Ignorant people who can't board their flights on time....but excusing those on late running connections.

This morning we landed at LAX, after flying 13 or so hours from Sydney, we were tired, already running late and just happy to hit the ground. Only to find that an Hawaiian plane was at our gate. Well that's fair enough, after all we were late.

We continued to sit and sit, waiting for them to leave the gate, only to be told they were waiting for a family of 4 to board the plane. We sat on the tarmac, waiting for over 30 minutes.

Now to some, 30 minutes may not be a big deal, but trust me, after 13 hours, it is a big deal. I just hope these late boarders have good excuses, like one of the kids got their head stuck in a toilet or something.

Why can't people board on time? They have ample notice of what time their plane is departing, from the time they book the ticket. It's almost as bad as people on bus tours who are constantly late getting back on the bus.

I think the motto should be, if they aren't there, and don't have a good excuse, then go without them.

A very jet lagged Phoebe

and some airilnes are being more lenient with pax who got stuck in security, or whose connection was legal when it was booked but now isn;t enough time to transfer...esp at LAX where security is very much tighter than other places.

It is my sincere wish that this is the worst thing you EVER have to complain about.

Actually..I think I said that my whine was not aimed at people with late connections.

It is aimed at people who have plenty of time to board and who are just to inconsiderate to think of their fellow travellers.

In the future you may want to take the time to read my posts carefully.

Phoebe

ps..Don't worry, I have had worse things to complain about. It's just I use these forums to discuss travel related matters

I've noticed something rather strange about boarding and disembarking....
When they call for people needing assistance to board you see the usual situations and attributes, and these folks generally board first. So far, OK.
However, when the plane lands then these "assistance required" folks disembark with everyone else with the vigor and vitality of a 20-year old athlete. Makes me wonder.

I have wondered the same thing Mark.

I am a paraplegic, who can walk...most of the time, however depending on the day I may need assistance. I hate being first on and last off the plane. So I would rather struggle and do it on my own than have to wait for them to get me off the plane.

I remember reading about a quadraplegic woman who was left on a North West flight. The staff left the plane and forgot to help her off, she was stuck on the plane for hours. Maybe the thought of that is enough to heal the cripple at disembarking time .

Phoebe


[This message has been edited by Feebster (edited 10-11-2001).]

Phoebe
I hope that you are never at an airport 3+ hours ahead of time and after waiting 1 1/2 hours to check your bags you are told that you have been randomly "chosen" for a hand search. Another line another 45 minutes. Now the security line! But the plane ,knowing what is happening to you, elects to wait a little longer so you can make it.Then the next day you go to check the FT post and see that someone was inconvenienced. It could happen.
IMHO, unless one personally knows that the "late" person was tardy because of their negligence, it's best to appreciate that a pilot and crew were considerate enough to wait a little while. The next time it could be them.

(Originally posted by Feebster)
<< Ignorant people who can't board their flights on time....but excusing those on late running connections. >>
...
<< Why can't people board on time? They have ample notice of what time their plane is departing, from the time they book the ticket. It's almost as bad as people on bus tours who are constantly late getting back on the bus. >>

Did the crew on your plane confirm the delay was due to lazy, inconsiderate people, and not a late connection or security delay? Didn't think so. Why are you complaining about a situation you know virtually nothing about?

Again...I said, I can excuse late connections. We have all been in that situation.

And yes, I myself was subject to a random baggage check of both my check in luggage, then at the gate my hand luggage, as were all passengers on my flight from SYD to LAX.

We all know there are inconsiderate flyers who just don't hurry to get on the plane, so let's not be so high and mighty.

Maybe they were on a late connection, maybe they were checked by security, or maybe they were just inconsiderate. I don't know why there were delayed, and no one else does either. It was just a general comment using an unknown family of 4 as an example.

If you are a member of this family and were on a late connection or delayed because you were checked by security, please accept my sincere apologies.

Phoebe


[This message has been edited by Feebster (edited 10-11-2001).]

I had a miserable experience earlier this year ATH - LHR - JFK on BA. Without going into all the details here, the fact that they held the first flight for an elite family -- the crew were all smiles that they were blessed with this presence -- played havoc with my connection at LHR. I was sprinting faster than O.J. ever could through there to make it.

I wonder if anyone on the plane was grumbling about how inconsiderate you were being...

Anyway. When I was waiting for a plane in Pittsburgh (I think it was -- you know you travel too much when the airports and trips blur) this guy came running to a gate that was just about to close. He was begging the gate attendant to hold it open a few minutes longer, his friend was being checked at security.

Well, the gate attendant lectured him on "this is why you have to get here two hours early, sir." The man was very polite, but did point out that he'd had one cancelled flight that morning, and failed to get on his previous backup flight because -- you guessed it -- security checks. They had told him when they made this reservation for him that he'd have to hurry to make it, but it's the best they could do.

Anyway, the story had a happy ending. Both of the men got on the plane, though the gate attendant was quite adamant on closing the gate exactly at 10 minutes until flight time, no holding it. And this wasn't even a Delta "no waivers, no favor" flight!

So sometimes they don't hold the plane. I can see holding it when there's late connections, ridiculous security lines, etc., etc. Holding it for elite passengers who are lollygagging is another story, of course.

Overall, I just don't see this as much of a problem. The airlines want to get out on time (unless there' money involved).I fly a lot, and rarely are my delays based on these "ill mannered" type of fliers. And if it were, I would have no way of knowing.

It may have been an inconsiderate family holding up the plane but sometimes the airline has to wait anyway because:

They may have had checked baggage and the only way the plane could leave without them is hunting in the baggage hold to take out their baggage.

Another reason why a plane is late is that it was delayed in the first place and some passengers, expecting several 20 minute segments tacked onto the delay one at a time, go out to get something to eat and don't get back when the airline does not tack on another twenty minutes to the delay. The airline is much to blame here.

Other travel tips:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/travel.htm

Good point about the luggage.

We had pulled back from the gate - the family boarded from the tarmac via stairs.
The family seemed to ake it in their stride -no evidence that they were concerned about how close they'd come.
The kicker came at LHR. BA @ ATH was "unable" to issue our connecting boarding passes. We assumed we were being bumped. Arriving breathless at the JFK gate, we were asked, "So ... where are your boarding passes?" They printed a set for us, but seemed rather unsympathetic about doing so.