<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Points Scrounger:
I had a miserable experience earlier this year ATH - LHR - JFK on BA. Without going into all the details here, the fact that they held the first flight for an elite family -- the crew were all smiles that they were blessed with this presence -- played havoc with my connection at LHR. I was sprinting faster than O.J. ever could through there to make it.</font>
I wonder if anyone on the plane was grumbling about how inconsiderate you were being...
Anyway. When I was waiting for a plane in Pittsburgh (I think it was -- you know you travel too much when the airports and trips blur) this guy came running to a gate that was just about to close. He was begging the gate attendant to hold it open a few minutes longer, his friend was being checked at security.
Well, the gate attendant lectured him on "this is why you have to get here two hours early, sir." The man was very polite, but did point out that he'd had one cancelled flight that morning, and failed to get on his previous backup flight because -- you guessed it -- security checks. They had told him when they made this reservation for him that he'd have to hurry to make it, but it's the best they could do.
Anyway, the story had a happy ending. Both of the men got on the plane, though the gate attendant was quite adamant on closing the gate exactly at 10 minutes until flight time, no holding it. And this wasn't even a Delta "no waivers, no favor" flight!
So sometimes they don't hold the plane. I can see holding it when there's late connections, ridiculous security lines, etc., etc. Holding it for elite passengers who are lollygagging is another story, of course.