Kudos on irregular ops at Hobby
Jan 26, 2012 | 7:10 pm
#1
Original Poster
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Westminster, CO
Programs: United Silver, Delta Silver, Hyatt Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 119
Kudos on irregular ops at Hobby
Headed home for DEN, I was at Hobby yesterday during all of the uncertain weather. The airport was on a ground stop for more than 90 minutes. The Frontier terminal crew handled it extremely well. They kept us informed, were cool and collected and managed to pull off an inbound and outbound turnaround in less than 35 minutes. Frontier was the first plane in and the first one out... many other airlines diverted flights but F9 circled waiting for an opening. While we were on board the flight to DEN, the FAs kept all connecting pax apprised of their continuing flights and on landing in DEN we let them all get off first. I heard in the concourse that they actually held a flight for a couple of connections. All in all, super work by all concerned! 
I'm so glad that I wasn't on UA or SW.
I'm so glad that I wasn't on UA or SW.
Jan 26, 2012 | 8:59 pm
#2
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,653
Thanks for your report...and I'm glad things went well!
Increasingly I'm hearing F/A announcing information helpful for tight connections, including asking (in some cases) that passengers connecting to XXX and YYY be allowed to exit first, while asking everyone else to remain seated for a few moments. That's really encouraging because:
--It shows that there's someone in a service operations area who's keeping abreast of jeopardized connections.
--It means that information is being successfully transmitted to the aircraft.
--It means the F/A are engaged and proactive enough to use that information successfully.
We've probably all been on flights where F/A either gave blind reassurances about connections with no basis, or who seemed disinterested or not (reasonably) able to get information for customers nervous about missing a connection. It's not always the F/A's fault, because if at-risk connection information isn't identified and passed along to the plane, the F/A has no way of knowing. But in this case...and on a couple of recent flights I've been on...the cabin crew new what connections were in danger and had accurate information to help those passengers make their flight with as little delay as possible.
I've also noticed a notable amount of flights holding in the past few weeks in MKE and MCI. Now holding isn't always the best answer in every situation...I'm not saying it is. But it's good to know that someone is watching and making decisions, versus just letting things happen. In the past year or two I've personally seen at least three occasions where someone missed a connection because their departing flight pushed back early and the gate agent wasn't aware or asked to hold. At least lately...someone is on the ball.
Every airline has the ability to succeed or screw up in this area from episode to episode. It's good to see successful execution here.
Increasingly I'm hearing F/A announcing information helpful for tight connections, including asking (in some cases) that passengers connecting to XXX and YYY be allowed to exit first, while asking everyone else to remain seated for a few moments. That's really encouraging because:
--It shows that there's someone in a service operations area who's keeping abreast of jeopardized connections.
--It means that information is being successfully transmitted to the aircraft.
--It means the F/A are engaged and proactive enough to use that information successfully.
We've probably all been on flights where F/A either gave blind reassurances about connections with no basis, or who seemed disinterested or not (reasonably) able to get information for customers nervous about missing a connection. It's not always the F/A's fault, because if at-risk connection information isn't identified and passed along to the plane, the F/A has no way of knowing. But in this case...and on a couple of recent flights I've been on...the cabin crew new what connections were in danger and had accurate information to help those passengers make their flight with as little delay as possible.
I've also noticed a notable amount of flights holding in the past few weeks in MKE and MCI. Now holding isn't always the best answer in every situation...I'm not saying it is. But it's good to know that someone is watching and making decisions, versus just letting things happen. In the past year or two I've personally seen at least three occasions where someone missed a connection because their departing flight pushed back early and the gate agent wasn't aware or asked to hold. At least lately...someone is on the ball.
Every airline has the ability to succeed or screw up in this area from episode to episode. It's good to see successful execution here.
Jan 26, 2012 | 11:24 pm
#4
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: IHG, MP, Enterprise+
Posts: 250
It is episodes like this that attract and retain customers.
I have witnessed similar situations on F9 myself, and waited for a few moments while wide-eyed passengers run full-throttle for their next flight.
Those of us with time were happy to yield, and those without the time were all greatly appreciative.
I think that it's fair to say that all of us are happy to be flying with an airline that is doing everything it can to get people to their destinations on time.
I have witnessed similar situations on F9 myself, and waited for a few moments while wide-eyed passengers run full-throttle for their next flight.
Those of us with time were happy to yield, and those without the time were all greatly appreciative.
I think that it's fair to say that all of us are happy to be flying with an airline that is doing everything it can to get people to their destinations on time.