Originally Posted by
intuition
I've had various (but all poor) experiences of AY irr op handling in the past. However, people have reported improvement lately. And a year ago I shipped a Chinese speaking youth on AY and the inbound to HEL was delayed enough for him to miss short haul connection. At that time AY staff were actually waiting at jetbridge with a sign and new boarding passes.
I was on a delayed DEL flight a couple of days ago. Before landing, the purser read a very clear list of flights/connections. First, she read a list of destinations that have been rerouted the same day. Then another where an overnight at HEL is required. When we exited the bus and took the escalator up, there was a couple of AY representatives with signs a) for destinations for rerouted onward travel the same day, with BPs, b) for destinations that require overnight transit; I assume they had prepared hotel vouchers and BPs, and c) for destinations that will still make it, directing them to transfer security.
Walking to arrivals, I walked past the gate where AY142 from BKK had just arrived. Same show at that gate.
Based on this, I would say they were pretty well prepared and, considering the circumstances, couldn't have done it better. They even rerouted on competitors, such as KL to AMS. The only problem was that the hallways at HEL are so damn narrow that three agents and a hoard of pax create quite a traffic jam.
I do agree, however, that AY could be more proactive. Concerning the NKG case above, the outcome is probably the same whether they issue the reroute now or 5-6 hours later (when they realise the plane hasn't landed at NKG). But for a pax who's very aware, it could relieve stress if they knew now that their reroute will be like.