Don
Aug 30, 00, 1:30 am
The day's lesson: If someone's gonna mess up, better it be ground staff than the flight crew.
This was a quick visit to San Francisco with the family -- out on 8/25, back on 8/29. DL through Atlanta both ways.
Friday morning, the Gods of Flight were smiling: DL substituted a 727 on Flight 1223 at Providence. The usual MD80 was out of service http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif Even with the bigger plane, the flight was full - but took off on time. Coach fare was ... drum roll please ... SkyDeli. Oh well, I still considered the 727 my bonus for the day.
Somewhere between 10:59 arrival in Atlanta and scheduled 12:15 departure on FL1169, though, those nasty Flight Gods got grumpy.
The gate folks at B25 announced a delay in cleaning the cabin, and noon slipped into 12:20. They boarded FC, said cleaners were still working in coach. 12:30 or so, they had maintenance working on a malfunctioning cockpit light ... and around 12:45, they caved & declared that plane wasn't going anywhere.
That's when the fun started.
They unload FC, then send the whole crowd scurrying over to Concourse A, where another plane is waiting. The counter agent at B25 announces they're swapping in an L-10-1 for the out-of-service L-10-500 ... so there'll be a few more rows of seats, and some extra F seats available.
But at the A counter, the new agents can't dial up the new seating list on their computer. They announce there'll be no seat changes, so hang onto the original boarding pass & come back for boarding in about 20 minutes.
Ten minutes later, they change that story -- now EVERYONE has to get new boarding passes. The Crown Club gang starts campaigning for the new FC seats, while 200+ coach pax rush into mega-lines at the gate, the concourse reservations counter and some obscure desk near Ben & Jerry's. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/confused.gif
Next comes the punch line: The announcement that no, we really won't bother with new seat assignments. FC's extra seats are already full by now, and the only open seats are in the middle of those five-across rows. Lots of folks are muttering as they get of the the lines.
Pushback is 2 hours late, and it's not a happy bunch of pax.
And luck turns again - the flight crew is marvelous. The pilot and FAIC hit just the right tone of sincerity when they express regrets about the delay, and in coach the cabin crew passes out headsets (the movie will be free) and drinks (first one free).
The pilot ... a Capt. Allis ... does a textbook job on the intercom: the mood is the cabin is several notches more relaxed afterward. In flight, he gives 5-minute advance notices of anticipated turbulence and initial descent (`so if you need to stretch your legs or visit the restrooms, this would be a good time'). The coach lunch is startlingly good, and the FAs do several rounds of beverage service. At SFO, they ask everyone to stay seated so four passengers can rush to make their Seoul connections. Great work!
I'm repeatedly amazed at how *quality* concerned service overcomes most any foulup or snafu elsewhere in the system.
Uneventful return.
Armrests on the L-10s were broken outbound and inbound (different planes), flopping backward toward the row behind when they were raised. And there's worn carpet, scratched up sinks, badly faded paint, etc. .... no getting around the fact that these birds are gonna be retired next summer. Still, the TriStar makes for a fantastically quiet, smooth flight. (Got a reminder on the last leg -- ATL-PVD FL1894 was the dreaded MD80, where every breeze sets the cabin shuddering.)
This was a quick visit to San Francisco with the family -- out on 8/25, back on 8/29. DL through Atlanta both ways.
Friday morning, the Gods of Flight were smiling: DL substituted a 727 on Flight 1223 at Providence. The usual MD80 was out of service http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif Even with the bigger plane, the flight was full - but took off on time. Coach fare was ... drum roll please ... SkyDeli. Oh well, I still considered the 727 my bonus for the day.
Somewhere between 10:59 arrival in Atlanta and scheduled 12:15 departure on FL1169, though, those nasty Flight Gods got grumpy.
The gate folks at B25 announced a delay in cleaning the cabin, and noon slipped into 12:20. They boarded FC, said cleaners were still working in coach. 12:30 or so, they had maintenance working on a malfunctioning cockpit light ... and around 12:45, they caved & declared that plane wasn't going anywhere.
That's when the fun started.
They unload FC, then send the whole crowd scurrying over to Concourse A, where another plane is waiting. The counter agent at B25 announces they're swapping in an L-10-1 for the out-of-service L-10-500 ... so there'll be a few more rows of seats, and some extra F seats available.
But at the A counter, the new agents can't dial up the new seating list on their computer. They announce there'll be no seat changes, so hang onto the original boarding pass & come back for boarding in about 20 minutes.
Ten minutes later, they change that story -- now EVERYONE has to get new boarding passes. The Crown Club gang starts campaigning for the new FC seats, while 200+ coach pax rush into mega-lines at the gate, the concourse reservations counter and some obscure desk near Ben & Jerry's. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/confused.gif
Next comes the punch line: The announcement that no, we really won't bother with new seat assignments. FC's extra seats are already full by now, and the only open seats are in the middle of those five-across rows. Lots of folks are muttering as they get of the the lines.
Pushback is 2 hours late, and it's not a happy bunch of pax.
And luck turns again - the flight crew is marvelous. The pilot and FAIC hit just the right tone of sincerity when they express regrets about the delay, and in coach the cabin crew passes out headsets (the movie will be free) and drinks (first one free).
The pilot ... a Capt. Allis ... does a textbook job on the intercom: the mood is the cabin is several notches more relaxed afterward. In flight, he gives 5-minute advance notices of anticipated turbulence and initial descent (`so if you need to stretch your legs or visit the restrooms, this would be a good time'). The coach lunch is startlingly good, and the FAs do several rounds of beverage service. At SFO, they ask everyone to stay seated so four passengers can rush to make their Seoul connections. Great work!
I'm repeatedly amazed at how *quality* concerned service overcomes most any foulup or snafu elsewhere in the system.
Uneventful return.
Armrests on the L-10s were broken outbound and inbound (different planes), flopping backward toward the row behind when they were raised. And there's worn carpet, scratched up sinks, badly faded paint, etc. .... no getting around the fact that these birds are gonna be retired next summer. Still, the TriStar makes for a fantastically quiet, smooth flight. (Got a reminder on the last leg -- ATL-PVD FL1894 was the dreaded MD80, where every breeze sets the cabin shuddering.)