MatthewLAX

DC-10s?

planemechanic

Why not? And says who? Rules differ from carrier to carrier, airport to airport. You may be right in some cases, completely wrong in others.

JC5280

Point taken, but an engine swap is a solid half day of work for the wing mounted engines. And that wouldnt be done with passengers on board. If it were #3 it definitely would need a maintainance hangar.

docbert

The FAA for one. No way you're going to replace an engine and then simply take off with passengers on-board. Even in the days of the DC-10.

GBadger

Just got in to DEN after an "airport conditions" delay. In our case that translated to 45 minute delay awaiting connecting passengers. Apparently we were waiting for 17 folks from the Frankfurt flight to make their way over to our departure gate...

rajsbasi

airport conditions = the rug that you sweep everything under, or the dustbin of excuses

planemechanic

Really, then it will be easy for you to cite the proper FAA rule that prohibits it. I'll wait.

Indelaware

JC5280, In racking my brain trying to remember more details from the incident from the late 1970s, I believe that we were at the gate on the DC-10 for about 4-5 hours while MX serviced the engine. It was then annouced that the engine would be replaced and that they were working on that. After another two hours or so while MX was working on replacing the engine - no doubt simply the first phases of that process - it was anounced that a replacement DC-10 had been located and we moved. So yes, we were at the gate, and they work \on replacing the engine at the gate. That doesn't mean that the entire process was finished at the gate, but it might have been, and it certainly doesn't mean that I lied in telling you the story, the point of which, if one reads the thread, is relating to the story of the pilot narrating the King Kong movies which was related to docbert's Godzilla comment.

The passengers were quite happy to be sitting on the aircraft rather than sitting at the gate. Extra catering was brought aboard and our stomach's were full. We all knew it was the last scheduled service of the day and we also knew that a massive blizard was on its way to Chicago. We wanted no chance of not being on the aircraft the moment it was declared fit for service. Likewise, the Captain wanted to get back to Cleveland; he was missing the turkey leftovers.

I would be interested in know in what way the airline violated FAA rules - rules of the late 1970s.

cordelli

I so love rants like this.

The connection from Airport conditions to having it being able to only mean weather is a stretch for somebody who hardly flies, let along somebody who throws around their value to the airline.

villox

You may wish to look at the handle of the person you are arguing against before asserting yourself so forcefully

flavorflav

Maybe it's the Big Data world we inhabit, but flyers - like the OP - make the mistake of taking a published reason for a delay, such as "WEATHER," treating the announcement like tablets handed down from on high, and then getting upset when he sees the sun shining outside.

This isn't going to go over well with some precincts, but I compare UA's operational relationship with its passengers to my operational relationship with my 5-year-old son.

United exists to transport its passengers safely while turning a profit. Whether or not the airline tells you the "truth" about every factor in every delay is immaterial. In the same vein, I don't tell my child about every operational detail in our house. I share just enough to keep things running.

And bear in mind that a gate agent or flight attendant (or pilot) may only have a fraction of the full knowledge needed to make a "truthful" statement. fastair makes this point frequently - that it's only the zone controllers and ops center people who really have the "God's eye" that sees all the factors going into a delay.

Often1

+1 - Somehow there are those who believe that they are due a full briefing by UA's chief pilot and chief engineer as to every aspect of every flight. "Airport Conditions" could mean that a tug broke down in the alley, blocking 6 gates, that there is construction on a taxiway, that there is a wind shift requiring restacking the entire departure queue or any combination.

OP should absolutely take his business to DL or US (AA after the acquisition & name change) because those there's no construction on taxiways used by those two carriers.

halls120

Here is what UA's website says about UA's policy on keeping customers informed.

I don't see "airport conditions" on that list. I see weather, ATC, operational or service considerations.

weather is weather - we all know that that means. same thing for an ATC delay. Operational considerations I would guess means awaiting a flight crew or the actual airframe to arrive at the gate. service consideration? I'm guessing MX, food, cargo. So if UA says on it's web page those are the factors that may impact a flight delay, why can't they tell passengers at the gate which of those factors apply, instead of the vague "airport conditions?"

Sarfa33

mishapes --> mishaps

Now I feel better. That thread title was driving me NUTS!!!

-S

halls120

So, last Friday we boarded an IAD-DEN flight in a surprisingly efficient fashion. The full 757 was boarded with 10 minutes to spare, and we thought great, no problem with our connection in DEN - then the fun began. First, the Captain came on to tell us that we'd be departing late because there was a problem with "the paperwork." For the next 30 minutes, the GA's kept coming on board paging different passengers. Finally, 20 minutes after scheduled departure, the Captain came on and said we'd be pushing back once he received his paperwork from Chicago. Ten minutes later, we pushed back and headed to 18L. Once we got there, we pulled off to the side, and the Captain said he'd have another short delay while he waited for his weight and balance paperwork.

So while we were waiting, I checked UA.com, and of course, our flight was "delayed-airport conditions preventing departure."

They should just be honest and say "Delayed due to airline IT incompetence."