unfortunate reality of airline and flight consolidation
May 20, 2015, 9:08 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,832
unfortunate reality of airline and flight consolidation
Just an example and sort of a rant about Southwest operations from a poster who usually is very supportive...
My wife was schedule to leave Houston yesterday at 5:05 pm, but by at least 3:45 pm, WN delays the flight because the arriving aircraft out of Midland has mechanical problems and the MAF -> HOU flight is cancelled. So, the HOU -> AUS flight is delayed to 7:30 while they wait on an aircraft that is coming out of maintenance. The aircraft finally rolls up to the gate just before 8:00 pm but the mechanical problem that was supposed to have been fixed actually wasn't. So, the lucky passengers get to wait another hour for an arriving aircraft to be repurposed to complete the flight.
Yeah, stuff happens. The problem is that she tried to get rerouted through DAL but all the flights to and from DAL were full. And apparently with such tight aircraft inventory, even one aircraft going out of service can cause major delays. Just more bad news when it comes to the unfortunate reality for passengers when it comes to no competition, full flights, and cramped seating.
My wife was schedule to leave Houston yesterday at 5:05 pm, but by at least 3:45 pm, WN delays the flight because the arriving aircraft out of Midland has mechanical problems and the MAF -> HOU flight is cancelled. So, the HOU -> AUS flight is delayed to 7:30 while they wait on an aircraft that is coming out of maintenance. The aircraft finally rolls up to the gate just before 8:00 pm but the mechanical problem that was supposed to have been fixed actually wasn't. So, the lucky passengers get to wait another hour for an arriving aircraft to be repurposed to complete the flight.
Yeah, stuff happens. The problem is that she tried to get rerouted through DAL but all the flights to and from DAL were full. And apparently with such tight aircraft inventory, even one aircraft going out of service can cause major delays. Just more bad news when it comes to the unfortunate reality for passengers when it comes to no competition, full flights, and cramped seating.
May 21, 2015, 9:10 am
#5
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: San Diego, Ca
Programs: AA 2MM LT PLT; AS MVP Gold75k; HHonors Diamond; IHG PLT
Posts: 3,502
WN is the only major US carrier that does not interline - put delayed passengers on other carriers when mechanical IROPS cause delays of more than 4 hours.
May 21, 2015, 11:09 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,832
Yes, but how often and under what circumstances will the other carriers put you on another airline? The original delay was 2.5 hours and her flight was not cancelled. I seriously doubt UA, AA, or DL would have interlined their customers in this situation. And, of course, flying from HOU to AUS, no other airline could have gotten her home in any timely manner.
May 21, 2015, 11:54 am
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,832
The last flight out as standby. Worst case scenario is that she would have had to stay the night (on either Southwest's or her company's dime) and work a bit from the Houston office the next day before coming home.
May 21, 2015, 12:06 pm
#10
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
Annoying, but any carrier which operates empty flights to deal with possible IROPS won't be in business for long.
It's always worth checking to see if there's a cheap flight on another carrier. If there is, while WN still doesn't interline, you are entitled to cancel for a full refund and can then purchase whatever you want. Walk up fares can be brutally expensive, but similarly cheap when there's space.
WN, of course also has the blessing and curse that it operates from fields which may be closer to town, e.g. HOU, DAL & MDW, but also harder to make changes in IROPS.
It's always worth checking to see if there's a cheap flight on another carrier. If there is, while WN still doesn't interline, you are entitled to cancel for a full refund and can then purchase whatever you want. Walk up fares can be brutally expensive, but similarly cheap when there's space.
WN, of course also has the blessing and curse that it operates from fields which may be closer to town, e.g. HOU, DAL & MDW, but also harder to make changes in IROPS.
May 21, 2015, 12:34 pm
#11
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,963
Yes, but how often and under what circumstances will the other carriers put you on another airline? The original delay was 2.5 hours and her flight was not cancelled. I seriously doubt UA, AA, or DL would have interlined their customers in this situation. And, of course, flying from HOU to AUS, no other airline could have gotten her home in any timely manner.
May 21, 2015, 12:59 pm
#12
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: SoCal
Programs: AA EXP, HHonors LTDia, Marriott Plat
Posts: 639
Yes, but how often and under what circumstances will the other carriers put you on another airline? The original delay was 2.5 hours and her flight was not cancelled. I seriously doubt UA, AA, or DL would have interlined their customers in this situation. And, of course, flying from HOU to AUS, no other airline could have gotten her home in any timely manner.
May 21, 2015, 5:31 pm
#13
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
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Posts: 50,262
This is where a good corporate TA with a 24/7 backup service comes in handy. They proactively monitor likely misconnects and rebook. You land with an email telling you where to head, including to a hotel if that's the situation. And if they don't catch the misconnect, a call gets the issue solved. No lines, no long holds and no arguing with agents from carrier A about reissuing onto Carrier B.
May 23, 2015, 1:21 pm
#14
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: PHX
Programs: AA Aluminum, WN B+
Posts: 929
Is it official policy that WN will offer standby to an earlier flight if the original flight is late? I had one the other day where my original flight SMF-LAS-PHX (no plane change) was delayed more and more through the day. I gunned it to the airport, got standby at no charge for an earlier flight (WGA fare), got on a non stop that got me in to PHX at 6pm, compared to the 8:30pm scheduled of my original flight and 1:15am actual arrival.