Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan - AS 100 Flight delay, listed in OLCI but not flight status

I am on AS 100 ANC-SEA later today. Scheduled departure is 5:30 p.m.

Checking flight status at alaskaair.com tells me that it's scheduled for an on-time departure. But when I went to OLCI, at the Web Check-In Summary Page, the flight is tagged as "delay" -- no details are given.

Anybody know what's going on with this flight?

Thx.

It looks like it's "delayed" 9 minutes getting into Seattle, maybe that's why it says delayed?

it is showing a 9 minute arrival delay due to forecast headwinds.

Thanks. You guys are correct -- the flight's on time. I, however, was not. I missed the checked-bag cutoff by 3 minutes. (My insatiable demand for hair gel means I must check a bag.) I did, however, snag a U seat on the next flight, so I can't complain.

Thanks. You guys are correct -- the flight's on time. I, however, was not. I missed the checked-bag cutoff by 3 minutes. (My insatiable demand for hair gel means I must check a bag.) I did, however, snag a U seat on the next flight, so I can't complain.
This brings up a thought I've had.

While it's not usually a problem for me (since I either go carry-on only or am flying out right after work at the airport so I can check my bag hours early), I did miss the baggage cut-off by one minute once when traveling with another person. It ended up working out, but I would have very much thought it was NOE (especially for an elite) if AS would have taken the bag on a "best effort" basis--not guaranteeing any special accommodations if the bag is delayed (i.e. not paying a courier to take it to you on the other end or compensating you for anything). There ought to be some way something like this could be done--tagging the bag as "late check-in" (which I have seen some airlines do) and issuing a special claim check that specifically notes that it was a late check-in with no guarantees.

Heck, AS could make it another source of revenue by charging a higher fee for late baggage check-ins (waived for elites, of course, or perhaps charging elites only the normal $15 fee instead of the higher late check-in fee)! ;)

I might not get a positive response here, from the primarily only-carry-on FT crowd, but there are many people who would appreciate such a program.

This brings up a thought I've had.

While it's not usually a problem for me (since I either go carry-on only or am flying out right after work at the airport so I can check my bag hours early), I did miss the baggage cut-off by one minute once when traveling with another person. It ended up working out, but I would have very much thought it was NOE (especially for an elite) if AS would have taken the bag on a "best effort" basis--not guaranteeing any special accommodations if the bag is delayed (i.e. not paying a courier to take it to you on the other end or compensating you for anything). There ought to be some way something like this could be done--tagging the bag as "late check-in" (which I have seen some airlines do) and issuing a special claim check that specifically notes that it was a late check-in with no guarantees.

Heck, AS could make it another source of revenue by charging a higher fee for late baggage check-ins (waived for elites, of course, or perhaps charging elites only the normal $15 fee instead of the higher late check-in fee)! ;)

I might not get a positive response here, from the primarily only-carry-on FT crowd, but there are many people who would appreciate such a program.I doubt something like that would ever happen. Late bags create a disproportionate amount of work behind the scenes. Accepting late bags could potentially have the effect of dragging overall baggage performance down.

A year ago, my friend and I traveled to Europe for a month. We stayed out late partying and having fun, we did not go to bed until 5am, and the flight was at noon. We woke up 1 hour and 25 minutes before departure :rolleyes: and thank god the airport we flew out from is ROC. We jammed our backpacks, hurried straight to the airport, and arrived at the NW counter about thirty minutes before departure. The person who worked there gave us a little of a scowling look in a professional way, and they tagged our bags with a pink sticker saying "LATE". We were worried that our bags would not arrive in London in time, and thank goodness our bags arrived with us. We had a separate flight on KLM a few hours after arrival, so if our bags did not make it then we would have been royally screwed. :D

Basically, I think what happens is, the airline will mark your luggage as "LATE" and try their best to get it on the plane, if not then they will put them on the next earliest flight to your destination and you will have to come to the destination airport and pick it up yourself when your bag arrives.

I doubt something like that would ever happen. Late bags create a disproportionate amount of work behind the scenes. Accepting late bags could potentially have the effect of dragging overall baggage performance down.

...and then holding the plane for the bag... delaying the flight and AS' ontime performance... :(

In this case, perhaps carrying it thru the TSA and try gate checking?

[If its lots o' stuff or containing liquids...might not be an option]

...and then holding the plane for the bag... delaying the flight and AS' ontime performance... :(

:confused: That's why I said it was "best effort." If it can't be done without delaying things, then it sits and takes the next flight. But if the rampers are standing around with nothing to do, and/or the flight has an issue that delays it, then they can go back and get the late-checked bags.

And it seems to work with other airlines:

Basically, I think what happens is, the airline will mark your luggage as "LATE" and try their best to get it on the plane, if not then they will put in on the next earliest flight to your destination and you will have to come to the destination airport and pick it up yourself when your bag arrives.

Yep, I've seen that, too. And that's what I was proposing for AS. AS should have a monopoly on NOEness, but they seem dead set against it in three cases (this, pre-departure beverage service, and battlefield upgrades)... ;)

In this case, perhaps carrying it thru the TSA and try gate checking?

[If its lots o' stuff or containing liquids...might not be an option]

That's what we ended up doing. Kind of a hassle and embarrassing, as I was hauling a massive (but empty) 26" for my traveling companion because it was partially a shopping trip. The shame I suffered has made me sure to always give myself an extra 10+ minutes, so as I said, it's not really a problem for me anymore... ;)

:confused: That's why I said it was "best effort." If it can't be done without delaying things, then it sits and takes the next flight. But if the rampers are standing around with nothing to do, and/or the flight has an issue that delays it, then they can go back and get the late-checked bags.

I understand... it just can lead to a slippery slope...

And it seems to work with other airlines:

Not very familiar with this... can you provide an example?

Yep, I've seen that, too. And that's what I was proposing for AS. AS should have a monopoly on NOEness, but they seem dead set against it in three cases (this, pre-departure beverage service, and battlefield upgrades)... ;)

NOEness ;)

BF upgrades IMHO should have priority... ^ and it sounds like with the electronic screens alaskaair.com team is working on (in several airports in Q1 of 2010)... that should help with active standby and upgrade lists vs. passive system of a paper list...


That's what we ended up doing. Kind of a hassle and embarrassing, as I was hauling a massive (but empty) 26" for my traveling companion because it was partially a shopping trip. The shame I suffered has made me sure to always give myself an extra 10+ minutes, so as I said, it's not really a problem for me anymore... ;)

26" isn't too bad... did it not fit in the baggage x-ray and they had to hand screen it? (I once had my carryon rollerboard turned the wrong way and it got stuck in the machine :o)

I understand... it just can lead to a slippery slope...

Slippery slope arguments are usually logical fallacies... ;)

Not very familiar with this... can you provide an example?

Um, read golfingboy's account above? :p

Slippery slope arguments are usually logical fallacies... ;)


I prefer the term... Illogical fallacies ;)


Um, read golfingboy's account above? :p

:o

Slipped it in before my post... and then yours was sooo long... I didn't see it :p

I doubt something like that would ever happen. Late bags create a disproportionate amount of work behind the scenes. Accepting late bags could potentially have the effect of dragging overall baggage performance down.

Although going back 15 years, I remember on several occasions checking in at the ticket counter 20 minutes before my flight, checking a bag, and the bag would make the flight and we'd still leave on-time.

Of course, I realize checked baggage screening was pretty much nonexistent back then...

At least once I've had NW tell me that they'd check my late bag in, but that it was not guaranteed to arrive on time and the airline wouldn't deliver it to me if it was delayed. That happened to me a few months ago flying ANC to MSP to MSN, and in fact the connection was tight, none of the bags made it, and I ended up waiting at the airport for the next flight from MSP. In that case it was a huge benefit to me that they they took the bag since the next flight from ANC was probably 12 hours off -- totally worth the 1-hr luggage delay to get on the flight. Last night with the no-connection ANC-SEA flight it wasn't a big deal at all though.

But the bottom line is, it's 100% my fault for being late. I really can't fault the airline for not making exceptions to the policy when the only reason I'm late is my own time managment. I only have that problem at ANC and I think it's b/c I haven't quite adjusted in my mind to ANC being a bigger airport with big-city rules. I still leave the house thinking I can cut it super close like you could 10 years ago. That's my personal problem, not AS's.

But the bottom line is, it's 100% my fault for being late. I really can't fault the airline for not making exceptions to the policy when the only reason I'm late is my own time managment.I agree it's the passenger's responsibility to be on time, but the cutoff time for luggage varies widely from airport to airport and arriving 57 minutes prior to departure at one airport (JFK) will get you rejected whereas at others, you're well within the window. It's hard to expect the passenger to keep track of the unique policies at every airport. Another reason to bend the rules when it's a close call.

I agree it's the passenger's responsibility to be on time, but the cutoff time for luggage varies widely from airport to airport and arriving 57 minutes prior to departure at one airport (JFK) will get you rejected whereas at others, you're well within the window. It's hard to expect the passenger to keep track of the unique policies at every airport. Another reason to bend the rules when it's a close call.

If I am not mistaken, there are some carriers out there that when they send you a confirmation of check-in reminder that they tell you the rules for baggage cut-off times.

:confused: That's why I said it was "best effort." If it can't be done without delaying things, then it sits and takes the next flight. But if the rampers are standing around with nothing to do, and/or the flight has an issue that delays it, then they can go back and get the late-checked bags.So maybe a ramp agent thinks they can get it to the plane and they run out to try and get it there...but they were too late. Depending upon the gate, that could be over 5 minutes a ramp person devoted to the one bag (and wasn't tending to everybody else's bags). And then how does the bag get to the next flight? It has to go to an agent who figures out which flight that is and retags it and updates the baggage information in the computer. More agent time. And then at the destination, the passenger wants to talk to the baggage agent to get information when the bag will arrive, taking still more agent time and increasing the wait time for others who want to talk to a baggage agent. Like I said, that is a disproportionate amount of time and handling for one late bag.

So maybe somebody thinks they can get it to the plane and they run out to try and get it there...but they were too late. Depending upon the gate, that could be over 5 minutes a ramp person devoted to the one bag. And then how does it get to the next flight? It has to go to an agent who figures out which flight that is and retags it and updates the baggage information in the computer. More agent time. And then at the destination, the passenger wants to talk to the baggage agent to get information when the bag will arrive, taking still more agent time and increasing the wait time for others who want to talk to a baggage agent. Like I said, that is a disproportionate amount of time and handling for one late bag.
All good and valid excuses, but one point remains:

How can other airlines do it and do it successfully?

I thought AS was the carrier that strived to be NOE!