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Old May 11, 2004 | 11:25 am
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Cool Sharing a shuttle bus with Flight Crew

Last Friday night, in ABQ, I was refused a ride to the hotel in a Sunport shuttle bus because the driver was transporting a flight crew to their hotel. After much arguing, I ended up not getting on that shuttle, nor the next one, as it arrived to also pick up a flight crew. Finally, on the third bus, I was given a ride to the hotel, alone.
The driver told me it was an FAA regulation that us low-life non flight crew people not ride with flight crews, but I've ridden with them recently in Chicago.
What is the deal here, and if it is a rule, or part of their contract, why?
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Old May 11, 2004 | 11:35 am
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I rode in the same shuttle bus as an Alaska Air flight attendant a few months ago. Was this policy unique to Sunport?
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Old May 11, 2004 | 11:51 am
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Originally Posted by doctall41
The driver told me it was an FAA regulation that us low-life non flight crew people not ride with flight crews
As you are quoting an actual person here .....

If the driver did indeed tell you that you were "low-life" do please write to the hotel in question and that will be the end of them driving any hotel guests.

If the driver did not tell you that you were "low-life" do please post an apology here for such a slur on their character.
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Old May 11, 2004 | 12:26 pm
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As far as I know, no such FAA regulation exists. Like others here, I have also ridden in a hotel shuttle with airline crew.

However, I wouldn't be surprised if the airline crew commandeered the shuttle for their own use (not literally, but demanding that they be served separately).

One time I waited for a scheduled hotel shuttle early in the morning, and I found out that some airline crew showed up 15 minutes early and demanded to leave NOW. Why, they just couldn't be bothered with the posted schedule (the one that says "5:00 AM") that the rest of us live by.

I was very mad that the hotel let them do this, and I swore I would never stay there again, and I've kept my promise. I suggest you do the same.

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Old May 11, 2004 | 1:38 pm
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Originally Posted by WHBM
As you are quoting an actual person here .....

If the driver did indeed tell you that you were "low-life" do please write to the hotel in question and that will be the end of them driving any hotel guests.

If the driver did not tell you that you were "low-life" do please post an apology here for such a slur on their character.
WHBM,
I looked back at my original post and didn't see any quotation marks, so I'm sorry to have confused you. I wasn't quoting.
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Old May 11, 2004 | 1:41 pm
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Originally Posted by WillTravel
I rode in the same shuttle bus as an Alaska Air flight attendant a few months ago. Was this policy unique to Sunport?
The Sunport driver told me it was FAA, but I didnt believe him. He said that if a passenger had something on his clothing, such as, oh, I don't know, anthrax, or some disease or biological agent, it might accidently brush against the pilot or FA, and then they might carry it across the country on their next flight. I asked him why I was able to be around them in a plane or in the airport. He said, "I guess it only matters on a shuttle bus".
Sounds pretty far-fetched, but that is how it went.
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Old May 11, 2004 | 1:43 pm
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Originally Posted by JS
As far as I know, no such FAA regulation exists. Like others here, I have also ridden in a hotel shuttle with airline crew.

However, I wouldn't be surprised if the airline crew commandeered the shuttle for their own use (not literally, but demanding that they be served separately).

One time I waited for a scheduled hotel shuttle early in the morning, and I found out that some airline crew showed up 15 minutes early and demanded to leave NOW. Why, they just couldn't be bothered with the posted schedule (the one that says "5:00 AM") that the rest of us live by.

I was very mad that the hotel let them do this, and I swore I would never stay there again, and I've kept my promise. I suggest you do the same.

Then to top it off, the next morning, getting a Sunport ride on one of their taxis, which is also paid by the hotel, the driver tried to charge me for the ride. I told him that it was the responsibility of the hotel to pay for my ride. I think he was just trying to make a few extra bucks off someone unaware of the situation, but it didn't work with me.
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Old May 11, 2004 | 3:21 pm
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The standard airline contract with a hotel for shuttle service to/from the airport requires that the shuttle be exclusively assigned for the use of airline employees. Don't blame the driver, he was simply doing what his contract requires him to do.

Most security conscious airlines will not rely on a hotel shuttle to/from the airport for their crew, but rather a private contractor with a vehicle checked out by and accompanied by company security personnel.
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Old May 11, 2004 | 3:48 pm
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Maybe it's some kind of a state law? I also had a similar problem in ABQ, but I never had it anywhere else.
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Old May 11, 2004 | 6:04 pm
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A couple weeks ago I was on the DC city bus from the DC metro system to BWI. Because of the women's rights march that weekend, the Sunday evening bus was filled to capacity, with 18 of us having to stand for the 30-minute ride. That included a flight attendant for Omni Air International who was standing in front of me. Apparently there are no FAA rules or special treatment on city buses!
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Old May 11, 2004 | 7:39 pm
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FAA regulation, my as*. How convenient to use the FAA as a bad guy for every rule you can't explain.

I, too, find this puzzling. I think the only time I took a shuttle with a flight crew was in BHM in 2000 but they were perfectly nice and didn't seem to mind having a "layperson" along.
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Old May 11, 2004 | 8:59 pm
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There is no such FAA rule. Some airline's contracts with the hotels may require separate transportation but that's the exception, not the rule.

Complain to the hotel manager.
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Old May 12, 2004 | 7:40 am
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Originally Posted by doctall41
The Sunport driver told me it was FAA, but I didnt believe him. He said that if a passenger had something on his clothing, such as, oh, I don't know, anthrax, or some disease or biological agent, it might accidently brush against the pilot or FA, and then they might carry it across the country on their next flight. I asked him why I was able to be around them in a plane or in the airport. He said, "I guess it only matters on a shuttle bus".
Sounds pretty far-fetched, but that is how it went.
...because this clearly won't happen with other fellow travelers, only with crew....
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Old May 12, 2004 | 10:39 am
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Where is Sunport?
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Old May 12, 2004 | 11:11 am
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Cool

Originally Posted by Billiken
Where is Sunport?
In my doghouse
On my S***list
In Albuquerque
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