SFO 1K

I am fairly certain when the brakes are released the message in ACARS reflects the aircraft has left the gate and then the website will say taxiing to runway.

Similarly when the brake is set on arrival the aircraft has "arrived". It might take you 45 min to get off the plane but it parked and arrived when the brake is locked.

Keep in mind these status changes not only update the website, but they impact crew compensation. Crew is paid from brake release to brake set. All that time before they close the door and when they say "buh-bye" there is no compensation.

SFO 1K

Oh and "departed" is wheels up and "landed" is wheels down and this is also automated via ACARS messaging.

tom911

Expert Flyer showed they departed the gate at 1746, one hour late, and are due into Seattle at 2053, some 54 mins late. I retrieved that info just 10 mins ago.

I just went back and checked again before posting and the time has changed to 2217 now.

In the interim I checked Flightstats.com and it shows the same 1746 departure but an estimated arrival at 2217. That prompted me to go back to Expert Flyer where I noticed they've changed to 2217, too.

PsiFighter37

My wife texted me well after 5:46 and said there was an issue loading luggage on the plane. The time makes zero sense.

Looking at the map, there is a lot of weather they would be flying through approaching. If I were a betting person this is going to be a long night.

tom911

Could be they closed the door and pulled back the ramp at 1746, while still loading bags. Ask her when she lands and let us know.

PsiFighter37

That'll be a fun discussion for sure.

Also, the 7:01 PM EWR-SEA took off 20 minutes late...the 4:45 PM is still on the ground. I don't understand how they can let a flight that (ostensibly) departs later go first...

ETA: the dude I spoke to on the hotline told me that the 7:01 PM plane was on the ground, even though the website and app clearly show that's it has traveled from EWR. Clowns. Completely destroys her weekend (and costs her basically several hours she could have been doing work). Being stuck on a POS A320 with no power on top of it.

PsiFighter37

Update: they went back to the gate to get new flight plan + more fuel (guess you burn quite a bit when you diddle around doing nothing). Flight delayed 4+ hours at this point.

tom911

Blame the weather around Newark or en route from Newark. Not sure I'd blame UA if ATC is not letting them promptly take off. Your bigger worry now might be if the crew times out, particularly if they started somewhere else this morning. Airport shows 40 min arrival delays due to thunderstorms plus this:

"SWAP" stands for severe weather avoidance plan.

PsiFighter37

Yeah, it sounds like the new flight plan is for weather.

If they cancel the flight for some reason, though, the itinerary is basically dead...there's one nonstop EWR-SEA tomorrow, and it's in the afternoon. Wholly pointless to fly out for less than 24 hours.

Perhaps if they're back at the gate, there is another crew they could swap in if needed?

And they're still off the plane 15 minutes after 'estimated' departure time. I really do hate UA's nonsensical estimates when delays come into play.

tom911

Maybe not. There is a 2159 EWR-DEN if it gets out, and then an a.m. DEN-SEA at 0757 with arrival at 0952, but you'll likely need to be proactive and ask for those ( and it looks like it's down to one seat in F DEN-SEA). Even a 0600 DEN-SEA on Alaska with lots of seats. Just depends how badly the traveler needs to be there and if she is doing carry-on.

As to getting another crew, you'll just have to wait and see if they cancel or not. Imagine that decision will be made pretty soon.

PsiFighter37

Would be all carry-on (I have most of her clothes, so she probably doesn't even have an overhead bag). Can't really pull the trigger on changes yet until there is definitive cancellation. Departure time now 9:05 PM...

tom911

Departed at 2116 with a 0026 scheduled arrival.

PsiFighter37

Yep, they took off 5-10 minutes before the crew timed out. Flying one of the weirder routings I've seen

N674UW

The saga of UA 3869 EWR-PVD tonight - we were supposed to depart at 10:29 PM, but the plane (Q400) was over an hour late coming in from GSO. After the inbound flight deplaned, everyone lined up to board, but the gate agent disappeared shortly thereafter (and hasn't been seen since). A crew of mechanics then surrounded the nose gear and began inspecting it, and then disappeared for another 20 minutes or so. Meanwhile, up here in the terminal, we did not get any information at all in person since there is no gate agent, but my text messages kept blowing up as the departure time kept getting pushed back and back... Eventually the captain came up and did an absolutely fantastic job of fielding inquiries from fellow pax. He was noncommittal as to whether or not the flight would take place tonight, but he also urged us to contact United and let them know how unacceptable the situation was in terms of the lack of a gate agent.

As of right now (12:40 AM ET), 5 mechanics are working on the nose gear, although typically, only 1 of them is actually doing any kind of work while the other 4 are standing around and staring...the captain said their crew duty time is not an issue until 5 AM, but he said he would probably not wait that long before he and the f/o would be too exhausted to go...

physioprof

Flightaware shows that this flight did end up cancelled. It shows the final planned departure time at 1:40AM. And this flight was also cancelled on June 9.