2022 Christmas meltdown Competition enteries
- Thread starter invadertim
- Start date
Roger Roger
Bottom of the list
Shoot, I had a coworker 10+ years ago who told me how his mom worked like 60 hour weeks as a station agent for southwest in OKC because that was just the way they ran the schedule.
Boris Badenov
Fortis Leader
I can't speak to the pax situation, obviously, but at my shop, it seems, at least apocryphally, as though everything went 100% pear-shaped when half the hourlies just didn't show up. Plenty of planes got in under pretty tough conditions, but very few got out. And it sure looks like that's mostly because they couldn't be turned because there was nobody home. If I were to guess, this wouldn't have been a whole lot different from the last Snowmageddon if there had been, say, even 3/4s of the normal workforce on the ground. But there wasn't. They just nope'd out en masse. And I would venture that they nope'd because they COULD. It's certainly not the entire cause, and there are all sorts of fingers to point at management for running way too lean for way too long, inefficiencies, various internecine, feudal resource-disputes, etc. But afaict the fundamental difference between 2022 and, say, 1997 is that something like 50% of the hourlies just basically went on "this sucks" strike. And in this market it's like, well, what are you going to do, fire them?
inigo88
Composite-lover
It’s one thing to hear about it secondhand, it’s another to start seeing the aftermath like this (at ATL):
Other than rampers calling out because it was really cold in DEN, anyone have any theories on the contributing factors that lead an airline to “lose operational control”?
Other than rampers calling out because it was really cold in DEN, anyone have any theories on the contributing factors that lead an airline to “lose operational control”?
BEEF SUPREME
Well-Known Member
My buddy for American put me on his travel privileges in 2009 or 2010. I decided to go visit some friends who live in LIH. I got a stern lecture about dressing nicely and representing my friend. So I wore a suit and tie. I got bumped from 3 flights. 3 days I tried to make it to LIH on AA. One of the times I was bumped this nicely dressed older woman approached me and complimented me on my suit and tie. She told me about the good old days and how wonderful it was to work for an airline then. How "this used to be fun and now its horrible." By my best estimation this is 100% accurate.
Working for an airline is horrible compared to how it was in the 60's, 70's and 80's. Not that I was there then but I know a lot of people who were. Flights had very light loads. There was much less frequency. There was less work for gate agents. Etc, etc, etc. Take all of the efficiencies for Wall Street walk them back 30 to 40 years. That is everything we have lost as airline employees. I don't mean just pilots. I mean every single hourly worker. It's just not fun anymore. There are far better jobs. It basically doesn't make sense to work at an airline.
I'm just a dumb pilot but as far as I can tell working for an airline and traveling in general has lost all of its fun appeal. It still doesn't pay the bills for a lot of people and it also isn't a good time. This is going to have to change going forward. Or at least if it does change at one airline they will likely win the long term game.
BobDDuck
Island Bus Driver
Sure... but also:
-People smoked in the plane.
-Planes crashed (or were hijacked) with some regularity.
-FOs (and FEs) were treated as second class citizens.
-Workload was much higher.
-Often times you couldn't get there from here.
-Being non male, or non white, or non Christian, or non ex military made it almost impossible to get hired.
People are always going to complain.
BEEF SUPREME
Well-Known Member
At some point when an entire work group just walks of the job you can't just blame people for being complainers, lazy or generationally weak.
bike21
9-5 Ruins Lives
To include multiple bankruptcies, mergers, downright POS CEOs, total airline failures and furloughs.
Roger Roger
Bottom of the list
This part always blows me away going through the accident reports in the 70s and 80s
Boris Badenov
Fortis Leader
*Puts out his cigar on the F/O's arm*. You're saying this...wrong behavior, understand. Thousand pardons. Will do better in future. *re-lights cigar, puts cigar out on F/O's arm again* Was YOUR job keep me up to date with modern CRM, do not fail me second time!
GypsyPilot
Mohawk Town
Insane that this random employee had to put this out.
SlumTodd_Millionaire
Most Hated Member
The lack of rampers was the major issue (part and parcel for the reason they quit or weren’t there)?
the LUV has become a CULTure indeed.
I can hear @SlumTodd_Millionaire heartily laughing an evil laugh, as he sees SW melt down….
Oh, yes, the schadenfreude is in high gear.
Not sure if still the case, but back when I worked there, their crew scheduling software didn’t even have the capability to schedule red eyes or standups.
In fairness, almost all of that happened after 1978’s airline deregulation. Before deregulation, the industry ran smoothly (save for the crashes referenced by @BobDDuck).
fholbert
Mod's - Please don't edit my posts!
You forgot…
- No lines at security.
fholbert
Mod's - Please don't edit my posts!
So much for any press is good press.
www.newsnationnow.com
www.cnn.com
www.foxbusiness.com
Southwest cancels thousands more flights; DOT to examine
So far Tuesday, Southwest has canceled about 2,500 flights or 62% of scheduled flights, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
www.newsnationnow.com
Massive Southwest Airlines disruption leaves customers stranded and call centers swamped
Last week's winter weather travel mess is lingering like a vicious hangover into this week -- and the headaches are migraine-proportioned for Southwest Airlines, its CEO Bob Jordan and most of all its frustrated passengers on Monday.
www.cnn.com
Southwest Airlines criticized by passengers, Transportation Department as flights delayed nationwide
Thousands of Southwest Airlines flights were delayed or canceled across the U.S. on Monday, prompting scrutiny from passengers and the Transportation Department.
www.foxbusiness.com
I know it used to be Four years but I believe it may be three now. I saw a lot of young guys at my sons prototype grad and he said yea they changed it....I know Gold was if you had "Good Conduct" the entire time but I suppose if you hadnt been to mast you would be.... It was odd at prototype graduation when you would see an FN cross the stage. They automatically got E4 after A-School. Good on them for sticking it out I suppose.
Minuteman
I HAVE STRONG OPINIONS ABOUT AUTOMOTIVE LIGHTING!
“1. Checked bags are currently a disaster. Plan to not see your checked luggage for at least a month.”
Heh. A friend-of-a-friend reported that their Southwest flight got cancelled after they boarded, and the plane went *somewhere* with their luggage still in the hold.
Heh. A friend-of-a-friend reported that their Southwest flight got cancelled after they boarded, and the plane went *somewhere* with their luggage still in the hold.
a lot of red here today:
flightaware.com
FlightAware MiseryMap®
The FlightAware MiseryMap® is a visualization of the state of US flight delays and cancellations
flightaware.com
