Avoid SW when traveling to/from SEA
Aug 13, 2014, 2:00 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: San Diego, Ca
Programs: Hawaiian Air Fold, Delta Gold, SPG Platinum
Posts: 116
Avoid SW when traveling to/from SEA
Apparently SW is trying to run 40-50% more flights to SEA than they have gates to handle.
My flight in arrived 20 min early on Sun and had to wait 42 minutes before a gate opened up.
I am standing with pilot of the outbound flight. Both crew and plane arrived on time but the plane has been parked for over an hour waiting for a gate. Not only will we be 90 minutes late but so will everyone else using this bird for the next day or so. Weather is great.
My guess is that SW got their new management team from the banking industry and pax and on time performance are trumped by large executive bonuses ala the Wall Street paradigm.
My flight in arrived 20 min early on Sun and had to wait 42 minutes before a gate opened up.
I am standing with pilot of the outbound flight. Both crew and plane arrived on time but the plane has been parked for over an hour waiting for a gate. Not only will we be 90 minutes late but so will everyone else using this bird for the next day or so. Weather is great.
My guess is that SW got their new management team from the banking industry and pax and on time performance are trumped by large executive bonuses ala the Wall Street paradigm.
Aug 13, 2014, 5:43 pm
#3
Suspended
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Alki. Seattle, WA
Programs: WN~A List Pref, CP, Hyatt-Diamond, Hilton Diamond, ANT~a Dave Matthews Addiction thing
Posts: 723
I fly WN often in and out of Seattle. It happens. Not often. It also happens at SMF, LAS......etc. seems pretty rare to me. That's a long wait. Least it wasn't Vegas and 105 degrees. Been there. Done that
Not sure if the management theory is the reason for this
Not sure if the management theory is the reason for this
Aug 14, 2014, 10:10 am
#4
Join Date: Oct 2001
Programs: LTP, PP
Posts: 8,699
Would think this is going on all over the Nation as on-time performance slips. Flights are delayed for whatever reason, don't tug out of their gate, incoming "early" or on-time flights can't park in an occupied gate. Probably doesn't take too many delayed flights to use up whatever excess gate capacity WN has at a particular airport...
Aug 14, 2014, 11:16 am
#5
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: PHX
Programs: AA Aluminum, WN B+
Posts: 929
Edit: were you on flight 156 to SAN? Just guessing based on post time and location.
The flight yesterday leaving out of the same gate (B8) before 156 (flight 506 to BWI) left 45 minutes late. If WN doesn't have any other gates available at that time, then there's not much they can do.
The flight yesterday leaving out of the same gate (B8) before 156 (flight 506 to BWI) left 45 minutes late. If WN doesn't have any other gates available at that time, then there's not much they can do.
Last edited by Lost; Aug 14, 2014 at 11:35 am Reason: Add clarification
Aug 14, 2014, 11:36 am
#6
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: OAK/SFO/SJC
Programs: AA Plat 2MM+, HHonors, Amtrak GuestRewards
Posts: 1,158
Ahwile back, I was on late-evening flights into OAK where every gate was free (i.e., there was no outbound flight scheduled until the next day), but occupied with a plane. Rather than push an empty plane prior to our arrival, the choice was made for us to sit on the tarmac for 30+ minutes post-arrival, waiting for the one remaining, delayed, flight to depart and free up a gate.
Perhaps that kind of thing has been more of a problem recently with the increase in evening delays, but in my few recent evening flights with WN (mostly into MDW and OAK), I haven't run across it.
Perhaps that kind of thing has been more of a problem recently with the increase in evening delays, but in my few recent evening flights with WN (mostly into MDW and OAK), I haven't run across it.
Aug 15, 2014, 4:48 pm
#9
Join Date: May 2012
Location: DCA, lived MCI, SEA/PDX,BUF (born/raised)
Programs: Marriott (Silver/Gold), IHG, Carlson, Best Western, Choice( Gold), AS (MVP), WN, UA
Posts: 8,735
That stuff happens...you get a few flight delays and there isnt much an airline can do. they could be having 3 shorter flights and 3 cross country flights. The XC flights were due an hr earlier but weather dealyed them so now you have 6 airplanes fighting over 3 gates.
One thing to remmeber with SEA---its going through a terminal/gate shift with just about all the airlines shifting around.
I dont recall if southwest is getting more gates as a result of this or they lost gates.
I thought I recall reading in the plan that they would have unassigned gates in each terminal which could then be used for overflow
One thing to remmeber with SEA---its going through a terminal/gate shift with just about all the airlines shifting around.
I dont recall if southwest is getting more gates as a result of this or they lost gates.
I thought I recall reading in the plan that they would have unassigned gates in each terminal which could then be used for overflow
Aug 16, 2014, 1:58 pm
#10
Join Date: May 2003
Location: SFO, mostly
Posts: 2,204
It's Delta's fault for clogging up the airport with all their new ERJ and CRJ flights to various West Coast cities. Delta has expanded in the B gates since they are running out of space in the S Satellite, which means that WN doesn't have any extra gates at its disposal in the B gates.