14 minutes from landing to gate isn't that unreasonable. If you're crossing active runways, dealing with busy ground traffic, traversing the airport or waiting for an alley to clear it's not an inordinate amount of time. It takes that long just to drive the plane from that one runway in Houston to the gate without stopping (can't remember the runway number). I know in your situation that wasn't the case but in the grand scheme of things.
That being said, when every minute that ticks away lessens your chance of making your next flight, it can be very tense and frustrating. When making such short connects I always have a backup plan, or at least know what my worst case scenario might be. It's still a bummer but at least you feel like you have some grasp of the situation. Often times I'll have a one-way rental car standing by as back up (if it's a really short hop). The 50 or 60 bucks is worth it to me if I can be at my destination before the next flight even gets there.
Waiting for a gate for 14 minutes because of ground crew is unacceptable. Obviously the company didn't do a good job of staffing for the holidays, or there were some staff who were sleeping on the job. Whether or not the OP should have expected to misconnect or not has nothing to do with this. It is mismanagement. The same thing could have happened if the flight was delayed and he had a tight connection because of that.
This also reminds me of another story...I was flying CO on the actual day terminal C opened in EWR. It was heralded as a huge deal, and they even had a video about it on the flight. One of the things they mentioned (more than once) was "no more waiting for gates". Well, guess what happened after we landed, and taxiied to Terminal C for parking: We had to wait for a gate!
Well in defense of the CLE operations, they are very good about getting folks to gates. There are rarely delays in take offs or landings even in bad whether. The exception being ATC delays to the east coast.
We LANDED and taxied to the gate. It took 14 miuntes AT THAT POINT to get to someone to usher us in. We sat there just a few yards from the gate waiting on ground personnel for that 14 minutes. That is why I am upset.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicksterguy
We LANDED and taxied to the gate. It took 14 miuntes AT THAT POINT to get to someone to usher us in. We sat there just a few yards from the gate waiting on ground personnel for that 14 minutes. That is why I am upset.
Thank you.
This has happened to me at EWR a few times and has caused me to miss connections that I otherwise would have made. It is frustrating, to say the least.
If it makes you feel any better, I was stuck in a snowbank in CLE on a 738 for about 3.5 hours a couple of years ago. We were stuck about 10 yards from the gate and they refused to let anyone off until the aircraft was "unstuck" and was able to taxi to the jetway. That was after we landed and sat on a taxiway for 45 minutes waiting for them to clear enough snow to approach the C-17-ish area.
They did give me supper - so I ate at Max and Erma's. And had a few beers.
Just a pain in the ... sitting on the damn tarmac waiting to get to the gate. The pilot apolgized twice but said they were waiting for groundcrew!
Uggggh!
I was on an American Scare Lines flight DFW-ATL one day in 2003 when the flight was closed, we were all strapped on our upright and locked positions, and we sat there...and sat there..and sat there...finally people started unbuckling, the FA came on the blower and told us to remain seated and buckled in (the main door was open), then the pilot released us to use cell phones. We waited and waited...the pilot cane on and told us that we were all, every one of us, being held for a passenger. ONE passenger. 45 minutes total went by. We were discussing getting up a lynch mob to dispatch whoever this was unless it was the friggin' POPE.
An AA pilot in full uniform runs onto the plane, sits down in one of the six or seven empty Y seats and the door shuts and we depart. Seems that they needed him to pilot a flight in ATL as an emergency replacement, and they had no issue at all with making 200 people late as a result. The guy looked at all of us and must have sensed that we were about to take the top of his head off because he slinked into the seat and didnt say anything to anyone or even get up out of his seat the entire flgiht.
A strawpoll amongst the inconvenienced pax revealed at lesat 75 people who were going to miss connections, as was I. This was an evening flight, so many were stuck in Atlanta's Hartsfield hyphen Jackson airport or whatever cruddy no-tell motel they put you up in that night.
I went to the Admirals Club where they were shocked to hear they did that to a plane full of people. They rebooked me onto the last flight of the night to ORD in first (no, they did NOT automatically protect me) and explained that there was a flight into ATL that had the pilot suffer a heart attack behind the controls on the way in, and the pilot we waited for was his replacement.
Wasn't sure how to feel after that.
--PP
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i agree that waiting to get guided in at the gate is torture but i've heard its far worse on AAmericAAn. i think there are threads in thAAt forum on wAAiting for a gAAte.
I had a 777 (iah-ewr) held for me, granted I was to be only a few minutes late. My flight from Austin was delayed by thunderstorms and had arrived with minutes to spare. I had to get from the far end of E to the far end of a C terminal. The FA phoned ahead and had the (red team????) help out. Had the cart waiting for me. As we pulled up to the EWR leg they said "Are you Ms .....?" I said Yep. They said welcome aboard - we can go now.
I landed in DTW a few months ago on a NW (Pinnacle) CRJ and we taxied to the gate where we sat for 20 minutes waiting for someone to operate the jetway.
Finally, the pilot comes out of the cockpit, lowers the stairs, walks down, out on the tarmac, and up the jetway stairs into the terminal, and the FA comes on the speaker and says the pilot is going inside to FIND someone to come operate the jetway. Incredible! That was the last time I flew on a NW Airlink flight, especially as their DTW commuter operations absolutley suck.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ryerflyer
I landed in DTW a few months ago on a NW (Pinnacle) CRJ and we taxied to the gate where we sat for 20 minutes waiting for someone to operate the jetway.
Finally, the pilot comes out of the cockpit, lowers the stairs, walks down, out on the tarmac, and up the jetway stairs into the terminal, and the FA comes on the speaker and says the pilot is going inside to FIND someone to come operate the jetway. Incredible! That was the last time I flew on a NW Airlink flight, especially as their DTW commuter operations absolutley suck.
It seems like RJs have a higher frequency of waiting for jetway operators on arrival than mainline aircraft at hubs.
I landed in DTW a few months ago on a NW (Pinnacle) CRJ and we taxied to the gate where we sat for 20 minutes waiting for someone to operate the jetway.
...
That was the last time I flew on a NW Airlink flight, especially as their DTW commuter operations absolutley suck.
Coincidentally, I also swore off NWA after this same thing happened when I was making a MDT-DTW-MDW trip on 11/17. The pilot apologized numerous times, saying that they were just waiting on a jetbridge operator. He commented over the speaker that it was ridiculous. That was at least amusing.
I don't know DTW very well because I try to avoid it, but I managed to still make my connection. Still, waiting 20 mins for someone to move a frickin jetbridge is just inexcusable.
I landed in DTW a few months ago on a NW (Pinnacle) CRJ and we taxied to the gate where we sat for 20 minutes waiting for someone to operate the jetway.
Finally, the pilot comes out of the cockpit, lowers the stairs, walks down, out on the tarmac, and up the jetway stairs into the terminal, and the FA comes on the speaker and says the pilot is going inside to FIND someone to come operate the jetway. Incredible! That was the last time I flew on a NW Airlink flight, especially as their DTW commuter operations absolutley suck.
Same EXACT thing happened to me. All details the same except it was MSP.
