jetskipper,

I was on a connecting flight that got delayed coming in sitting at the tarmac and then delayed getting a gate. So I was late to the flight (last one of the day to MIA)

I was personally told by the GA and then the Captain that once the jetway was withdrawn it was his choice to allow it to come back for a passenger or not, so I was lied to, or it was the case.
If it wasn't the case why did the GA go speak to him?

The pilot may be involved, but the decision is made by the dispatcher. You are talking about "returning to gate" and changing all the departure times; even if the plane didn't move an inch.

I'm confused. You guys are saying that an airline can screw a passenger with a ticket over just to have an on-time stat. That doesn't seem to make any sense. If you arrive after the flight is supposed to leave, but its sitting at the gate (assuming there is a seat), why shouldn't the airline be obligated to open the door and let you on? You have a ticket and they haven't left (on-time or otherwise). Failure to accommodate a passenger in that situation seems to be the functional equivalent of IDB. Calling it anything else is valuing form over substance. Maybe the problem here lies with how a flight is deemed to be an on-time departure, which encourages door closing even when a plane won't depart?

I had a very similar experience in December 2007 on United at IAD.

My girlfriend and I were booked on a flight from IAD to PHX. I called before leaving for the airport and was told the plane would depart 2 hours late (7pm instead of 5pm) due to late inbound aircraft. As a result, my GF and I waited and got to the ticket counter at IAD around 445pm (15 minutes before our original departure time). We were not permitted to check in for our flight since we were so "late" arriving to the airport. Instead, United made us go and stand in a very long line, admonsihed us for arriving so late, and finally re-booked us onto the 930pm flight to PHX. We were through security and were at the gate of our ORIGINAL flight as it was just starting the boarding process...it ended up leaving at 7:20pm We were denied the chance to standby and were once again admonsished for our late arrival.

It wasn't the biggest deal in the world since we were effectively only 2 hours later than we would have been (though 4 hours later than initially scheduled). Still, the inflexibility baffled me. Had they swapped aircraft and our original flight left on time I could understand United admonishing us, since policy states that things can change. But that didn't happen in our case.

So from now on, on any airline, I do not bother checking status beyond canceled/not canceled before I leave for the airport, and I always get there 90+ minutes before scheduled departure.

Christmas 2006 I had a similar experience - late arriving from DCA to IAH to make a 35 minute connection to TLC connection. got to the gate and it was closed - the jetway had been retracted. Begged the GA, she had me follow her down the jetway and she pantomimed to the pilot (and I got down on my knees and pleaded, too) and he waved yes and they put me aboard.

It took all of two minutes - I dont think he had time to make a call to dispatch for permission...

yep almost the same for me, she told me it was all up to the pilot....I am sure the pilot takes into account his takeoff position and other factors before saying yes or no.

The airline is very clear that you must be present at the gate some bit in advance of departure. It is very clearly stated in many locations. It is not an IDB in that scenario. There are lots of other things that come in to play beyond any single passenger that must be considered when trying to get a plane out on time.

Right, an airline should just wait for every connecting passenger and forget about the schedule. Who cares about those who want to get there on-time...

:o

Don't be overly dramatic. I don't think anyone said the plane should wait for all connecting pax. I think the discussion centers around what should be done when a passenger shows up late at the gate through no fault of their own and their connecting aircraft is still sitting there.

Fair enough.

But in the original scenario, the OP said that they gave away his seat to someone.

So, what are they going to do? Remove that passenger from the plane?

Has anyone heard of a standby being pulled off a plane if the ticket holder for that flight shows up?

I'm not expecting anything huge from this, It was just annoying how i was dealt with from the get go when they could have just been a bit nicer and friendlier. I was astonished to be told to "Go Away" by one GA when i asked if i would be able to get on a later flight.

I'm used to crappy customer service in the UK but not the US.

happened to me a couple of times with TWA out of JFK. Last flight out to LAX got there only to see the GA shutting the door to the jetway. I asked anyway to get on was told the plane has "Departed". I said I understand but is there anyway I can get on the flight , she said only the Pilot can do that.

Well as I started to walk away I saluted the plane Good-bye (I did need to be on it, but I fully understood). I started walking back out of the departure area, when the GA yelled at Me to run back, seems the Pilot recoginzed Me and called the Gate on his own and told them to Open Up

Now we did remain at the gate for awhile after so it turned out the Pilot knew the flight was gonna be delayed any way. I dont know if he would have been so kind if he would have been able to get tugged then and there.

But once the door is shut and Offically the Plane is listed as Departed, the Pilot can have the Door reopened. Definitely not something that happens too often, nor would I expect it to occur.

Ive seen it where someone who was Upgraded , I take it the GA thought no way can they make the connection, come on aborad and explain to the other party that need to take any open seat in the back as the FC passenger made the flight, within 15 mins too.

Once T -15 passes a person is as if they never held a seat on that flight and the Carrier can and will use the seat if its needed. Get there at T -14, then the GA will have to pull the Stand-by off

So since you arrived after T -15 its a case of SOL unfortunately for You

If at all possible the object is to get everyone onto the flight and to where they are suppose to be.

Now once the door is closed and Offically the Plane is now gone, thats it even if they closed it up early, as long as T -15 has passed. I dont think a GA will look to see if the passenegr still not there checked any bags or is doing only Carry-on. I do assume they will try and make a logical decission if those people who are connecting have a good chance of actually getting to the flight.

If this wasnt the case then wed never have any Battlefield Upgrades. Since the GAs are waiting and feel that those holding the FC seats will make the flight, only when T -15 passes and everyone is there will the GA go aboard and process the Battlefields

Ive ran like an Idiot to the Gate only to see the Jetway being moved off and its still say 2 mins before departure time, but I know full well before I started to make the mad dash, that anything after T -15 is pure Luck and I didnt blame anyone

No, I wouldn't remove the standby passenger. But if the airline knows the connecting passenger is delayed on their inbound I would think they should wait beyond the standard 15 minutes unless they knew there was no possible way to avoid a misconnect. The standby passenger is presumably in the gate area and could therefore be seated in about a minute...so why not wait as a courtesy to the delayed passenger?