Delayed Boarding for VIP
Feb 27, 2020, 7:42 pm
#47
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: SNA/LAX
Programs: DL Diamond, SW A List, HHonors Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum United 1K
Posts: 202
making the switch back to delta after 2 years at United (Delta DM before that). When United says they’ll board at 8:30....they’ll board at 8:30. That was a huuuge learning curve for
me because I was used to Delta’s “we board at 8:30 and by 8:30 we mean 9:10 but we’ll still have you at the arrival gate 40 minutes early” practices. I can see that this would be confusing to a true United flyer 😂
me because I was used to Delta’s “we board at 8:30 and by 8:30 we mean 9:10 but we’ll still have you at the arrival gate 40 minutes early” practices. I can see that this would be confusing to a true United flyer 😂
Feb 27, 2020, 8:16 pm
#48
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 258
i get annoyed when the plane sat there for 2 hours or over night, the scheduled boarding comes and goes so they start 15 or 20
minutes late from what they published and now it is the passengers problem and they are holding everything up.
minutes late from what they published and now it is the passengers problem and they are holding everything up.
Celebrity or no celebrity, ‘this’ is one of my pet peeves and it occurs often
the onboard announcements hurrying because of the countdown to scheduled departure, ’need you to clear the aisles so we can have an on time departure’
not the paying passengers problem, you and your company need to figure out how to meet your on time departure not me.
me/we didn’t start boarding late. And the passengers aren’t going to make us late, it’s Deltas systems and policies
if it’s that much of a big deal, start with bag fees and the entire dysfunctional boarding experience which is delta 90% of the time.
me stepping off my soap box......
the onboard announcements hurrying because of the countdown to scheduled departure, ’need you to clear the aisles so we can have an on time departure’
not the paying passengers problem, you and your company need to figure out how to meet your on time departure not me.
me/we didn’t start boarding late. And the passengers aren’t going to make us late, it’s Deltas systems and policies
if it’s that much of a big deal, start with bag fees and the entire dysfunctional boarding experience which is delta 90% of the time.
me stepping off my soap box......
Feb 27, 2020, 8:24 pm
#49
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: San Antonio
Programs: DL DM, Former AA EXP now AY Plat, AC 75K, NW Plat, Former CO Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium
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POTUS/former POTUS are much bigger/better known targets than PM. George W Bush was supposed to be the first to have the detail end 10 years after leaving office. However they restored it to life during his 1st term.
Feb 27, 2020, 8:52 pm
#51
Join Date: Sep 2012
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 759
Last edited by tardyturtle; Feb 27, 2020 at 9:20 pm
Feb 27, 2020, 9:29 pm
#53
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 68
When I worked in Minneapolis I used to fly to LAX every few weeks. Would see Prince on many occasions. Spoke to one of the gate agents about him. He stated that Prince would hang out in the whatever Northwest called their clubs at the time. The gate agent would call the club and tell them they were about done with boarding. Prince and his assistant would then come to the gate and board, always in 1A/B. He said Prince was the best, no issues, friendly and didn't want to make a fuss, just wanted to get on without causing a delay or issues.
Feb 28, 2020, 12:38 am
#55
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Tokyo
Programs: Bonvoy LT Titanium ANA Diamond
Posts: 763
Could it be the delay was for the wheel chair passenger, The VIP was kept waiting somewhere and also just brought at the last min ? In the old days that was common in International First on United.
Any time a VIP shared a p[lane with me, they were the last on, never the first !
Any time a VIP shared a p[lane with me, they were the last on, never the first !
Feb 28, 2020, 10:43 am
#56
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: PSC
Programs: Hilton Diamond/IHG Platinum/DL Plutononium
Posts: 1,728
To the OP - if you're a regular DL Flier out of LAX I would tamper your expectations. Delta moved terminals in LAX and the experience in the new terminal has been much worse IMO (only flown through there 4 times since they moved).
Feb 28, 2020, 10:55 am
#57
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Also when at T5 DL didnt have enough gates. You regularly missed flights due to waiting for one. While T2/3/B does have thos issue occasionally, it's not a regular occurrence like at T5.
Feb 28, 2020, 6:47 pm
#58
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: West of CLE
Programs: Delta DM/3 MM; Hertz PC; National EE; Amtrak GR; Bonvoy Silver; Via Rail Préférence
Posts: 5,384
That's actually really good to hear. I spent some time in Calgary a few years ago, and found it to be an excellent city. I took a trip on their mass transit train system (the "C Train").
Feb 29, 2020, 3:14 am
#59
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 224
DL1362 tonight, LAX-JFK. I, cutting it close, get to Gate 21 at 11:28 PM for an 11:55 departure. Boarding has not begun. I figure cleaning’s taking a while, since the plane had only arrived from JFK just before 11. I assumed that, once that was finished, they’d rush us onboard for an on-time departure.
Around 11:33 the agents board a wheelchair passenger. But then, we wait. About 3-4 minutes later — this feels like a while when you’re waiting at the gate and worrying, needlessly, about your right connection at JFK — an agent gets on the mic to announce we’re waiting before a passenger “needs some extra time” to board. I assume they’re talking about the wheelchair passenger, though it’s been a little while.
Then, just before 11:40, a very fashionably dressed young man walks up casually, passes the line, and is ushered to the boarding-pass scanner by a Delta agent who has apparently been waiting for him at the gate. Clearly, the guy’s a celebrity (I dunno who). He gives the agent a handshake and pats his back — he is apparently the Delta agent’s assignee — and boards.
As soon as he’s on the jet bridge, a gate agent gets on the intercom to announce we’ll be hustling on board (didn’t use that exact word, but something comparable) to get out on time.
As of 12:00, they’re getting ready to close the door. An FA is asking people to “try not to use the bathroom” since we’re running late and need to close.
I’m a longtime United flyer who took a status match to Delta Platinum late last year. In my experience with United, I haven’t seen that carrier delay boarding for a VIP. I fly largely in and out of Dulles and DCA — lots of members of Congress and senior officials — and, nonetheless, I’m not aware of one of my flights taking a delay for one. (And, though I can’t say for certain, I don’t think United at Dulles is using back doors to get VIPs onboard in secret.)
Is holding boarding for a celebrity common in the NYC/LA markets? Is it a Delta practice? Because I would be surprised to see United delay the start of general boarding for a celebrity in virtually any circumstance (except, maybe, if they had a Secret Service detail), and I’d be shocked if they delayed boarding to the point of taking a departure delay simply because some celebrity was taking his time showing up.
Then again, my initial sense has been that United puts more emphasis on on-time departures than does Delta. That’s simply based on the sense of urgency I’ve seen from gate agents. So maybe tonight was reflective of a broader distinction in company policy.
Around 11:33 the agents board a wheelchair passenger. But then, we wait. About 3-4 minutes later — this feels like a while when you’re waiting at the gate and worrying, needlessly, about your right connection at JFK — an agent gets on the mic to announce we’re waiting before a passenger “needs some extra time” to board. I assume they’re talking about the wheelchair passenger, though it’s been a little while.
Then, just before 11:40, a very fashionably dressed young man walks up casually, passes the line, and is ushered to the boarding-pass scanner by a Delta agent who has apparently been waiting for him at the gate. Clearly, the guy’s a celebrity (I dunno who). He gives the agent a handshake and pats his back — he is apparently the Delta agent’s assignee — and boards.
As soon as he’s on the jet bridge, a gate agent gets on the intercom to announce we’ll be hustling on board (didn’t use that exact word, but something comparable) to get out on time.
As of 12:00, they’re getting ready to close the door. An FA is asking people to “try not to use the bathroom” since we’re running late and need to close.
I’m a longtime United flyer who took a status match to Delta Platinum late last year. In my experience with United, I haven’t seen that carrier delay boarding for a VIP. I fly largely in and out of Dulles and DCA — lots of members of Congress and senior officials — and, nonetheless, I’m not aware of one of my flights taking a delay for one. (And, though I can’t say for certain, I don’t think United at Dulles is using back doors to get VIPs onboard in secret.)
Is holding boarding for a celebrity common in the NYC/LA markets? Is it a Delta practice? Because I would be surprised to see United delay the start of general boarding for a celebrity in virtually any circumstance (except, maybe, if they had a Secret Service detail), and I’d be shocked if they delayed boarding to the point of taking a departure delay simply because some celebrity was taking his time showing up.
Then again, my initial sense has been that United puts more emphasis on on-time departures than does Delta. That’s simply based on the sense of urgency I’ve seen from gate agents. So maybe tonight was reflective of a broader distinction in company policy.
I fly the LAX-JFK route often and we never hold for celebs, they’re brought to the plane with a handler, but we still do our thing and board on time. The timeframe you describe sounds like the normal time it takes to service a widebody. I think that the jumpseater simply arrived well timed to the start of boarding. Also, if the wheelchair was an aisle chair, that requires a not insignificant amount of handling. Sounds to me like it was a multitude of negative factors for your flight, TBH.
Feb 29, 2020, 3:22 am
#60
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 224
This is a formal program Delta offers as a paid service at certain airports: https://www.businessinsider.com/delt...parazzi-2015-6