Interrogative

[Wardogg]

I know I’m about to complain about an early departure. I KNOW!

However. I had a plan. And that plan was working out until two things broke against me. #1 Traffic. #2 a flight that I booked a week in advanced all of a sudden decided to leave 10 min early. Which caused all kinds of chaos that ended with me in a dead-ass sprint (we can totally say ass) from security to the gate. Yes I made it and yes I was certain I was having a heart attack.

My question is who authorizes an early departure the day of the flight? I have never seen a flight change its schedule to leave early. Does this happen often?

Ok 2 questions.

 

[ASpilot2be]

I see it when there's something that leads to longer flight flight times. This time of year it's weather like stronger winds aloft, or maybe deicing is needed.

 

[Wardogg]

I see it when there's something that leads to longer flight flight times. This time of year it's weather like stronger winds aloft, or maybe deicing is needed.

So the company then? How far can they push that up? And how much notice do they have to give?

Is there something in the purchase of the ticket that warns of such a practice?

 

[ASpilot2be]

So the company then? How far can they push that up? And how much notice do they have to give?

Is there something in the purchase of the ticket that warns of such a practice?

I have never seen it more than about ten or fifteen minutes. Usually something around the time the boarding door closes. Honestly I am not sure how it's communicated.

 

[BEEF SUPREME]

It just happened to me in HNL. It was the first flight out in the AM. They moved the departure time up by 5 minutes. Mildly annoying but it happens.

I think it's funny that the PAX using the app find out before we do

 

[knot4u]

I know I’m about to complain about an early departure. I KNOW!

However. I had a plan. And that plan was working out until two things broke against me. #1 Traffic. #2 a flight that I booked a week in advanced all of a sudden decided to leave 10 min early. Which caused all kinds of chaos that ended with me in a dead-ass sprint (we can totally say ass) from security to the gate. Yes I made it and yes I was certain I was having a heart attack.

My question is who authorizes an early departure the day of the flight? I have never seen a flight change its schedule to leave early. Does this happen often?

Ok 2 questions.

View attachment 80925

If you're cutting it close enough at any US airport for a departure that 10 minutes exceeds your ability to stroll nonchalantly to the gate and make your flight you're doing it wrong. This is something I've told people for years, early is late.

 

[derg]

It’s fairly common these days.

My commuter flight to DTW was “light”. My big fear was that they’d board and attempt to depart early and they certainly did.

 

[ctab5060X]

At my shop, we are allowed to push from the gate as much as 10 minutes prior. Anything more than that requires dispatch authorization.

 

[Cherokee_Cruiser]

If you're cutting it close enough at any US airport for a departure that 10 minutes exceeds your ability to stroll nonchalantly to the gate and make your flight you're doing it wrong. This is something I've told people for years, early is late.

It’s partially the airlines fault too. My brother was looking to fly back from LA to PIT, he saw an AA flight through PHX with a 29 minute connection. I heavily advised him against it. The shortest I’ve seen on AA is 25 minute connection!


1. You’re not gonna make that.
2. Airline algorithms shouldn’t allow a booking with a sub 30 minute connection.

 

[Soku39]

We can go 10 prior with gate agent concurrence and all ticketed passengers checked in and boarded.

 

[poser765]

Due to performance metrics the gate agents are pushed to have the door shut 10 prior. You know the saying… early is on time and on time is late. *sheug*.

Fortunately, we suck ass so we typically are never ready for a D-10 push. He’ll, we hardly ever make D-0.

Either way, if you can’t make it to the gate ten prior, you can’t count on making the flight.

 

[Kingairer]

It’s partially the airlines fault too. My brother was looking to fly back from LA to PIT, he saw an AA flight through PHX with a 29 minute connection. I heavily advised him against it. The shortest I’ve seen on AA is 25 minute connection!


1. You’re not gonna make that.
2. Airline algorithms shouldn’t allow a booking with a sub 30 minute connection.

Every airport has a set connection time and PhX is absurd. I’ve seen the same when I was booking a real ticket last year. If you are in the back of a 321 it takes :15 min to get off. If the next flight closes the door ten early which is policy. You have 0 time to spare even if everything is perfectly on time.

 

[///AMG]

It’s partially the airlines fault too. My brother was looking to fly back from LA to PIT, he saw an AA flight through PHX with a 29 minute connection. I heavily advised him against it. The shortest I’ve seen on AA is 25 minute connection!


1. You’re not gonna make that.
2. Airline algorithms shouldn’t allow a booking with a sub 30 minute connection.

I don't think sub-60 minute connection should be allowed either. I know I refuse to do that. Unfortunately the way it works, it is cheaper to take the 40 min ground turn, and the only other option is like a 6 hr sit. I don't think there is fixing that problem when we are talking Bertha flying from Bismark to FLL via MSP. But it can certainly be avoided with busier city pairings.

 

[ChasenSFO]

I've learned that on wide open flights, agents at just about any airline will close as soon as the last revenue pax was on board. I've told a story here of getting to a gate in SEA 30+ mins early during COVID where a 739 was booked to like 22 or something to find it all closed up on myself and a couple other nonrevs, and, as check-in wasn't closed yet at that mark and 1 revenue pax was denied boarding who made it in time lol.

Having UA bennies this last year, I've seen flights push 15-25 early with everyone on board and very light loads more times than I can recall as I've taken a lot of wide open flights. Most airlines have policies not to push more than 10 early in case last min an unchecked-in pax shows up or a misconnect needs a re-route or a revenue standby decides to go out early (which is either a fee/revenue for the airline or a perk of a big wig flyer) or, of course, a jumpseater/nonrev running up. But, humans will be humans.

As for tight connections, some of them should be outright not allowed to be sold. EVA Air sells a flipping 45 minute SFO-TPE-CEB connection and it seems like everyone I knew who took it has misconnected. Both flights have a high probability of being a remote gate, you need to get off a usually packed 777-300ER, get to the CEB gate, and not miss the bus or the final boarding call like 25 mins after you land ontime. Checked bags? Good luck. But they've been selling it for YEARS.

 

[NovemberEcho]

My family almost got stranding in the British Virgin Islands cause they left 15 min early. They actually stopped taxiing and waited and an airport van drove us out to the plane.

 

[JordanD]

I ended up having to rent a car and drive from SEA to PDX at midnight once because Horizon had all their booked passengers onboard so they left 30 minutes early on the last flight of the night. I get nonrevs and commuters aren’t what keeps an airline in business but I can’t say it didn’t piss me off a little.

 

[Soku39]

I ended up having to rent a car and drive from SEA to PDX at midnight once because Horizon had all their booked passengers onboard so they left 30 minutes early on the last flight of the night. I get nonrevs and commuters aren’t what keeps an airline in business but I can’t say it didn’t piss me off a little.

That's a bit much. Also we as pilots, not the gate agents, do not allow them to close the door on connecting and checked in non-revs, granted I didn't have this info in my regional days.

 

[Wardogg]

If you're cutting it close enough at any US airport for a departure that 10 minutes exceeds your ability to stroll nonchalantly to the gate and make your flight you're doing it wrong. This is something I've told people for years, early is late.

Extenuating circumstances prevailed. I'm usually a 1.5 hours early kind of guy.

It’s fairly common these days.

My commuter flight to DTW was “light”. My big fear was that they’d board and attempt to depart early and they certainly did.

We can go 10 prior with gate agent concurrence and all ticketed passengers checked in and boarded.

I can understand this. Everyone is on board and away you go. But this was a change in a scheduled departure some time during the day. It was only after my last leg of the day I went to check on the departure for my commute home and found that it had been moved up.

Due to performance metrics the gate agents are pushed to have the door shut 10 prior. You know the saying… early is on time and on time is late. *sheug*.

Fortunately, we suck ass so we typically are never ready for a D-10 push. He’ll, we hardly ever make D-0.

Either way, if you can’t make it to the gate ten prior, you can’t count on making the flight.

I really didnt think we were going to make it. In the the airlines defense, someone from the airline called me in the uber on the drive in about 10 min prior to what I assume to be when they wanted to shut the door. I told them we were 6 min out and I'd be on the run once we cleared security.