Emergency landing in PHX?
 

Hello F-Talkers: I'm wondering if anyone knows what happened to an aircraft, which I believe was headed for JFK, last night (12/16?) most likely, although I can't quite determine that part. Apparently the aircraft made an emergency landing in PHX for some reason? I'm supposed to be on the outbound today, JFK-SFO (629) and it's now looking like at least an 8-hour delay. I'm hoping for a little more info than what AS is giving.... I do see a flight 9341, scheduled out of PHX for JFK at 12:30 today, which is obviously a dead-head/ferry flight number.

Meanwhile I'm considering my options - staying with the original flight, for which an upgrade to F is looking good at the moment, or taking the only other option today which is a middle seat in the back most likely, but still gets me to my final destination today after the SFO connection. (Otherwise it's an overnight in SFO if I stay with the original...) Opinions on those options?? I'm not particularly time-pressed this time, either way, but it does make one go "hm". I HATE middle seats...

And on a side note - this is my fourth trip in a row on AS over the past month where there has been a significant delay or cancellation (not weather/ATC-related) that is a company-caused or related SNAFU. Also notable, and I hope no more than a sad coincidence.... Oh, and this is supposed to be my MVP-Gold qualifying flight, so I do need to stick with AS for this one.

given the length of the delay, AS **should** willingly rebook you on any reasonable alternative (connection via LAX/SEA/PDX) that you request ... they might even take you off-line (AA/DL), in which case you could request Original Routing Credit to ensure you get your MVPG-qualifying miles

Not worth worrying about what happened. Agreed that a middle seat on AS for a TCON is a poor idea.

Only you can make the decision as to whether waiting 8 hours for the possibility of an UG is worth it vs. asking to be rebooked onto an AA service.

RetiredSFOATC from the twitter, it appears those onboard AS470 were left in the dark about what caused the emergency landing as well.

Nothing really in EF either

def uncool

I was grumpy a couple months ago when my SEA-PHL diverted to BOI for a mechanical, but at least we got an explanation and reasonably good service recovery

Doesn't look like N284AK is back in the air yet.

So does anyone know what happened yet? i don't even know what "inflight crew cancel" means.

it almost sounds like they deployed an overtime crew and were out of compliance and thus had to land and cancel, or something strange like that...? would explain why it was so hush hush. i would expect if a crew member got sick, they would just say so.

Plane just left the gate, heading to JFK.

Crew timeout or MX seems most likely.

Looks like N284AK is back in the air and headed for NY... you know its a pretty bad delay when it would've been faster to have AS re-book you on a morning flight out of LAX and then drive the 6 hours back to the airport instead of waiting :)

As for the original question - If you're not in a rush and you think you have a good upgrade chance vs. a middle seat on a rebook, I'd just stick with the existing flight.

Thanks everyone for making this an interesting thread! So, here's a bit of an update. First of all, while I don't have any details about the divert, the AS reservations folks said that the flight made an "emergency landing" - but that's all I know so far. IME, this is usually a serious mechanical problem or a medical problem, and usually the flight crew is the resource for the people on board - but it's odd that nobody got a reasonable update from them. Odd in itself.

The aircraft is now airborne (as AS9341) and enroute from PHX to JFK to pick some of us up and get us to SFO late tonight.

Meanwhile, I have another question for the group: I will be forced to overnight in SFO, and I know that airlines typically reimburse for that (when not ATC/weather related). In your experience, is it better to just see how things go and ask someone at Alaska customer service for a voucher, or is it better to reserve something in a hotel somewhere, pay for it, and request reimbursement later. I'm of a mind to do the latter, so I know I will have a hotel room waiting when I finally get to SFO, as opposed to asking for a voucher from a non-existent customer service staff (at the wee hours) and try to find a hotel AFTER that.

Often1 I understand what you are saying about not worrying about the cause of the divert, but a) I think the airline should be transparent about it, and b) often the reason will dictate what sort of compensation people are entitled to. As for this particular airline geek, I just have a high level of curiosity about these things.....

One last thing for the group - I've never tried to post a pic here before, so I hope this works, but if you ARE an airline geek (particularly of those dear departed carriers), you MUST check out the TWA Hotel at JFK. It is amazing, and while still having a few opening jitters, it is well worth a visit.... so much to see, including the "Connie Bar"
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...428e1d95ba.jpg
From the "Sunken Bar" in the TWA Hotel lobby, outward to the "Connie Bar" - a restored Constellation which is very VERY cool.

Oh, and I did stick with the original itinerary, for which AS rewarded me with the upgrade to F. Sure is interesting to see the variety of solutions that agents come up with if one HUCAs enough....

I always take care of it myself and seek reimbursement later, either from the airline or my credit card's travel insurance. I don't want to be at the mercy of Alaska gate agents/standing in line/etc. Book the hotel, get there, and deal with everything from the comfort of a hotel room.

Neil

I'd try my hardest to resolve the hotel situation now, you've got nothing but time to kill while you wait for the inbound aircraft and by the time you land, you won't want to deal with it. I've (thankfully) never experienced a full overnight delay that would require accommodations - but if your next flight out of SFO was on the same itinerary I'd think AS customer service would be able to see the missed connection and help plan for it now.

I also agree that transparency and information is the way to go with items like this. Lack of information only causes those impacted to speculate and assume the worst.