US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - Preboarding the band before anyone??

Flight 11, PHL-LAX 10/4.

Flight was already delayed 2 hours. As the anticipation grew, the usual gate lurkers started assembling around the door. Who really knows how many of them qualified for the standard pre-boarding.

But, before any of that, the entire band and staff of "Earth, Wind and Fire" was escorted onto the plane. Is this normal?? Why did they get on before anyone else?

About 10 minutes later, the parents/small children boarding began, followed by the First/Elites. It was utter pandamonium. Wife and I were queued up in the proper line, yet a pretentious older man starts trying to make his way from the back with the 'Excuse me...excuse me' comments as he fights through the line. His wife folllowed behind, saying "We're in first class".

At that point I almost lost it, but my wife held me back and told the woman "So are the rest of us". That couple was sitting behind us in F. I asked them if jumping ahead of us made them feel any better now that we're both on the plane in the same cabin.

Two comments:

1) I would assume that the band was loaded first to ward off any potential fans. I've seen American do this as well.

2) The USAir crew in Philly is the absolute worst out of any airport or airline I have flown. Unless absolutely necessary, I do not fly out of Philly anymore. Allentown, Lancaster, and Newark are much better. Quite honestly, I also try to avoid USAir unless I'm redeeming miles. My past stupidity had me accumulate several thousand on USAir which I have been trying to burn up.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by TTT103:


2) The USAir crew in Philly is the absolute worst out of any airport or airline I have flown. Unless absolutely necessary, I do not fly out of Philly anymore. .</font>

My wife made a comment to me this morning related to this. Given the success that our protest against the tier mile changes brought, why don't we band together again and demand better customer service from employees at Philadelphia. Frankly, I wouldn't mind trying to start another firestorm with these folks on, perhaps, a quarterly basis, just to remind them that we're still here and we're still watching what they do for us.

What the true answer for the PHL gate agents is to use COMMON SENSE. If any flight is delayed and they see the people getting ansy about boarding the plane, they should board them in a more appropriate manner.
There was a time about 4 years ago that PHL gate agents wouldn't even call the US3's to board with US1&2's. And don't ya just love the gate lurkers. Do they think standing at the podium makes them feel important? I have watched the security checkers actually grab those people and pull them aside for a search. So being first is not always the favored position anymore.
In general I think the PHL agents need a course on common sense and customer service. Something that lacks in this airport.

Most of the folks that work in Phily are yankees. Why would you expect anything but rude behavior? The US Airways employees in CLT are always polite. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

I'm sorry that PHL had a bad experience on Friday night, and I definitely agree that USAirways agents in CLT are among the friendliest in the system.

But as I've said before, I take issue with the constant bad rap PHL agents get. In my experience, PIT agents are equally if not more unpleasant, and I've more than often had PHL gate agents go out of there way to fix things when my flights go wrong.

In PIT I've actually been yelled at.

Most of the problems I've had in PHL have to do with a strained facility (terminal and runways), not PHL staff. Just my opinion.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by PHL:
But, before any of that, the entire band and staff of "Earth, Wind and Fire" was escorted onto the plane. Is this normal?? Why did they get on before anyone else?
</font>

Because That's the Way...Of the World... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

As mentioned above, AA routinely does this for VIPs who pay full-freight first class fares - I doubt EW&F was flying on cockroach fares. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by kv99:
But as I've said before, I take issue with the constant bad rap PHL agents get. In my experience, PIT agents are equally if not more unpleasant, and I've more than often had PHL gate agents go out of there way to fix things when my flights go wrong.

In PIT I've actually been yelled at.

Most of the problems I've had in PHL have to do with a strained facility (terminal and runways), not PHL staff. Just my opinion.[/B]</font>

Nature or nurture?

I don't think most of us give a **** if its the environment that makes those PHL agents a royal PITA. Whatever it is, they are consistantly poor, with a few good apples. I've had bad and poor experiences in PIT and CLT too, but I like many others, take that as luck of the draw rather than a consistant experience like PHL.

Most of the time I've seen celebs board last, rather than first, but that's just my own experience.

I'll throw my ring in to this hat, too. Like most of you, I'd rather chew glass than fly through PHL. I find it to be an exceedingly dull facility with poor dining options. Add to that a mix of lousy attitude employees, and you have one less than marginal operation.

In their defense, however, let me rush to add that things have markedly improved over the past 6 years or so. Back then, the gates and terminals looked liked they did in the early 1970s with low (and I mean LOW) drop ceilings and bad lighting. All around crappy. IMHO, the employee situation was far worse then than it is now.

I live in Philly, and I can honestly say I have never noticed rude or impersonal behaviour in the USAir staff. They appear to me to be accommodating to the rudest passengers. This includes the nights, we have returned from our trip to LGW and had to spend the night in the terminal while a new plane was obtained. Seemed to me that most people complain to hear themselves talk.
Perhaps the fact that I used to run an inner city ER has made me more tolerant.

Jane in PHL-and yes, most of my travel is leisure.

I fly through PHL a lot.

It's not so bad as some of you are making it out to be. OTOH I'm a dedicated off-peak cockroach so I don't see much of it in its prime http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by sbtinme:
... I find it to be an exceedingly dull facility with poor dining options. ... </font>

Poor dining options? When was the last time you were in PHL? Not only are there many decent options in the food court area in the B/C connector, but there are some excellent choices in the concourses themselves. Cibo (excellent!), Sky Asian Bistro, and Le Petit Bistro are some good examples.

As far as PHL staff, well, I find them no different than many others at large airports. Some are bad, some are good. But overall, I don't share the sentiments most of you here seem to have. Perhaps, originating in PHL rather than connecting through PHL is the difference?

Go after US Air over Customer Service in PHL would be like attacking Russia in Wnter! You wanna take a shot, count me in but Russian Winters are long and harsh! And beside where do you start? Gate? Counter? Baggage? I mean you have baggage handlers who DELIBERTALY unload the Priority tagged bagage last. I did a test over 6 segemnts to prove I wasn't losing my mind. Han the outbound city put the "priority" tag on ever other time and sure enough no Priority first out. Priority last out. What about "Special Services" Which provides nothing "special" and litte service. I have witnessed much of the legendary PHL Attytooode but luckily very little of it first hand. Not sure why? maybe I have a "Reputation" as someone who takes name and documents "incidents" to Consumer Affairs or snag a supervisor at the airport if I have time.

I am amazingly patient with things like weather, ATC, FAA crap that delays flights but I am a real pit bull over how I am treated during face to face contacts. After all that's what US can control! So let me know when the war starts! But keep in mind that IMHO the US - PHL staff are charm school grads compared to the NW staff in DTW. So it is relative.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by JanePond:
...Perhaps the fact that I used to run an inner city ER has made me more tolerant...

</font>

Well, compared to that, PHL and its problems are a walk in the park. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by PHL:
Flight 11, PHL-LAX 10/4.

But, before any of that, the entire band and staff of "Earth, Wind and Fire" was escorted onto the plane. Is this normal?? Why did they get on before anyone else?
</font>

Hmm...didn't have a stopover in Boogie Wonderland (BWL) did you? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Sorry, couldn't resist.

I feel your pain though. I never understood why people going to the same place feel the need to jump in front of others. Like going to a concert with assigned seating. What gives? Is it a Yankee thing?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by TTT103:
Two comments:

1) I would assume that the band was loaded first to ward off any potential fans. I've seen American do this as well.
</font>

I'd be pretty p!ssed if this happened on my flight and I ended up being negatively affected by it. (Granted, I think we all sometimes exaggerate how much we are impacted by someone else preboarding before us. If you are elite, you probably still got on the plane, into your seat, and didn't have to gate-check a bag.)

If the band thinks they are so popular that they need protection from their "fans", they should buy themselves a freaking G-V or two. If they are flying commercial, it sounds like they aren't all that popular to begin with.

This thread is a trip. Earth, Wind, and Who? Are they still alive? Please. Any "fans" of the band are probably pre-boarding with them - due to their wheelchairs and walkers.

Very entertaining stuff. But let's cut to the heart of the matter: Was the band wearing cockroach pins? Now that would be a hit.

I've had plenty of good counter experiences with the folks at PHL. It's a different story with gate and baggage personnel; the surliest, least helpful group I've come across.

And on the subject of food, anyone who thinks the grub is bad at PHL isn't paying attention--or they spend all of their time over in E and F. I'd rather eat dinner at PHL over CLT any day--lots of choices to get a real meal.

BTW, I still play my EW&F records. At parties, they never fail to get people off their asses and on the dance floor. Still, I'm not sure that's enough to warrant special preboarding priveleges--it's not like they're the Ohio Players or anything.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by jkzahn:
This thread is a trip. Earth, Wind, and Who? Are they still alive? Please. Any "fans" of the band are probably pre-boarding with them - due to their wheelchairs and walkers.</font>

Hey, watch it - I'll bet there's lots of FTers who are fans of EW&F. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Here's their website - which has been updated recently (unlike about 99% of all websites in the world):

www.earthwindandfire.com/ewf/home.asp (http://www.earthwindandfire.com/ewf/home.asp)

I just got tickets to see them in Vegas weekend after next. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by jkzahn:
Any "fans" of the band are probably pre-boarding with them - due to their wheelchairs and walkers.</font>

LOL.....I actually have a friend who still brags about sneaking into the back of the old Fox Theater in Atlanta to see EW&F on a hot night in '78!

[This message has been edited by MCIFlyer (edited 12-12-2002).]

Anybody for Kool and de Gang???

I too have seen US preboard celebs and diplomats, etc. On UA I have seen them baord last. Not enough of either to know if it is any pattern.

As to PHL. I havent seen rude people at PHL. I do hate flying through there though. I hated the buses from the planes to the gates, I hate the buses between F and the mainline terminals. I have found delays and other operations there to be awful. Im really going out of my way to avoid that place. Been pretty successful of late. If I had to fly through there all the time on US I would probably switch airlines.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by PineyBob:
Go after US Air over Customer Service in PHL would be like attacking Russia in Wnter! You wanna take a shot, count me in but Russian Winters are long and harsh! And beside where do you start? Gate? Counter? Baggage? I mean you have baggage handlers who DELIBERTALY unload the Priority tagged bagage last. I did a test over 6 segemnts to prove I wasn't losing my mind. Han the outbound city put the "priority" tag on ever other time and sure enough no Priority first out. Priority last out. What about "Special Services" Which provides nothing "special" and litte service. I have witnessed much of the legendary PHL Attytooode but luckily very little of it first hand. Not sure why? maybe I have a "Reputation" as someone who takes name and documents "incidents" to Consumer Affairs or snag a supervisor at the airport if I have time.

I am amazingly patient with things like weather, ATC, FAA crap that delays flights but I am a real pit bull over how I am treated during face to face contacts. After all that's what US can control! So let me know when the war starts! But keep in mind that IMHO the US - PHL staff are charm school grads compared to the NW staff in DTW. So it is relative.</font>

Very well spoken and couldn't be more accurate. City of Brotherly Love? More like, city of push and shove.

At least the service in PHL is consistent!

When you lump PHL and DTW together it says one thing: UNION YES!

Here is a celebrity pre-boarding story for you. About a year and a half ago at GSO I was waiting to board the last direct Dash 8 to DCA, that I had been flying every week for a year, and it was running it’s usual 20-30 minutes late. When the plane finally arrives, Sarah Ferguson and party of 10 come to the gate area. They are first escorted out to the tar mat and boarded on the Dash 8. (Seems like the duchess was slumming it) This took about 20 minutes or so. I go to board, and who has my seat but the duchess herself. SO I ask her if that’s her seat and one of her “people” tells me of course it’s hers and to see the FA. She directs me to sit anywhere open, but it was a full flight, well 1 more than full. 20 minutes later I find myself without a seat, pissed as hell, and a gate agent that has to find a person to give up their seat, which never happened voluntarily. We got to DCA 1.5 hours late because of “her royal highness”.

I gotta weigh in here. First I TOTALLY AGREE that PHL can be on of the surliest airports in the US to deal with worker wise. Having ALL of the big six out of PHL I have arrived at the conclussion that the "attyoode" must be airbourne particles. All of the gate folks seem to share the "PHL Spirit". PHL US employees are not immune but SOME seem to possess the US spirit in greater supply.
I recently witnessed 2 gate agents handle a woman who was profoundly paralyzed with more grace, skill, and compassion then I have ever witnesses on an airline. You could ask for no better than they gave. I was one row back and witnessed the entire thing. She was such a proud woman and her husband his eyes just filled with love for this woman looked plaintively at these 2 young workers for their help. You could see that both hated to have to ask for help. You should have seen the smiles between the four of them as they wrestled her in that seat, taking extra time to make sure her dress was straight and under her properly. Allowing her to maintain her dignity.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by suhappyguy:
......Sarah Ferguson and party of 10 come to the gate area. They are first escorted out to the tar mat and boarded on the Dash 8. (Seems like the duchess was slumming it) ......</font>

Geez......who the "H" is Sarah Ferguson? Related to Fergie? Ferguson Jenkin's illegitimate daughter? One of the Dixie Chicks?

I guess she must be one of those young teeny (belly button pierced) singers who all sound the same. After she flames out she'll be standing by with a $100 bill in her hand!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by HPTunco:
Geez......who the "H" is Sarah Ferguson?</font>

uh....the Duchess of York (http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page470.asp)...

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by markbach:
uh....the Duchess of York (http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page470.asp)...</font>

OH! That Duchess! What entitles her to an entourage? I guess the tax paying subjects of the Queen are footing the bill.

Or that diet food she's hocking is selling pretty well!

I would much rather give up my seat to Ferguson Jenkins than the Duchess of York.

What - no charter jet for her? Why in the world would her people book her on a Dash-8??!