wr_schwab
Oct 25, 04, 7:34 pm
I was flying to ORD yesterday (10/24/04) from PHL on US1441. As a GP, my upgrade cleared at the window. The flight was oversold and what happened next can only be described as a comedy of errors at US operations. In the mist of the resulting mess US’s front line staff came through and showed why they are the best in the business. The following is my letter to US’s Consumer Affairs and (hopefully) the only interesting part of my trip :)
I almost forgot, I was traveling with one other person on business. His first time in first class. He enjoyed the flight, said it was very relaxing :) There was XOXO bars in the snack basket. The 733 was reasonably clean, including the lav.
Dear USAirways,
I am writing this en-route to Chicago, IL aboard US1441 on Sunday, October 24, 2004 from Philadelphia and I want to make sure I remember all of the necessary details. Please forward these comments to all of the appropriate parties.
I checked in approximately 2.5 hours before my flight and went through security. Unfortunately, the TSA had a large backup at both the B & C concourses and did not have a preferred line at either location. I walked over to the D concourse and proceeded directly through security without any delays.
I then proceeded to gate C20, which is where my flight was originally scheduled to depart. Naturally you had several flights operating out of this gate before US1441 was scheduled to depart.
One of these flights was US 49, which was originally scheduled to depart at 3:30 to Charlotte, N.C. Unfortunately it was further delayed and while I was waiting for my flight. During that delay I had a chance to see one of your finest in action. Sandy appeared to be in complete control of the organized chaos that was the result of the irregular operation. She was very professional throughout the entire ordeal. This flight finally boarded around 4:30 pm.
Once that flight boarded she proceeded to handling the oversold situation on US 1441. Unfortunately for some reason, this flight never was able to push back while I was at the gate, because of this resulted in a delay in the flight I was on US1441. US1441 was originally scheduled for a 5:30 departure. Around 6pm, a decision was made to change the gate to C18. The same agent I had previously mentioned was still at her post and remained extremely professional and in control of the entire situation. This is especially impressive since it was the second irregular operation in as many flights for her.
During the time we were waiting, one of the flight attendants went above and beyond the call of duty. One of the other passengers on this flight was connecting to it from Frankfurt, Germany and was concerned about the person that was picking her up in Chicago. The flight attendant lent the other passenger her cell phone so she could make a call to her ride to let them know she would be late. This attendant was one of the two attendants servicing the first class cabin and the forward part of the coach cabin.
After changing to gate C18 boarding began around 6:30pm. The new zoned boarding appears to be working well. Everyone boarded the aircraft in a fairly short amount of time.
From what I understand there was some delay in having all of the bags loaded into the aircraft. It took until approximately 7:40pm before the aircraft was able to pushback and take off to Chicago. The captain attempted to keep everyone apprised of the situation the entire time were waiting for the pushback and I believe attempted to minimize delay once we were airborne. He explained what the cause of the delay was and how embarrassed his entire crew was for testing the patience of everyone on the plane due to the length of the delay in first boarding the plane and the cause of the delay on the ground. The entire plane applauded him due to his candor and his heartfelt apology. He should be commended for the level of candor he exhibited.
In my experience the front line staff of USAirways has always been some of the best in the business. Their conduct exemplifies the type of employees you need at US Airways. The entire crew was extremely helpful, pleasant and professional during this entire ordeal and should be commended for their actions.
Sincerely,
wr_schwab
I almost forgot, I was traveling with one other person on business. His first time in first class. He enjoyed the flight, said it was very relaxing :) There was XOXO bars in the snack basket. The 733 was reasonably clean, including the lav.
Dear USAirways,
I am writing this en-route to Chicago, IL aboard US1441 on Sunday, October 24, 2004 from Philadelphia and I want to make sure I remember all of the necessary details. Please forward these comments to all of the appropriate parties.
I checked in approximately 2.5 hours before my flight and went through security. Unfortunately, the TSA had a large backup at both the B & C concourses and did not have a preferred line at either location. I walked over to the D concourse and proceeded directly through security without any delays.
I then proceeded to gate C20, which is where my flight was originally scheduled to depart. Naturally you had several flights operating out of this gate before US1441 was scheduled to depart.
One of these flights was US 49, which was originally scheduled to depart at 3:30 to Charlotte, N.C. Unfortunately it was further delayed and while I was waiting for my flight. During that delay I had a chance to see one of your finest in action. Sandy appeared to be in complete control of the organized chaos that was the result of the irregular operation. She was very professional throughout the entire ordeal. This flight finally boarded around 4:30 pm.
Once that flight boarded she proceeded to handling the oversold situation on US 1441. Unfortunately for some reason, this flight never was able to push back while I was at the gate, because of this resulted in a delay in the flight I was on US1441. US1441 was originally scheduled for a 5:30 departure. Around 6pm, a decision was made to change the gate to C18. The same agent I had previously mentioned was still at her post and remained extremely professional and in control of the entire situation. This is especially impressive since it was the second irregular operation in as many flights for her.
During the time we were waiting, one of the flight attendants went above and beyond the call of duty. One of the other passengers on this flight was connecting to it from Frankfurt, Germany and was concerned about the person that was picking her up in Chicago. The flight attendant lent the other passenger her cell phone so she could make a call to her ride to let them know she would be late. This attendant was one of the two attendants servicing the first class cabin and the forward part of the coach cabin.
After changing to gate C18 boarding began around 6:30pm. The new zoned boarding appears to be working well. Everyone boarded the aircraft in a fairly short amount of time.
From what I understand there was some delay in having all of the bags loaded into the aircraft. It took until approximately 7:40pm before the aircraft was able to pushback and take off to Chicago. The captain attempted to keep everyone apprised of the situation the entire time were waiting for the pushback and I believe attempted to minimize delay once we were airborne. He explained what the cause of the delay was and how embarrassed his entire crew was for testing the patience of everyone on the plane due to the length of the delay in first boarding the plane and the cause of the delay on the ground. The entire plane applauded him due to his candor and his heartfelt apology. He should be commended for the level of candor he exhibited.
In my experience the front line staff of USAirways has always been some of the best in the business. Their conduct exemplifies the type of employees you need at US Airways. The entire crew was extremely helpful, pleasant and professional during this entire ordeal and should be commended for their actions.
Sincerely,
wr_schwab