mettmann

http://blog.reifman.org/2012/02/alas...igiplayer.html

Flying in from Miami to Seattle this morning on Alaska Airlines Flight #17, I was somewhat amused (and a bit horrified) when the stewardess said that the cabin doors would not be opened and that passengers would not be allowed off to catch connecting flights if the last video player (digiplayer, as she calls them) was not returned. Partly, I'm amused because of the ridiculousness of the threat vs. the magnitude of the crime but also I have to wonder if this is against FAA regulations.

I also have a brilliant tip for Alaska - when you rent a digiplayer, note down the seat #. Threatening to detain all your passengers over transgressions by other flyers is about the dumbest thing you can do for customer loyalty.

And all those early morning announcements asking people to return their digiplayers are kind of annoying.

Duckouttahere

you mean a flight attendant? Yes, it would be nice if they had a tracking system to know who returned the digi player but it may be too much of a time or technical issue. The sad thing is, I'm sure most people don't hear the initial announcements because they have headphones on or are in the bathroom or sleeping. I'm sure there is the occasional person who thinks they can get away with stealing a digi player so sometimes the F/A's may have to be a little more forcefull in their message to return them.

I agree though, there has to be a better accounting of the players so there are less announcements toward the end of the flight.

ANC

Ive heard the same threat on board before

Seat 2A

It seems like a simple seating chart on an 8x11 sheet of paper where the FA could put an "X" or something over the seat location would suffice.

Mariby

FA could just exchange your boarding pass for the digi player - and near the end of the flight, exchange back.

And no one - and I do mean, no one - should be making even the mildest 'joking' threat on aircraft.

PetePDX

See this comment:
http://blog.reifman.org/2012/02/alas...6762d144ba970b

Mariby

Good response from the Alaska Airlines spokesperson. ^

BLI-Flyer

Unless of course you used an electronic boarding pass. Would they require you hand over your cell phone?

dordal

So what is the official policy when a Digiplayer goes missing? I had this on an KOA flight not too long ago; they kept saying "folks, we still have ONE digiplayer that still hasn't been returned; if its your please return it right away." Last announcement was just a couple minutes before landing, and I never heard if they got it back or not.

Wonder how many go missing per day/week/month?

Mariby

Actually the blog post that PetePDX referenced after my first comment was an Alaska spokesperson stating that FA's training is to note the seat number of passengers renting digiplayers and that this step was not followed on this flight. The spokesperson also noted that they would be following up with the flight crew to make sure that Alaska procedures were followed in the future. And so I posted a follow up comment that it was a good response from Alaska.

Therefore, if the FA's follow procedure by noting seat numbers for renting digiplayers, it's a non-issue. At least from the passengers standpoint.

98103

A boarding pass isn't important enough collateral to secure a digiplayer. I'd suggest a Driver's License, but ugh, can you imagine the hell to pay when the first DL gets misplaced?

Mariby

Agreed. Perhaps that's why it's Alaska's stated policy to take down seat numbers when digiplayers are given out. And I have been on flights where this is exactly what happened.

So if FA's follow Alaska's own policy of taking down seat numbers for digiplayers is followed, there is no need to make any announcements about missing digiplayers.

AS Flyer

Actually, Alaska FA's always take the seat number down. You have to. When you rent the player it requires that you put the seat number in before you can finish the transaction. The problem is on the back end when they're picking them up. The FA's are supposed to walk through with the credit card machine and click on each player as it's being picked up. That's what doesn't happen. Generally speaking, FA's just go through the cabin and pick them up and pay no attention to whom they are picking them up from. In my experience, the remaining DigEplayers are often in the First Class cabin. Because they are complimentary in FC, they aren't recorded - just handed out. You would think, because of the small number of them up there, they'd be easier to keep track of but it often times doesn't turn out that way.

ANC

Most times when Ive heard them say there is one missing it is indeed in F and completely unintentional in nature. Im guilty of this . They offered the player I took it in case I wanted it later. sat in my seat along the armrest, ate, fell asleep, woke up for descent as they prepped the cabin for landing. All the sudden the F FA said um guys we are still missing a player up here. Then I thought oh must be me

dave1013

They are also complimentary to 75K's sitting in the coach cabin, so could that be exacerbating this situation?

(Solution: all 75K's up front! )