AA: Tomorrow's flight delayed already, can I sleep in?
Jul 23, 2018, 8:51 pm
#16
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,631
Now I don't mean information obtained on EF or FlightAware or such; but an e-mail from AA, you should be able to take it to the bank.
Jul 23, 2018, 9:38 pm
#18
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Join Date: May 2017
Location: In the Swiss amoeba's head
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It is reasonable that once an announcement has been made, as official policy it should never be reversed. Otherwise, what is the point of notifying passengers?
Now I don't mean information obtained on EF or FlightAware or such; but an e-mail from AA, you should be able to take it to the bank.
Now I don't mean information obtained on EF or FlightAware or such; but an e-mail from AA, you should be able to take it to the bank.
A flight to XYZ is delayed until 7 pm because the incoming aircraft is late. The crew is available, but there’s no plane. At 5:30 pm, passengers are told that the flight is delayed until 7 pm.
Shortly thereafter, the first officer for a flight at an adjacent gate becomes ill and the flight is cancelled because of the lack of crew.
The flight to XYZ could now use the aircraft that is available.
Option 1: Use the available aircraft for the flight to XYZ and it is able to leave at 6:30 pm.
Option 2: “Official policy” means that once the delay has been communicated to passengers, the flight cannot leave before 7 pm.
Jul 23, 2018, 9:49 pm
#19
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Boston
Posts: 21
It is reasonable that once an announcement has been made, as official policy it should never be reversed. Otherwise, what is the point of notifying passengers?
Now I don't mean information obtained on EF or FlightAware or such; but an e-mail from AA, you should be able to take it to the bank.
Now I don't mean information obtained on EF or FlightAware or such; but an e-mail from AA, you should be able to take it to the bank.
a) Keep posting 10 minute delays until the issue is resolved, making everyone hang around the gate waiting, without the reasonable chance to go to a bar/lounge/restaurant.
b) Post a delay of when the flight is expected to leave, and if the issue is resolved earlier than expected, then the crew can hang out in the gate with the passengers looking at the ready plane, but unable to depart because of official policy.
c) The current situation, which gives passengers an estimate of the delay, allowing them to make alternate arrangements for different routings to deal with misconnects, etc., but with the knowledge that if they can leave earlier they will.
Which alternative do you think is better?
Jul 23, 2018, 10:36 pm
#20
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 41,990
I realize that Chinese policies aren't of much relevance here, but the current rule is updated departure times become actual departure times. I am a big fan of this.
Jul 24, 2018, 12:41 am
#21
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: OC, CA
Programs: AA EXP, 2MM, HH Diamond
Posts: 831
I concur with what most people have recommended: plan for both the original scheduled time (get there on time) and plan for delays if they really happen (lounge, book, etc). I had a flight last week where a delay was announced the night before, and reverted back to the original scheduled time only about an hour before the original scheduled time. I was right in the middle of a work assignment that I thought I would have time to complete given the announced delay.
Jul 24, 2018, 1:02 am
#22
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,631
There 3 ways I see that the airline can handle this:
a) Keep posting 10 minute delays until the issue is resolved, making everyone hang around the gate waiting, without the reasonable chance to go to a bar/lounge/restaurant.
b) Post a delay of when the flight is expected to leave, and if the issue is resolved earlier than expected, then the crew can hang out in the gate with the passengers looking at the ready plane, but unable to depart because of official policy.
c) The current situation, which gives passengers an estimate of the delay, allowing them to make alternate arrangements for different routings to deal with misconnects, etc., but with the knowledge that if they can leave earlier they will.
Which alternative do you think is better?
a) Keep posting 10 minute delays until the issue is resolved, making everyone hang around the gate waiting, without the reasonable chance to go to a bar/lounge/restaurant.
b) Post a delay of when the flight is expected to leave, and if the issue is resolved earlier than expected, then the crew can hang out in the gate with the passengers looking at the ready plane, but unable to depart because of official policy.
c) The current situation, which gives passengers an estimate of the delay, allowing them to make alternate arrangements for different routings to deal with misconnects, etc., but with the knowledge that if they can leave earlier they will.
Which alternative do you think is better?
If you can't trust the revised schedule, what is the point of announcing it? Otherwise you don't really have "a reasonable chance to go to a bar/lounge/restaurant" and it's a potentially unnecessary hassle to "make alternate arrangements for different routings".
I believe train schedules in Europe and India work that way...if a delay is announced, it is written in stone.
Jul 24, 2018, 2:49 am
#25
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: jfk area
Programs: AA platinum; 2MM AA, Delta Diamond, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 10,291
Another option re post #19 (from personal experience), I was flying DFW to LAS, the inbound was delayed, after deplaning arriving pax the GA announced "we won't boarding for approx. 30 minutes--plane cleaning issues", 5 minutes later "we are ready to board"...I wonder if all the pax who left the gate area actually made it onto the flt.
Jul 24, 2018, 3:15 am
#26
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 216
A couple of hours after notifying us of the delay—-and after being told by the AA rep that it was unlikely to change—-they reverted to the original time. The incoming flight was several hours late but apparently not close enough to trigger the crew rest limit after all.
Jul 24, 2018, 5:01 am
#28
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Join Date: May 2017
Location: In the Swiss amoeba's head
Programs: Lowest level possible
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Even if it means you risk missing a tight connection?
Based on my experiences traveling around Europe on trains, that is not the case.
I believe train schedules in Europe and India work that way...if a delay is announced, it is written in stone.
Jul 24, 2018, 8:13 am
#29
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: CoUniHound 1K 1MM, AA EXP 2MM, DL Plat, Marriott Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 1,625
I never trust any delay times published by AA's flight information system. AA is horrible about passing along accurate operational data to front line systems. This includes GAs, CSRs, web alerts, etc. Everyone gets the same bad data from Ops.
