Unmarked Planes
Feb 13, 2010, 4:52 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: America's Dairyland
Programs: Midwest Miles, Early Returns
Posts: 156
Unmarked Planes
A few weeks ago I flew YX MKE-MSP on an E145. The plane had no name on it. It was blue and white but it was a very dark blue, not the Midwest blue. Anyone know what airline those 145s came from? At least we got one, cold cookie en route! Also, wondering why we have to board out on the tarmac when other gates with jetways were open. Maybe the jetways at MKE don't connect with the 145s? At MSP we deplaned on a jetway. Personally I kind of like to board outdoors but I could see where with inclement weather it would be very uncomfortable.
Feb 13, 2010, 5:14 pm
#2
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: The views I express here are not necessarily supported by any airline or codeshare partners, nor do I represent their views and/or opinions. They are my own OPINIONS dont like them dont read them.....
Posts: 1,462
That plane would be one of our "generic" planes that we can fly on any of the codeshares we fly for. Chautauqua flies for DL, UA, YX, CO, US, and AA. The EMB 145's are not equiped with ovens so the cookies will always be cold on those flights. I don't believe the jetways in MKE are certified to be used on the 145's.
Feb 13, 2010, 7:16 pm
#3
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,653
The E145's and E135's regularly use jetways in Milwaukee, with 6 of 14 jetways set up with the RJ adapter bridge. However as the number of large-jet flights has increased, the large majority of RJ flights are ground level boarding. At peak times there's only room for a couple of RJ's to use jetways.
At slower times, they still tend to put RJ's at the ground-boarding gates even if jetways are open. A couple reasons for this:
(a) Not all jetways are RJ-capable.
(b) It you put an RJ at a jetway and there is an irregular ops situation (weather, mechanical, ATC delay, etc) that jetway is unavailable until the RJ can leave. There are only so many jetways, and A319/E190/E170's must use a jetway.
(c) Ramp teams cover sets of gates, so in smaller banks they try to cluster planes together for more efficiency. During smaller banks...especially banks which are primarily RJ...they could put an RJ over on a jetway like 45. But if it's the only flight on the hammerhead, it's not an efficient use of rampers.
(d) The ground-boarding "20's" gates have three consolidated gates, which means multiple planes can be better served by fewer gate agents. Commonly they put two agents at a gate which might serve three parking spots, so it's not like there's normally one agent serving six departures. But most conventional jetway gate positions serve only a single aircraft. So when an RJ is at a gate like 43, either you have two agents serving just a couple of dozen passengers (not very efficient) or a solo agent who can only do one thing at a time...answer the phone, help a customer, go down the jetway to find the F/A, pull boarding passes, etc. Not the best for helping customers.
So while it would be nice to have more RJ's using jetways, there are reasons why the majority don't.
At slower times, they still tend to put RJ's at the ground-boarding gates even if jetways are open. A couple reasons for this:
(a) Not all jetways are RJ-capable.
(b) It you put an RJ at a jetway and there is an irregular ops situation (weather, mechanical, ATC delay, etc) that jetway is unavailable until the RJ can leave. There are only so many jetways, and A319/E190/E170's must use a jetway.
(c) Ramp teams cover sets of gates, so in smaller banks they try to cluster planes together for more efficiency. During smaller banks...especially banks which are primarily RJ...they could put an RJ over on a jetway like 45. But if it's the only flight on the hammerhead, it's not an efficient use of rampers.
(d) The ground-boarding "20's" gates have three consolidated gates, which means multiple planes can be better served by fewer gate agents. Commonly they put two agents at a gate which might serve three parking spots, so it's not like there's normally one agent serving six departures. But most conventional jetway gate positions serve only a single aircraft. So when an RJ is at a gate like 43, either you have two agents serving just a couple of dozen passengers (not very efficient) or a solo agent who can only do one thing at a time...answer the phone, help a customer, go down the jetway to find the F/A, pull boarding passes, etc. Not the best for helping customers.
So while it would be nice to have more RJ's using jetways, there are reasons why the majority don't.
Feb 14, 2010, 10:01 am
#4
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,653
For what it's worth, here's the gate usage for the 1:45pm bank today, Sunday 2/14. RJ flights are in bold
Jetwatys
D30 OMA
D34 DCA
D36 CMH
D38 LGA
D39 PHX
D41 FNT
D42 ATL
D43 no flight...A319 from DEN arrives 2:25pm
D44 DFW
D45 IND
D46/47 BOS
D48/49 MSP
D51 MCI
D53 ATW
No jetways
D27 PIT
D27 MSN
D28 GRR
D29 GRB
In this particular bank it's 50/50 with jetway or no jetway for the RJ's.
Jetwatys
D30 OMA
D34 DCA
D36 CMH
D38 LGA
D39 PHX
D41 FNT
D42 ATL
D43 no flight...A319 from DEN arrives 2:25pm
D44 DFW
D45 IND
D46/47 BOS
D48/49 MSP
D51 MCI
D53 ATW
No jetways
D27 PIT
D27 MSN
D28 GRR
D29 GRB
In this particular bank it's 50/50 with jetway or no jetway for the RJ's.