Originally Posted by
tcdtcd
This is absolutely a positive move. But might they be getting ‘too’ proactive?
Definitely the potential for a double edged sword -- I've also found (at least this month) once any flight triggers the "you're [possibly] screwed" notification that PNR carries that scarlet letter for the remainder of its existence even after the affected flight has long gone, e.g. today I was similarly alarmed checking in for ORD-EWR when the trigger was Sunday's CLE-ORD so I've kind of started to ignore it.
If you really want to know what's up with a flight timing I've found the "Flight Details" view on flightstats.com to be very informative as it captures most, if not all, time/gate/equipment/etc. changes from a couple days before the flight up through the completion of the flight, so you might see that someone delayed the flight by an hour than 15 minutes later there was an equipment change and the flight reverted to on time and that would explain why everything is "on time/no issue' but you got the alert.
Originally Posted by
jonu
I thought a delayed flight can always go back and leave as early as the originally scheduled time. While this is unlikely at an outstation where you usually need the incoming plane to come in, UA could find another plane at a hub. So while I appreciate proactive announcements, I typically will always put myself in the position to get to the gate at the originally scheduled time. Am I off in my thinking?
That is the official line, however once a flight is delayed an on time departure is unlikely -- but I position myself so that I am at the airport and can make it to the gate with +/-30 minutes notice (e.g. at least enough time between the "we're boarding your flight" notification and departure. Practically this usually means a club near the departure gate if not the departure gate itself.