Beating the airlines

[Ed_Wischmeyer]

So I got through ORD security 90+ minutes before scheduled departure. That was the last thing that went right. We pushed back on time and waited ten minutes for taxi clearance. Uh, oh.

Due to thunderstorms, south departures were closed and we were #6,420 for departure to the east. Then the thunderstorms had moved on, they closed the east departures and reopened the south. We got rerouted but were behind four planes that had shut down, wiring for their new clearances.

By this time, we?d taxied so much that we needed to refuel and the flight crew had timed out. The found a captain and flight attendants okay, but not an FO.

Granted, I couldn?t make it all the way today but we?re pushing back nearly six hours late. Flying time in the RV-9A, including a fuel stop, about the same as the delays. And no having to get there early or waiting for baggage.

[Ed_Wischmeyer]

Finally reboarded, at the end of the runway, airport closed due to a thunderstorm.

[Bicyclops]

What a nightmare. I hate flying commercial.

Ed Holyoke

[FloMo14Builder]

Long story short, I got home at 2:30 AM Thursday. That was just under 12hrs from Whitman to home. Did better than that in a 172 going around weather several years ago...

[newt]

Every time I fly commercial in the USA, I spend the whole time dumbfounded by the extent to which the country which invented the concept of commercial airlines has screwed it up so badly :-)

There are no good customer experiences from airlines in the US.

My departure from ORD last night hung on a thread. I'd routed from Sydney to Chicago via SFO last week, but the flight out of Sydney was going to run late and I wasn't going to make the connection. Qantas kinda went, "No big deal, we'll fix it for you," and reissued the ticket on a new routing via LAX, because that was the next US-bound flight and would get me to Oshkosh sooner.

Meanwhile American Airlines had noticed that I never boarded the original missed connection out of SFO, and figured that since I hadn't made it to ORD as planned they should be able to sell my return seat to someone else, so when I arrived at the airport to check in last night the story was, "No, sir, you don't appear to have a booking."

The service agent seemed apologetic, and spent an hour on the phone trying to fix it, and eventually succeeded. I'm guessing they bumped someone I'll never meet who didn't have status, so "sorry," whoever you are :-)

But while the agent was on the phone, and I was quietly stewing on the other side of the counter, all I could think about was the way that a US airline had managed to absolutely sabotage the good customer service experience that the non-US airline had previously delivered to solve my original problem, and I couldn't even be surprised that it happened.

Airlines just don't work like this in other parts of the world. The entire US airline industry has settled for inexplicable stifling mediocrity, and I don't know how you people put up with it.

I think you're the only country that makes people take off belts and shoes to get into an airport too. Weird choices.

Summary: Forget bush planes, the RV-15 should be a 2-seat low-wing taildragger with a pressurized cockpit that can cruise at 800mph at FL350 with 15 hours endurance. Get me one of those and I'll never use an airline again

- mark

[Mark Dickens]

Time to spare, go by air(line), more yet? Go by jet!

Unless it's a flight west of the Rockies, I can beat the airlines 9 times out of 10 with my RV...I despise flying commercial.

[RV8JD]

Originally Posted by FloMo14Builder

Long story short, I got home at 2:30 AM Thursday. That was just under 12hrs from Whitman to home. Did better than that in a 172 going around weather several years ago...

Ah, you must mean the airport named after the famed aviator Steve Wittman:



and not the chocolates:



I only point this out because Steve Wittman deserves to be remembered correctly by fellow aviators.

[sailvi767]

Originally Posted by newt

Every time I fly commercial in the USA, I spend the whole time dumbfounded by the extent to which the country which invented the concept of commercial airlines has screwed it up so badly :-)

There are no good customer experiences from airlines in the US.

My departure from ORD last night hung on a thread. I'd routed from Sydney to Chicago via SFO last week, but the flight out of Sydney was going to run late and I wasn't going to make the connection. Qantas kinda went, "No big deal, we'll fix it for you," and reissued the ticket on a new routing via LAX, because that was the next US-bound flight and would get me to Oshkosh sooner.

Meanwhile American Airlines had noticed that I never boarded the original missed connection out of SFO, and figured that since I hadn't made it to ORD as planned they should be able to sell my return seat to someone else, so when I arrived at the airport to check in last night the story was, "No, sir, you don't appear to have a booking."

The service agent seemed apologetic, and spent an hour on the phone trying to fix it, and eventually succeeded. I'm guessing they bumped someone I'll never meet who didn't have status, so "sorry," whoever you are :-)

But while the agent was on the phone, and I was quietly stewing on the other side of the counter, all I could think about was the way that a US airline had managed to absolutely sabotage the good customer service experience that the non-US airline had previously delivered to solve my original problem, and I couldn't even be surprised that it happened.

Airlines just don't work like this in other parts of the world. The entire US airline industry has settled for inexplicable stifling mediocrity, and I don't know how you people put up with it.

I think you're the only country that makes people take off belts and shoes to get into an airport too. Weird choices.

Summary: Forget bush planes, the RV-15 should be a 2-seat low-wing taildragger with a pressurized cockpit that can cruise at 800mph at FL350 with 15 hours endurance. Get me one of those and I'll never use an airline again

- mark

It sure sounds like it was Quantas that created your problem and they certainly knew that once they rebooked you they had to follow up on the US portion to insure you did not get canceled as a no show which is industry standard.
G

[FloMo14Builder]

I dont even know how that happened. I would have sworn I had typed Wittman. I even double checked the spelling with two t's befor typing that. I must have zoned out and let my hands do the thinking. Thank you for defending Mr Wittman's legacy.

[DRMA]

I think a key to much of the above is ORD. Seems like every time I route through there something gets screwed up. So this year I flew to Air Venture thru DEN both ways, which seem like a strange routing to IAH, but it worked well both ways.

My Grumman Traveler is just a little too slow to fly to OSH from KSGR, but when I get my RV-10 done, look out!