2.5 h wait on tarmac at YQB

Old Feb 26, 2017, 3:19 am
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2.5 h wait on tarmac at YQB

In French:

http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/act...a-a-quebec.php

Apparently due to weather and consequent lack of AC personnel...
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Old Feb 26, 2017, 3:28 am
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I love how they talk about there not being enough ground crew as being the reason and then say "despite there being many free gates". Like..... you just said what the problem was, why are you referencing something else that has nothing to do with it?
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Old Feb 26, 2017, 5:59 am
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Originally Posted by run&fly
In French:

http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/act...a-a-quebec.php

Apparently due to weather and consequent lack of AC personnel...
I love how most international countries feature media and news sites that offer multiple translation options .....
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Old Feb 26, 2017, 7:10 am
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Apparently, in YQB during normal operations, AC/Jazz has 3 ramp agents (loading, deicing, push back), 3 check-in/gate agents, one for catering, one for missing luggage and 2 for maintenance. Last Friday night, they had to deal with multiple IRROPS due to weather conditions. Multiple flights were awaiting departure slots for YYZ and deicing took forever due to freezing rain.
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Old Feb 26, 2017, 9:07 am
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Originally Posted by jasdou
Apparently, in YQB during normal operations, AC/Jazz has 3 ramp agents (loading, deicing, push back), 3 check-in/gate agents, one for catering, one for missing luggage and 2 for maintenance. Last Friday night, they had to deal with multiple IRROPS due to weather conditions. Multiple flights were awaiting departure slots for YYZ and deicing took forever due to freezing rain.
So are you saying it is AC fault for being under staffed? Several hours waiting to get off the plane is unacceptable.
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Old Feb 26, 2017, 9:14 am
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Originally Posted by quantumofforce
Several hours waiting to get off the plane is unacceptable.
I have had this happen to me on many airlines/airports. Sometimes it is not about staff and more about de-icing. if they go back to gate, they loss there spot, most likely causing the flight to cancel.
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Old Feb 26, 2017, 11:25 am
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hey it's still winter in Canada, unfortunately (big) delays happen (heavy snow, de-icing, gate availability, ATC, gate holds etc) try being down the the southern US with delays due to tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm delays, I've stuck in the tube on the ramp for similar times (UA, AA, DL) so I wouldn't be too hard on AC for circumstances (wx) beyond their control!!! Its an ALL airline disruption...
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Old Feb 26, 2017, 2:04 pm
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Originally Posted by jasdou
Apparently, in YQB during normal operations, AC/Jazz has 3 ramp agents (loading, deicing, push back), 3 check-in/gate agents, one for catering, one for missing luggage and 2 for maintenance. Last Friday night, they had to deal with multiple IRROPS due to weather conditions. Multiple flights were awaiting departure slots for YYZ and deicing took forever due to freezing rain.
I've seen well over 3 GAs working in YQB simultaneously.
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Old Feb 26, 2017, 5:30 pm
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I was in IST with TK waiting to depart an AM flight.

Massive snowstorm that would make snowstorms in Canada jealous.

4h on the tarmac.

No one complained.

The second there was a break, planes started to fly down the de-ice queue and straight to take-off.

By the time we did the final turn, the blizzard restarted.

Had we not been all in our seats ready to pushback, we would've probably not have made it, and who knows what happens at that point.
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Old Feb 26, 2017, 5:32 pm
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I don't understand why this is necessarily newsworthy... I've been subjected to longer waits on a Tarmac, for various reasons, and those never made the news...
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Old Feb 26, 2017, 5:49 pm
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Originally Posted by yyznomad
I don't understand why this is necessarily newsworthy... I've been subjected to longer waits on a Tarmac, for various reasons, and those never made the news...
It's because you don't travel enough.
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Old Feb 26, 2017, 7:18 pm
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Originally Posted by quantumofforce
So are you saying it is AC fault for being under staffed? Several hours waiting to get off the plane is unacceptable.
It seems that you are the only person who understands that the passengers sat on the plane for approx 2 1/2 hours because there were no AC personnel to staff the arrival gate.


Originally Posted by Wpgjetse
I have had this happen to me on many airlines/airports. Sometimes it is not about staff and more about de-icing. if they go back to gate, they loss there spot, most likely causing the flight to cancel.
Your story is nice, but has no relevance. Arrivals are not deiced. This was an arrival, not a departure.


Originally Posted by canadiancow
I've seen well over 3 GAs working in YQB simultaneously.
For some reason your vision brings to mind Tatoo from Fantasy Island shouting. Boss, dee planze, dee planze. Were you wearing a tight little white suit and bowtie?


Originally Posted by SparseFlyer
I was in IST with TK waiting to depart an AM flight. Massive snowstorm that would make snowstorms in Canada jealous. 4h on the tarmac. No one complained. The second there was a break, planes started to fly down the de-ice queue and straight to take-off. By the time we did the final turn, the blizzard restarted. Had we not been all in our seats ready to pushback, we would've probably not have made it, and who knows what happens at that point.
Lovely tale but perhaps the pax remained silent because they were terrified. Considering TK's safety record, I expect many people would have preferred not to be on a TK flight when there was a massive snowstorm.

In any case, this AC delay was in respect to the inability of AC to unload its pax at a gate because it did not have sufficient staff to support the arrival.

Originally Posted by yyznomad
I don't understand why this is necessarily newsworthy... I've been subjected to longer waits on a Tarmac, for various reasons, and those never made the news...
Well, your delays were related to departure and traffic or weather conditions weren't they? This delay was due to AC not having properly staffed its operations and more importantly, not having a contingency plan.


How many times does it have to be pointed out that Air Canada has ineffective contingency planning? It should have had an agreement with another airline at the airport or the airport itself that in the event of a crisis that personnel could be borrowed to supplement or to assist Air Canada personnel at a gate.
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Old Feb 26, 2017, 11:11 pm
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Originally Posted by Transpacificflyer
It seems that you are the only person who understands that the passengers sat on the plane for approx 2 1/2 hours because there were no AC personnel to staff the arrival gate.
Thank you I am very proud of my reading comprehension
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Old Feb 26, 2017, 11:40 pm
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Originally Posted by Transpacificflyer
It seems that you are the only person who understands that the passengers sat on the plane for approx 2 1/2 hours because there were no AC personnel to staff the arrival gate.




Your story is nice, but has no relevance. Arrivals are not deiced. This was an arrival, not a departure.




For some reason your vision brings to mind Tatoo from Fantasy Island shouting. Boss, dee planze, dee planze. Were you wearing a tight little white suit and bowtie?




Lovely tale but perhaps the pax remained silent because they were terrified. Considering TK's safety record, I expect many people would have preferred not to be on a TK flight when there was a massive snowstorm.

In any case, this AC delay was in respect to the inability of AC to unload its pax at a gate because it did not have sufficient staff to support the arrival.



Well, your delays were related to departure and traffic or weather conditions weren't they? This delay was due to AC not having properly staffed its operations and more importantly, not having a contingency plan.


How many times does it have to be pointed out that Air Canada has ineffective contingency planning? It should have had an agreement with another airline at the airport or the airport itself that in the event of a crisis that personnel could be borrowed to supplement or to assist Air Canada personnel at a gate.
Well, it's already quite clear what the problem is:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-c...ut-quebec.html

Probably double the effect: HO in QC, airport in QC. Throw in the weather, disgruntled unions and rainbow-coloured unicorns running rampant and you've got the perfect storm.
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Old Feb 27, 2017, 5:37 am
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I originally posted this news because I was quite surprised that this occurred. We are usually very well serviced at YQB (used to winter conditions and AC HQ in our province ;-)). This weather had been in the forecast for several days, and it is hard to understand why there was no contingency plan in place. I just think that 2.5 hours wait on the tarmac at arrival is a bit too much... would be for me anyways...

Last edited by run&fly; Feb 27, 2017 at 5:44 am
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