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wheelsup said:
That's kind of a cop out, don't you think? Your solution is for the creme de la creme of the airlines revenue to charter a flight because the airlines are unreliable?
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Or don't bitch when you miss your uber important business meeting that was so important you shopped around so you could get there and back for $73.

You can't have it both ways.

If the meeting is that super important, you either go the night before, earlier in the day or you charter something. That way you don't have to worry about the yay-hoo in 7C not turning off his iPhone and getting the plane turned around.

-mini
 
minitour said:
Or don't bitch when you miss your uber important business meeting that was so important you shopped around so you could get there and back for $73.

You can't have it both ways.

-mini
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So I guess you overpay on purpose for the same product a lot then, huh?
 
minitour said:
If the meeting is that super important, you either go the night before, earlier in the day or you charter something. That way you don't have to worry about the yay-hoo in 7C not turning off his iPhone and getting the plane turned around.

-mini
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Really? Wow such understanding. My wife used to book flights for her employees, I can assure you never did they have the luxury of leaving the night before. They were always pressed for time. That is why they paid a premium in walk up fares.

The difference between a walk up fare on an airline and a charter flight for an average 2 hour flight is probably around $20,000. Hardly economical.
 
wheelsup said:
So I guess you overpay on purpose for the same product a lot then, huh?
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I didn't claim nor imply that. However, I'm not going to cut a business meeting, funeral, wedding, etc. so close that a captain turning back to the departure airport consistent with safe operation of the aircraft is going to make me late either.

I don't want it both ways. Cheap is fine...but I understand that it isn't on my schedule.

wheelsup said:
The difference between a walk up fare on an airline and a charter flight for an average 2 hour flight is probably around $20,000. Hardly economical.
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...and a hotel overnight is at MOST $250 plus a meal, so let's say $300 for overnight at your meeting location.

If it's that important, you go early or you charter. You don't cut meetings that close. That's just business 101.

-mini
 
minitour said:
I didn't claim nor imply that. However, I'm not going to cut a business meeting, funeral, wedding, etc. so close that a captain turning back to the departure airport consistent with safe operation of the aircraft is going to make me late either.

I don't want it both ways. Cheap is fine...but I understand that it isn't on my schedule.
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Maybe the airlines should sell tickets to be used on days, rather than specific flights. You know, because passengers should just be happy to get to their destination on the day they booked.

...and a hotel overnight is at MOST $250 plus a meal, so let's say $300 for overnight at your meeting location.

If it's that important, you go early or you charter. You don't cut meetings that close. That's just business 101.

-mini
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Business 101 is operating an airline on schedule so passengers can book with confidence.

Here's a great example. Guy bought a walk-up fare from Reagan National to White Plains on our plane. His one way fundable ticket alone paid for the gas burned to get there. We were delayed several hours and it was no longer worthwhile for him to go - he had already missed his meeting. Presto - refund for his ticket and he goes back to his office. I witnessed that happen.
 
wheelsup said:
Business 101 is operating an airline on schedule so passengers can book with confidence.

Here's a great example. Guy bought a walk-up fare from Reagan National to White Plains on our plane. His one way fundable ticket alone paid for the gas burned to get there. We were delayed several hours and it was no longer worthwhile for him to go - he had already missed his meeting. Presto - refund for his ticket and he goes back to his office. I witnessed that happen.
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And unexpected things can and do happen.

The guy that bought the walk up fare, and missed his meeting is the perfect example. His buisness 101 is not where it should be. Unless it's an emergency meeting, get there with time to spare. Kinda like showing up for an interview. Show up late, and you don't get the job. Had he been a typical sucessful executive, he probably would have booked the ticket in advance enough, or gotten to the airport early enough to have spent a little time to get "back in it" before the meeting started and had a better chance of a good pitch to whoever he was dealing with.
 
mshunter said:
And unexpected things can and do happen.

The guy that bought the walk up fare, and missed his meeting is the perfect example. His buisness 101 is not where it should be. Unless it's an emergency meeting, get there with time to spare. Kinda like showing up for an interview. Show up late, and you don't get the job. Had he been a typical sucessful executive, he probably would have booked the ticket in advance enough, or gotten to the airport early enough to have spent a little time to get "back in it" before the meeting started and had a better chance of a good pitch to whoever he was dealing with.
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That makes too much sense. The airline schedule is set in granite and never falls behind due to wx, mx, pax not turning off their iPod or underpants gnomes.

-mini
 
Well by that logic every time you step into your car to drive to work, a meeting, etc you better be leaving enough time for your car to break down, get it towed, call a taxi, and continue with your day.
 
E_Dawg said:
Well by that logic every time you step into your car to drive to work, a meeting, etc you better be leaving enough time for your car to break down, get it towed, call a taxi, and continue with your day.
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You shouldn't really be leaving yourself so tight on time that you run in full sprint and punch the clock right as you're supposed to start. I always was told and believed that you need to be ready to work when work starts. That means leaving early. Yeah, sometimes I end up standing around before starting my day, but that's far better than being stuck on the side of the road and saying "hey boss, zomg yeah it's my first day but my car broke down and since I was being a good business person I left juuuuuuuuust in time to get to work on time. Okay I'll see you l8rz."

-mini
 
Oh, I'll always get there a good number of minutes early. But if I get in an accident, car breaks down, etc. I'm going to be late. Or, after an 8hr overnight, I'm not gonna take the shuttle an hour early just in case the van driver is late, etc etc.

I guess my point is passengers should have SOME right to expect reasonably on time performance. ie they shouldn't have to block out their entire day just because they MIGHT be late when their ticket says 1pm arrival. The whole reason people fly is to save time. When we can't reliably provide that, we lose customers.
 
E_Dawg said:
I guess my point is passengers should have SOME right to expect reasonably on time performance. ie they shouldn't have to block out their entire day just because they MIGHT be late when their ticket says 1pm arrival. The whole reason people fly is to save time. When we can't reliably provide that, we lose customers.
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I'd agree with that, but they fly to turn the 9 hour car ride into a 2 hour flight. That's where they save time. When you travel with the "general public", sometimes you get hosed...if you really thought you were going to jump off of your flight (which arrived at the gate promptly at 1pm) and get to your meeting at 1:30pm, you probably didn't plan properly. You never know when some yay-hoo is going to keep his phone on.

Let's change the scenario a bit. Business man books a last minute flight to catch a meeting...you push on time, off you go when all of the sudden the guy in 7B starts having a stroke. There's a suitable airport every 50 miles for the rest of your flight to get medical help for this pax and the weather is BEAUTIFUL everywhere...but that doesn't get you to the destination.

The business man just missed his meeting because you landed to get the pax medical assistance.............or are you still saying "don't inconvenience the other 49 pax"?

Stuff happens. If you want to go to the uber important meeting, you go early.

-mini
 
mshunter said:
And unexpected things can and do happen.

The guy that bought the walk up fare, and missed his meeting is the perfect example. His buisness 101 is not where it should be. Unless it's an emergency meeting, get there with time to spare. Kinda like showing up for an interview. Show up late, and you don't get the job. Had he been a typical sucessful executive, he probably would have booked the ticket in advance enough, or gotten to the airport early enough to have spent a little time to get "back in it" before the meeting started and had a better chance of a good pitch to whoever he was dealing with.
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Of course. My biggest point was that the airline lost revenue (a significant amount) because we were late. Do that enough and business folk stop buying those expensive walk up fares.

"Get there with time to spare"

Great in theory.
 
E_Dawg said:
I guess my point is passengers should have SOME right to expect reasonably on time performance. ie they shouldn't have to block out their entire day just because they MIGHT be late when their ticket says 1pm arrival. The whole reason people fly is to save time. When we can't reliably provide that, we lose customers.
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Thank you for being the voice of reason.
 
Isnt monday quarterbacking fun :)! Nicely done crew.... You never know where this could have gone from this point on. A simple refusal to turn off an ipod followed by the statement made by the pax is a classic example of how things can go from one level to the next. Perhaps he would have not done anything else. But its one thing to not turn it off. Its another thing to not turn it off and then tellt he FA, "what are you going to do, turn around and kick me off." Who knows where it could have gone from there. Maybe during landing he would have been the same pax who got up and then refused to sit down, and got seriously injured. You just do not know.... Thus burn me once, shame on you.. burn me twice shame on me.... :)
 
Yup crap happens and anybody leaving that little time to get to a meeting from the airport either has their priorities in the wrong place or the meeting really wasn't that important after all. What I really hate is explaining why we're going to be 2hrs late for a flow delay on a 1000' overcast day, on what should have been a 45 min flight. Meanwhile pretty much everybody has missed their connections. No clue what the solution is... I do know that people deserve better from what is such an important part of America's infrastructure and economy.
 
wheelsup said:
At your airline can captains have passengers arrested?
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Not sure if we can have them arrested, but at least we can have a law enforcement officer waiting at the jetbridge when we pull in.

minitour said:
The business man just missed his meeting because you landed to get the pax medical assistance.............or are you still saying "don't inconvenience the other 49 pax"?
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A medical emergency is completely different from an individual refusing to turn off his ipod. In one scenario the life of one of your passengers is in jeopardy. In the other, nobody's life is in jeopardy, or is the safety of the flight being compromised. Just a case of someone being a jackass.
 
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