terminal and getting on other flights too.

My final flight for the trip from BOS to IND was great. The terminal was a bit "blah" but I wasn't expecting a mall or anything. The gate agents were all nice and very talkative to everyone who checked in. The flight itself was very smooth and nice. The CRJ was clean inside and out which was great. The crew were all friendly and talkative. The other passengers on that flight were more of what I would expect, mostly business and no odd smells.

Sadly, and I know I'll probably catch flack for this - the best flights and crews were all express. The mainline flight and employees I encountered were awfull - and I am furloughed from mainline. It was really sad to see what had become of it all, nothing like it was just a few short years ago. I know that bankruptcies and "mergers" can do some harm, but it all looked like the employee's just didn't care at all. Yeah, mainline employee's have taken some hits and had some rough times - but if they stayed then they evidently care or like the job, so why not show it? If they are so unhappy as the ones in DCA and on that flight seemed - then why not leave? Why let it leave the impression it does with fliers?

Just my two cents..

 

[LGA777]

Bradly71, sorry only part of your trip went well. Judging from the Greyhound bus crowd on the buisness market of DCA-BOS where you flying on a Saturday ? Does not sound like a typical weekday crowd. DCA is last I heard about 150 agents short and in my opinion has more flights than they can really handle, so while I am not making excuses for them but it just reality. I hope your next non-rev trip is sooner than three years and things go better than your DCA-BOS flight. Thanks for sharing your experiance with us.

Regards

LGA777

 

[AstroLounge]

Your assessment of the DCA airport is CORRECT. Years ago DCA was well managed and ran like a machine (the Crystal Palace was just down the street) yet now it is one "Gloried ClusterF".......kind of resembles the Government, just across the river. Waiting for Agents to meet the flight in DCA has been a problem for several months and when one does arrive, you have to HOPE they speak some version of ENGLISH.

 

[Bradly71]

Bradly71, sorry only part of your trip went well. Judging from the Greyhound bus crowd on the buisness market of DCA-BOS where you flying on a Saturday ? Does not sound like a typical weekday crowd. DCA is last I heard about 150 agents short and in my opinion has more flights than they can really handle, so while I am not making excuses for them but it just reality. I hope your next non-rev trip is sooner than three years and things go better than your DCA-BOS flight. Thanks for sharing your experiance with us.

Regards

LGA777

Thanks.. and sadly it was a Monday morning flight.

Your assessment of the DCA airport is CORRECT. Years ago DCA was well managed and ran like a machine (the Crystal Palace was just down the street) yet now it is one "Gloried ClusterF".......kind of resembles the Government, just across the river. Waiting for Agents to meet the flight in DCA has been a problem for several months and when one does arrive, you have to HOPE they speak some version of ENGLISH.

Oh you are right on with that one. I couldn't believe the way some of the agents talked, or rather yelled, at the passengers. I overheard several times "don't take that tone and swear at me, I'm doing my job and I don't work for you". I can't imagine what I would have done had I been a paying passenger and they treated me like that.

 

[Travels2mch]

Oh you are right on with that one. I couldn't believe the way some of the agents talked, or rather yelled, at the passengers. I overheard several times "don't take that tone and swear at me, I'm doing my job and I don't work for you". I can't imagine what I would have done had I been a paying passenger and they treated me like that.

I had a very similar experience at DCA recently....the attitudes there and CLT are starting to give PHL a run for their money. That's how they are trying to improve PHL....make the others look worse.

 

[tadjr]

Yeah, mainline employee's have taken some hits and had some rough times - but if they stayed then they evidently care or like the job, so why not show it? If they are so unhappy as the ones in DCA and on that flight seemed - then why not leave?

You probably answered your own question right there. Many of the agents that were in DC when I was there back in 92 HAVE LEFT. Many of the agents you are seeing and hearing are probably new hire. They havent "become" this way, they started out this way, but we need the bodies. Its this way all over the system. Ghetto is as ghetto does.

 

[JS]

Wow. I haven't been to DCA since April 2003 (to GSO, on a Dornier 328 turboprop, R.I.P.). It was OK back then, except for the idiotic 30 minute no-pee rule that took far too long for logic to erase. It sounds like the in-flight no-pee rule has been replaced with a gate area do-pee rule.

And yes, I have been to a Greyhound bus station, so I know what you mean.

 

[SKY HIGH]

DCA was a whole different story. That has got to be the most ghetto and white-trash airport I've ever been in. I could barely understand the gate announcements due to the heavily accented voices or poorly spoken English.

sky high states: Really? I find that the Nation's Capital has primarily Business suit/Military ATTIRE. New York and DCA are some of the best dressed passengers in the nation. And, as far as the accents, coming from IND, I can understand you NOT being used to them.


only stating opinions

 

[JS]

sky high states: Really? I find that the Nation's Capital has primarily Business suit/Military ATTIRE. New York and DCA are some of the best dressed passengers in the nation. And, as far as the accents, coming from IND, I can understand you NOT being used to them.
only stating opinions

Maybe in bizarro New York and Washington D.C. The NY and DC I've been to have no shortage of nasty people who smell like they haven't bathed in days.

 

[LCC_#1]

Where are you people finding these f/a's. I have nonreved and worked PLENTY of flights and have had a wide range of looks and personalities, but nothing to the extent that you guys moan about. I guess negativity IS better press. INFACT, the NASTIEST f/a I have ever seen was on one of those kind express flights. I guess I have been lucky.

 

[JS]

Where are you people finding these f/a's. I have nonreved and worked PLENTY of flights and have had a wide range of looks and personalities, but nothing to the extent that you guys moan about. I guess negativity IS better press. INFACT, the NASTIEST f/a I have ever seen was on one of those kind express flights. I guess I have been lucky.

There aren't that many, but the problem is that there are way more than tolerable. Think about your typical customer -- if one in five flights has a nasty flight attendant on US, versus one in 100 flights on Delta, AA, Southwest, etc., they'll remember it the next time they need to book a flight. Although, they might make an exception if US is the cheapest fare, thus helping to depress yields.

 

[Bradly71]

Where are you people finding these f/a's. I have nonreved and worked PLENTY of flights and have had a wide range of looks and personalities, but nothing to the extent that you guys moan about. I guess negativity IS better press. INFACT, the NASTIEST f/a I have ever seen was on one of those kind express flights. I guess I have been lucky.

The FA's on the DCA/BOS flight weren't nasty, they just had the "I've been here for 100 years" attitude and didn't smile or say a word. The biggest "complaint" I have is how crappy the gate agents and special services people in DCA are.

 

[PHLfa88]

So, over last weekend I took my first non-rev trip in 3 years. After reading the messages and discussions on this board, I really had no high hopes for anything.

When I checked in for my flight from IND to DCA everyone was so nice and in generally good spirits. The flight was great too. I hadn't been on the ERJ 170/175 before. It was clean and comfortable, very nice leg room. The crew was very congenial and helpful to everyone. It just all made the flight to DCA nice.

DCA was a whole different story. That has got to be the most ghetto and white-trash airport I've ever been in. I could barely understand the gate announcements due to the heavily accented voices or poorly spoken English. The gate area was filthy and smelled like a restroom. Every time I walked past the special services desk or a check-in desk I would overhear the agents complaining about something. I heard "oh in Charlotte they don't know sh**" , "In New York they do it all wrong".. it was just bad. I knew that paying customers heard that too.

The flight from DCA TO BOS that I took on the "former" shuttle was horrible. That was the dirtiest plane I have ever been on. You could barely see out the windows for all the smudge and residue on the inside of them. The seats were filthy as well. The outside of the plane was horrible looking with paint chipped and cracked, and several body panels that didn't match the rest of the aircraft. The crew practically threw drinks and pretzels at the passengers as they hurried down the aisle. As for the other passengers on the flight, oh my. It was like a greyhound bus station had thrown up - but it was the same kind of crowd I saw in the terminal and getting on other flights too.

My final flight for the trip from BOS to IND was great. The terminal was a bit "blah" but I wasn't expecting a mall or anything. The gate agents were all nice and very talkative to everyone who checked in. The flight itself was very smooth and nice. The CRJ was clean inside and out which was great. The crew were all friendly and talkative. The other passengers on that flight were more of what I would expect, mostly business and no odd smells.

Sadly, and I know I'll probably catch flack for this - the best flights and crews were all express. The mainline flight and employees I encountered were awfull - and I am furloughed from mainline. It was really sad to see what had become of it all, nothing like it was just a few short years ago. I know that bankruptcies and "mergers" can do some harm, but it all looked like the employee's just didn't care at all. Yeah, mainline employee's have taken some hits and had some rough times - but if they stayed then they evidently care or like the job, so why not show it? If they are so unhappy as the ones in DCA and on that flight seemed - then why not leave? Why let it leave the impression it does with fliers?

Just my two cents..

Please..Please.. DO NOT Say ALL Mainline Crews Are Awfull! You Had 1 Mainline Flt On Your Travels and You Are Saying Mainline Crews Are AWFULL? Come On! Most Of US MAINLINE Crews Are VERY Friendly! :blink:

 

[Bradly71]

sky high states: Really? I find that the Nation's Capital has primarily Business suit/Military ATTIRE. New York and DCA are some of the best dressed passengers in the nation. And, as far as the accents, coming from IND, I can understand you NOT being used to them.
only stating opinions

I was born and raised in NYC, just happen to live in IND now - so, I can understand most accents. It's hard in this day and age to get across what one is really saying without sounding elitist or racist.. with that said, the accents and "English" used by the gate agents were intolerable and in some instances offensive. There were some who were obviously not from this country originally and they were easier to understand and speak with than most of the ones that were. It was honestly worse than anything I've ever seen or heard at LGA or JFK.

There were some people with business and military attire, but I was surprised by the amount of people who weren't. I realize the airline can't do anything about the passengers, but they can do something about the cleanliness of the gate area, the planes, and the staff they use. I would hope they could do something about that horrible smell too.. at least down around the shuttle gates.

I have flown quite a bit for my current employer and on leisure over the past few years. My company will not us US Airways because of some issues our CEO had similar to mine. I don't fly US because most of my personal travel is out west and it can be a pain to non-rev there from the midwest. I know that in the future when my flight bene's are gone, this experience will still be with me and I'll honestly think twice about who I fly with, regardless of fare.

Please..Please.. DO NOT Say ALL Mainline Crews Are Awfull! You Had 1 Mainline Flt On Your Travels and You Are Saying Mainline Crews Are AWFULL? Come On! Most Of US MAINLINE Crews Are VERY Friendly! :blink:

You are correct.. and I didn't say all mainline crews were bad. You took that assumption from what I did say. Now, imagine how many passengers do the same thing and turn around to tell friends and family. Honestly, my largest complaint/disappointment is/was the DCA staff and gate area. There is no excuse for that. I know it will do no good, but I wrote an email to Tempe today anyway.

 

[EMBFA]

Why were those Express crews so happy?

Hmmm.

They took our airplanes but didnt offer the affected mainline employees a job. They got a windfall of 30 airplanes (a jumbo jet to the RJ crowd) and now are getting 30 more. They recieve more planes each month and hire like gangbusters, can hardly fill all the available positions. Seniority skyrockets, they have holidays and weekends off, pick where and when they fly. Fly only on a small but fabulous aircraft.

Us? Hmm. Lose our job so above can fly our planes. Called back to $1 more than what we started at almost a decade ago, with no credit for two years of work. Slavery reserve system, ill treatment from scheduling and co-workers. 7 years is a new hire, 20 years a reserve. Still thousands furloughed while every other major hires. Stagnant, no movement but company is always short. Thats us "Juniors". For all of us... filthy work conditions as you so eloquently described. Trashy low class passengers as you described. No tools to do our job. Pathetic product when even able to provide one, embarrassing company. No new contract in sight after merger of two years ago. Pension gone. Minimum overnights, multiple legs on most trips. They have worked here for a hundred years and this is what they get.

Sorry they weren't chirpy.