7625 replies to this topic

[LJ]

Much of Southwest's problems have to do with it's scheduling software, they really don't know where many of their flight personnel are, pilots are on hold for hours trying to contact flight scheduling people. They are using the same software they started with, and apparently it is not scalable.

[Victoria Watcher]

The airline’s "highly complex" network was thrown off by the storm, with planes and crew members "in dozens of locations" out of position, Jordan said.

https://www.foxbusin...ne-not-prepared





Sounds like they’d be better off with everyone at a hub. Like in Denver, for example. But they don’t have them.



Seriously though, we need more autonomous planes or at least remotely-piloted planes. Then it doesn’t matter where the pilots are physically located.

And robot flight attendants.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 28 December 2022 - 11:35 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Last and second-to-last.

 

 

 

 

On-time flights are those that arrive "within 15 minutes of the scheduled gate arrival," the company said in a news release. Delta Air Lines placed first for the second year in a row, with more than 84% of its nearly 960,000 flights arriving on time.

 

 

 

https://www.usatoday...22/10959758002/

 

 

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 29 December 2022 - 03:40 AM.

[Mike K.]

Low-quality and mediocrity is the Canadian way. And the airlines know there’s nothing you can do about it.

But look how honest the US carriers keep each other. Delta at 84%, across nearly a million flights. That’s crazy good. The subsequent two each individually fly more than AC and Westjet combined, and can manage better on time performance with much larger networks.

[spanky123]

Lets of stuff to unpack here.

 

Did they normalize the results for weather delays which are beyond an airlines' control? Did they remove exceptions like union action, airport staffing or maintenance issues? 

 

Why is a 15 minute delay the standard? 15 minutes isn't a big deal with most connecting flights in Canada (may be in the US where some airports allow connections of 30 minutes). 

 

I think that a better measure of performance would be missed connections because that is really what matters.

[Mike K.]

With delta, you have no risk of missing a connection 84% of the time.

With Air Canada, you have a risk of missing your connection 55% of the time.

[Victoria Watcher]

Why can’t the pilots just drive faster if they are running late?

[spanky123]

With delta, you have no risk of missing a connection 84% of the time.

With Air Canada, you have a risk of missing your connection 55% of the time.

 

Not true. Connection windows in Canadian airports are generally much longer than in the US. Very rarely will you ever miss a flight with a 15 minute delay

 

The other thing is what % of flights are intentionally delayed for customer service?  I am thinking of the once a day direct flight from YYZ to YYJ as an example. If the flight gets held 15 minutes to allow late passengers to arrive it makes no difference as the plane ends its day in YYJ anyways but it saves clients an unexpected night in Toronto.. 

Edited by spanky123, 29 December 2022 - 10:30 AM.

[Mike K.]

Air Canada flies in to the US, and internationally. They have to connect flights all over the world. But there’s a risk you won’t on 55% of their flights.

There was a 45% guarantee you wouldn’t miss a connection, in 2022.

[Victoria Watcher]

News Alert: Southwest says 'normal' services to resume on Friday

Southwest Airlines says it's poised to resume normal schedules on Friday after a tumultuous eight-day meltdown that left hundreds of thousands of passengers delayed or stranded and prompted its executives to make groveling apologies.

In a statement released Thursday -- following another bruising day in which a further 2,300 flights were canceled and government officials called for the airline to account for its shortcomings -- Southwest said it hoped for minimal disruptions over the New Year's weekend.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 29 December 2022 - 10:56 AM.

[vortoozo]

More money? Freedom? Self-destiny? No self-respecting airline in the US has a similar deal with another domestic US airline. They only do it here because - government.

American has significant partnerships with Alaska and JetBlue.

[Victoria Watcher]

American has significant partnerships with Alaska and JetBlue.

 

Oh ya, there is some codeshare and JB and American have some type of deal for New York and Boston.

 

That's fine.  

[Victoria Watcher]

Close to 2,500 pieces of luggage sit unclaimed behind a newly built enclosure on Vancouver airport’s second floor.

 

Since few immediate measures were put in place to ensure the security of the mounting bag buildup amid last week’s snowstorms, some passengers worry their stuff has been stolen.Toronto’s Kim Tanczos landed at YVR the night of Dec. 23 to a sea of suitcases being looked after by a single baggage claim worker. Her Air Canada flight was among the many that arrived late.

 

Tanczos’ carry-on luggage, which held her 14-year-old daughter’s insulin and her husband’s sleep apnea machine, was nowhere to be found.

 

“It was complete chaos. I witnessed a parent crying, saying their children have no clothes,” said the 49-year-old, who said she was told by the baggage attendant the whereabouts of her family’s luggage was unknown.

 

 

https://www.timescol...wstorms-6310184

 

 

 

 

“It was complete chaos. I witnessed a parent crying, saying their children have no clothes,” 

 

 

 

 

Always wear clothes on your flight, so you have at least one set.

 

Also, do not cry.  You can always buy some clothes.

 

Honestly, people.  

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 30 December 2022 - 12:54 AM.

[LJ]

What I find amusing is that the stuff she lost was apparently in her carry on luggage.

 

You lose that, I say it's your fault.

[aastra]

 

Also, do not cry. You can always buy some clothes.

 

I buy all my clothing, groceries, and toiletries from airport vendors.

[Victoria Watcher]

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says a decision by Sunwing Vacations to suspend its flights from the Saskatoon and Regina airports for a month is irresponsible.

 

The airline announced Thursday it was immediately cancelling its operations through Feb. 3 at Saskatchewan's two international airports due to extenuating circumstances. It said customers with cancelled southbound flights would receive a full refund and those who were trying to return home would receive information soon.

 

"This is a very irresponsible decision by Sunwing for everyone who has booked a vacation, particularly those who are currently at their destination and are uncertain how and when they will get home," Moe said in a statement Friday.

 

"While airlines and air travel are regulated by the federal government, Saskatchewan's Transportation Minister Jeremy Cockrill has been in contact with Sunwing and with federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra asking for a detailed plan of how and when passengers who travelled from Saskatchewan will get back, which is the immediate priority.

 

"In the days ahead, we expect Sunwing to appropriately compensate everyone who did not receive the service they purchased."

 

Sunwing said in a statement Friday that it had planned to supplement seasonal demand for travel from Saskatoon and Regina with the assistance of temporary foreign pilots for the winter months. 

 

"When foreign pilot deployment was not agreed to, we brought in sub-services to sustain our operations, however, the conditions and schedule have proven too significant," the airline said.

 

 

https://www.timescol...onsible-6312778

[Victoria Watcher]

As Southwest Airlines scrambled to get its planes back in the air and its passengers back home heading into Thursday, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has taken a sharp line with the company.

 

He’s pulling no punches, referring to the situation as a complete “meltdown” of the system.

 

Southwest’s decision to enact “operational emergency” staffing procedures last week at the airport in Denver as a massive winter storm bore down is now believed to have paid a significant part in creating the airline’s nationwide operational crisis.

 

The Southwest emergency staffing procedures in Denver included requiring a note from a doctor to verify illness after an employee calls out sick, a Southwest spokesperson told CNN Wednesday.

 

The spokesperson could not say whether the staffing policy remains in place or when the special rules ended.

 

The Washington Post cited a Southwest memo related to the operational emergency, dated December 21, in which the airline’s vice president for ground operations declared the condition was imposed because of an “unusually high number of absences” of Denver-based ramp employees, including sick calls and personal days for afternoon and evening shifts.

 

 

_______________________________________

 

 

 

Southwest does not have interline agreements with other carriers that would allow its agents to rebook passengers on a different airline, leaving travelers in charge of exploring other options.

 

 

https://www.cnn.com/...sday/index.html

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 31 December 2022 - 08:57 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

American Airlines employee killed in 'industrial accident' at Alabama airport

The employee was reportedly a baggage handler and died in an accident involving an airplane's engine


https://www.foxnews....alabama-airport

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 January 2023 - 10:02 AM.

[Sparky]

Holy crap. What a way to go.

[Victoria Watcher]

For six days, Roice Anne Fox has slept only three hours a night while waiting in hotel lobbies in Varadeo, Cuba, for a flight to take her family home to Saskatchewan — or at least to Canadian soil.

"I'm exhausted and there is zero help from Sunwing. There are more than 100 of us from Saskatchewan waiting here," Fox said, referring to the people who came in on the same flight as her.

Fox was supposed to leave for Regina on a Dec. 27 flight, which kept being delayed. On Friday, vacationers were informed that their flight was supposed to depart on New Year's Eve, but the flight was delayed to Sunday.

______

The Weyburn pharmacist said the stranded travellers are receiving minimal information from the airlines and have to depend on one another to seek the latest information. They got kicked out of their hotel room on New Year's Eve because the hotel was fully booked for other guests

"Each of us are looking into different travel websites keeping tabs on this flight. We take turns being awake each night tracking the flight status," Fox said.

"I'm diagnosed with anxiety and in the last two days, I have had panic attacks every six hours. The uncertainty of whether the flight is coming or not is stressful."

https://www.cbc.ca/n...-home-1.6701029

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 January 2023 - 01:30 PM.