Is SAN in a third-world country?
Mar 29, 2005, 3:41 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Bend, Oregon, USA -- Latinpass500K, Hilton Gold
Posts: 205
Is SAN in a third-world country?
My wife, son and I had an AS flight from San Diego to PDX Saturday morning at 0645.
We arrived at 0525 to find the AS ticket counter an absolute mess; the check-in line stretched almost to the TSA line and AS seemed very shorthanded. In the cramped space at SAN, the ITM lines merged with the counter line, causing a lot of confusion. I counted seven ITM machines, with three of them non-operational. Compounding matters, one AS employee was handling baggage for all of the ITM machines, causing a backlog of people waiting to hand over their luggage and further clogging the ticketing area.
Once we got to an ITM machine (a 25 minute wait) and got our boarding passes, it took another 10 minutes waiting at the ITM area to hand our two bags to AS.
We won't even talk about the TSA line
Anyway, I've traveled in third world countries and found better organization and service -- even at airlines that ticketed by hand, without computers.
It just seemed to me that AS was running too many flights for not enough counter space/help. Other airlines at SAN weren't as bad and even had skycap check-in, but not so with AS.
Anyone else experience this at SAN? Is it always like this?
We arrived at 0525 to find the AS ticket counter an absolute mess; the check-in line stretched almost to the TSA line and AS seemed very shorthanded. In the cramped space at SAN, the ITM lines merged with the counter line, causing a lot of confusion. I counted seven ITM machines, with three of them non-operational. Compounding matters, one AS employee was handling baggage for all of the ITM machines, causing a backlog of people waiting to hand over their luggage and further clogging the ticketing area.
Once we got to an ITM machine (a 25 minute wait) and got our boarding passes, it took another 10 minutes waiting at the ITM area to hand our two bags to AS.
We won't even talk about the TSA line
Anyway, I've traveled in third world countries and found better organization and service -- even at airlines that ticketed by hand, without computers.
It just seemed to me that AS was running too many flights for not enough counter space/help. Other airlines at SAN weren't as bad and even had skycap check-in, but not so with AS.
Anyone else experience this at SAN? Is it always like this?
Mar 29, 2005, 5:52 am
#2
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Federal way Wa USA
Posts: 344
Originally Posted by ejulber
My wife, son and I had an AS flight from San Diego to PDX Saturday morning at 0645.
We arrived at 0525 to find the AS ticket counter an absolute mess; the check-in line stretched almost to the TSA line and AS seemed very shorthanded. In the cramped space at SAN, the ITM lines merged with the counter line, causing a lot of confusion. I counted seven ITM machines, with three of them non-operational. Compounding matters, one AS employee was handling baggage for all of the ITM machines, causing a backlog of people waiting to hand over their luggage and further clogging the ticketing area.
Once we got to an ITM machine (a 25 minute wait) and got our boarding passes, it took another 10 minutes waiting at the ITM area to hand our two bags to AS.
We won't even talk about the TSA line
Anyway, I've traveled in third world countries and found better organization and service -- even at airlines that ticketed by hand, without computers.
It just seemed to me that AS was running too many flights for not enough counter space/help. Other airlines at SAN weren't as bad and even had skycap check-in, but not so with AS.
Anyone else experience this at SAN? Is it always like this?
We arrived at 0525 to find the AS ticket counter an absolute mess; the check-in line stretched almost to the TSA line and AS seemed very shorthanded. In the cramped space at SAN, the ITM lines merged with the counter line, causing a lot of confusion. I counted seven ITM machines, with three of them non-operational. Compounding matters, one AS employee was handling baggage for all of the ITM machines, causing a backlog of people waiting to hand over their luggage and further clogging the ticketing area.
Once we got to an ITM machine (a 25 minute wait) and got our boarding passes, it took another 10 minutes waiting at the ITM area to hand our two bags to AS.
We won't even talk about the TSA line
Anyway, I've traveled in third world countries and found better organization and service -- even at airlines that ticketed by hand, without computers.
It just seemed to me that AS was running too many flights for not enough counter space/help. Other airlines at SAN weren't as bad and even had skycap check-in, but not so with AS.
Anyone else experience this at SAN? Is it always like this?
Mar 29, 2005, 6:28 am
#3
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Portland, Oregon
Programs: Hilton Platinum, Alaska MVP Gold
Posts: 2,363
Originally Posted by ejulber
My wife, son and I had an AS flight from San Diego to PDX Saturday morning at 0645.
We arrived at 0525 to find the AS ticket counter an absolute mess; the check-in line stretched almost to the TSA line and AS seemed very shorthanded. In the cramped space at SAN, the ITM lines merged with the counter line, causing a lot of confusion. I counted seven ITM machines, with three of them non-operational. Compounding matters, one AS employee was handling baggage for all of the ITM machines, causing a backlog of people waiting to hand over their luggage and further clogging the ticketing area.
Once we got to an ITM machine (a 25 minute wait) and got our boarding passes, it took another 10 minutes waiting at the ITM area to hand our two bags to AS.
We won't even talk about the TSA line
Anyway, I've traveled in third world countries and found better organization and service -- even at airlines that ticketed by hand, without computers.
It just seemed to me that AS was running too many flights for not enough counter space/help. Other airlines at SAN weren't as bad and even had skycap check-in, but not so with AS.
Anyone else experience this at SAN? Is it always like this?
We arrived at 0525 to find the AS ticket counter an absolute mess; the check-in line stretched almost to the TSA line and AS seemed very shorthanded. In the cramped space at SAN, the ITM lines merged with the counter line, causing a lot of confusion. I counted seven ITM machines, with three of them non-operational. Compounding matters, one AS employee was handling baggage for all of the ITM machines, causing a backlog of people waiting to hand over their luggage and further clogging the ticketing area.
Once we got to an ITM machine (a 25 minute wait) and got our boarding passes, it took another 10 minutes waiting at the ITM area to hand our two bags to AS.
We won't even talk about the TSA line
Anyway, I've traveled in third world countries and found better organization and service -- even at airlines that ticketed by hand, without computers.
It just seemed to me that AS was running too many flights for not enough counter space/help. Other airlines at SAN weren't as bad and even had skycap check-in, but not so with AS.
Anyone else experience this at SAN? Is it always like this?
Mar 29, 2005, 8:56 am
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Programs: HH Gold, AA Gold
Posts: 10,458
Originally Posted by ejulber
My wife, son and I had an AS flight from San Diego to PDX Saturday morning at 0645.
We arrived at 0525 to find the AS ticket counter an absolute mess; the check-in line stretched almost to the TSA line and AS seemed very shorthanded. In the cramped space at SAN, the ITM lines merged with the counter line, causing a lot of confusion. I counted seven ITM machines, with three of them non-operational. Compounding matters, one AS employee was handling baggage for all of the ITM machines, causing a backlog of people waiting to hand over their luggage and further clogging the ticketing area.
Once we got to an ITM machine (a 25 minute wait) and got our boarding passes, it took another 10 minutes waiting at the ITM area to hand our two bags to AS.
We won't even talk about the TSA line
I would suggest that you email Alaska through their website. They need to be aware of this situation.
Anyway, I've traveled in third world countries and found better organization and service -- even at airlines that ticketed by hand, without computers.
It just seemed to me that AS was running too many flights for not enough counter space/help. Other airlines at SAN weren't as bad and even had skycap check-in, but not so with AS.
Anyone else experience this at SAN? Is it always like this?
We arrived at 0525 to find the AS ticket counter an absolute mess; the check-in line stretched almost to the TSA line and AS seemed very shorthanded. In the cramped space at SAN, the ITM lines merged with the counter line, causing a lot of confusion. I counted seven ITM machines, with three of them non-operational. Compounding matters, one AS employee was handling baggage for all of the ITM machines, causing a backlog of people waiting to hand over their luggage and further clogging the ticketing area.
Once we got to an ITM machine (a 25 minute wait) and got our boarding passes, it took another 10 minutes waiting at the ITM area to hand our two bags to AS.
We won't even talk about the TSA line
I would suggest that you email Alaska through their website. They need to be aware of this situation.
Anyway, I've traveled in third world countries and found better organization and service -- even at airlines that ticketed by hand, without computers.
It just seemed to me that AS was running too many flights for not enough counter space/help. Other airlines at SAN weren't as bad and even had skycap check-in, but not so with AS.
Anyone else experience this at SAN? Is it always like this?
Mar 29, 2005, 9:38 am
#5
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Programs: AS MVP, Elevate, AAdvantage, Mileage Plus
Posts: 1,992
Originally Posted by ejulber
My wife, son and I had an AS flight from San Diego to PDX Saturday morning at 0645.
It just seemed to me that AS was running too many flights for not enough counter space/help. Other airlines at SAN weren't as bad and even had skycap check-in, but not so with AS.
Anyone else experience this at SAN? Is it always like this?
It just seemed to me that AS was running too many flights for not enough counter space/help. Other airlines at SAN weren't as bad and even had skycap check-in, but not so with AS.
Anyone else experience this at SAN? Is it always like this?
A couple months ago, I took the 0630 flight out of SAN. I arrived around 0500 to check-in and there was no line to speak of at check-in or security. It was a 739 and the flight went out pretty full, and I overheard the 0645 PDX flight was full as well.
Anyway, 35 minutes to check bags isn't that bad. That's almost "normal" for SEA or LAX during the AM hours...
Last edited by EIPremier; Mar 29, 2005 at 9:42 am
Mar 29, 2005, 1:31 pm
#6
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Sea-Tac, WA
Posts: 854
Originally Posted by ejulber
My wife, son and I had an AS flight from San Diego to PDX Saturday morning at 0645.
We arrived at 0525 to find the AS ticket counter an absolute mess; the check-in line stretched almost to the TSA line and AS seemed very shorthanded. In the cramped space at SAN, the ITM lines merged with the counter line, causing a lot of confusion. I counted seven ITM machines, with three of them non-operational. Compounding matters, one AS employee was handling baggage for all of the ITM machines, causing a backlog of people waiting to hand over their luggage and further clogging the ticketing area.
Once we got to an ITM machine (a 25 minute wait) and got our boarding passes, it took another 10 minutes waiting at the ITM area to hand our two bags to AS.
We won't even talk about the TSA line
Anyway, I've traveled in third world countries and found better organization and service -- even at airlines that ticketed by hand, without computers.
It just seemed to me that AS was running too many flights for not enough counter space/help. Other airlines at SAN weren't as bad and even had skycap check-in, but not so with AS.
Anyone else experience this at SAN? Is it always like this?
We arrived at 0525 to find the AS ticket counter an absolute mess; the check-in line stretched almost to the TSA line and AS seemed very shorthanded. In the cramped space at SAN, the ITM lines merged with the counter line, causing a lot of confusion. I counted seven ITM machines, with three of them non-operational. Compounding matters, one AS employee was handling baggage for all of the ITM machines, causing a backlog of people waiting to hand over their luggage and further clogging the ticketing area.
Once we got to an ITM machine (a 25 minute wait) and got our boarding passes, it took another 10 minutes waiting at the ITM area to hand our two bags to AS.
We won't even talk about the TSA line
Anyway, I've traveled in third world countries and found better organization and service -- even at airlines that ticketed by hand, without computers.
It just seemed to me that AS was running too many flights for not enough counter space/help. Other airlines at SAN weren't as bad and even had skycap check-in, but not so with AS.
Anyone else experience this at SAN? Is it always like this?
You got hit with the spring time tripple header. The return of the PDX spring break, easter weekend, and regular high weekend traffic.
Mar 29, 2005, 1:50 pm
#7
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Pismo Beach, CA
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Posts: 1,544
That's why I go out of my way to do web check-in whenever possible and only take carry-on. In fact I can't remember the last time I checked a bag.
Mar 29, 2005, 3:44 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Bend, Oregon, USA -- Latinpass500K, Hilton Gold
Posts: 205
Originally Posted by Nobbi
That's why I go out of my way to do web check-in whenever possible and only take carry-on. In fact I can't remember the last time I checked a bag.
Mar 29, 2005, 3:46 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Bend, Oregon, USA -- Latinpass500K, Hilton Gold
Posts: 205
Originally Posted by RASMguy
You got hit with the spring time tripple header. The return of the PDX spring break, easter weekend, and regular high weekend traffic.
Sounds like SAN was abnormally busy last weekend. I did email AS about the experience; seems like they could augment the staffing for the heavy weekends.
Mar 29, 2005, 5:42 pm
#10
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Pacific Northwest
Programs: 2011 Air: AA (Plat) UA (Prem); Hotel: HGP (Dia), HH (Dia), KIT (IC); Car: HZ (PC) AF
Posts: 688
Originally Posted by WebTraveler
Frankly, it is never like this in San Diego. It is Sprint break week for many people plus it is Easter. What do you really expect? Thats why airlines increase their time estimates during this time period.
The OP's experience, though atypical, is inexcusable.
Mar 29, 2005, 6:00 pm
#11
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Pismo Beach, CA
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Posts: 1,544
Originally Posted by ejulber
Wife and my three year old where with me on this flight. 'Nuff said.
"Wife" can be taught to pack reasonably.
And the kid doesn't need lots of outfits.
On the more serious side: you're totally right about anticipating demand. There's really little excuse for ITMs not working and not having the logistics of lines etc. worked out.
Mar 29, 2005, 6:43 pm
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Bend, Oregon, USA -- Latinpass500K, Hilton Gold
Posts: 205
Originally Posted by Nobbi
"Wife" can be taught to pack reasonably.
And the kid doesn't need lots of outfits.
And the kid doesn't need lots of outfits.
Actually, I was the one that packed heavy. Small bag for my clothes, but add to that my computer bag and a backpack packed to the gills with pro camera gear.
Mar 29, 2005, 9:07 pm
#13
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Portland, Oregon
Programs: Hilton Platinum, Alaska MVP Gold
Posts: 2,363
Originally Posted by wth
Your point is well taken, but what I would expect is for AS to anticipate such a volume rush and staff accordingly -- particularly since it is more likely to have less experienced travelers. After all, they know how heavy the volume will be days (if not weeks) in advance. I understand it can be problematic to get staff to work on a holiday, but if they want to be in a customer service business, they have to act like it.
The OP's experience, though atypical, is inexcusable.
The OP's experience, though atypical, is inexcusable.
Mar 30, 2005, 9:18 am
#15
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Sea-Tac, WA
Posts: 854
Originally Posted by ejulber
Hey, we resemble that remark. We were enjoying the sunshine on our spring break.
Sounds like SAN was abnormally busy last weekend. I did email AS about the experience; seems like they could augment the staffing for the heavy weekends.
Sounds like SAN was abnormally busy last weekend. I did email AS about the experience; seems like they could augment the staffing for the heavy weekends.