LyfeSaver

It's a long story, so if you have time, read on.

I don't know if anyone remembers but on DEC 14 THURSDAY PHL had a bad case of fog that cased a lot of flights to be cancelled or delayed for a long, long, long time.

Flew on US from ITH-PHL, stuck on runway for landing clearance in PHL for 2 hours after the expected departure time. When we finally went, the fog got horrible and we ended up circling for another hour north of PHL before we landed. (Haha, the captain announed, "We will ATTEMPT to land, and we'll see." )

Like a lot of people, I missed my connection (somehow my other flight left in this condition, weird, but oh well.) and I expected to have already been rebooked or something done by the time I got to an agent.

Well, they had done nothing about the booking for me, or anyone who was on the same flight. Although to my knowledge I knew this should've done normally, as I thought people at the arrival airport, in case of a severe delay (ours was 4 hours) they try to accomodate the pax with other options prior to arrival or something.

But I thought oh well, it's just a bad day for UA and everyone, no big deal, I can handle this, they're busy. I dial United1 and ask for rebooking and the agent tells me that she would rebook me on UA 519 PHL-ORD leaving at 7:55 PM, informed me that my bags would be automatically transferred to the new flight, and thanked me for my understanding. She says I needed to go to an agent to be issued a new boarding pass. Thought, great, I can get home within today! So I go up to an agent and ask for the BP and she informs me that my bag was released to the baggage claim area and that I needed to retrieve it from claim F???? Uh, I ask, why would you do that? She goes, I dont know. I was in Term D and this meant walking all the way back and take the shuttle again back to F where I arrived into from an US flight?

I decide to speak to the checkin agent before I go back and get my bag from F because this agent @ the gate I had spoken to seemed very unhappy, which I understood to be normal on a horrible day. The checkin agent tells me that she would try and find my bag! GREAT! THANK YOU! So she finds my bag and well, I check them again (I still dont know why I had to go down there and recheck my bags, my bag was tagged all the way through ORD, my final destination, so I would've expected it to get on one of these flights to go there.)

All this, oh well, maybe it was because i didnt have an automatic rebook, thats probably why they released the bag, and its a painful day for everyone so no biggie.

Well, the fog gets worse, by the time I get back to gate D13 my flight is now leaving @ 9:30 pm. That's ok. Hah, it gets delayed again to 10:30, 11:30, and I'm still thinking, eh, its the weather, lets not get pissed.

But I look to the left and I discover UA 563 or sometihng that is leaving an hour early. I go up to the GA there named Rxxxxx and ask, "Hi, blahblah happened and I'm on 519. Is there any way that I can standby for 563? I know I checked bags but I dont really care if I get there before the bags, I just need to be there ASAP, myself only." "No." "Oh, is the standby list full?" "No." "Oh, is the flight overbooked?" "No." "Oh, then is there room on the plane and do i stand a chance for clearing a seat based on the list and the availability as a GM?" "Yes." "Then could you please put me on the stby list?" "No. Sir can't you see I am helping OTHER passengers?" "No, I can't - I was in the line for near half an hour and I think you are helping me right now." "SIR YOU ARE ON 519 AND I AM TRYING TO ASSIST PAX ON UA 563. Yes I have the room and yes the list isnt full and yes I have the capability to do so. but I will not have you stand by for this flight. I have been telling this to everyone that came up to me." So I go, "So you've been telling people that you can't simply help them because they arent on 563?" "Yes. And you are no exception." "Ok, I understand that htis is a bad day but people come up to you for a reason - to get help because everyone is trying to get home. If you are telling people to take a hike when they come to you for help, is there a reason why we should bother to talk to you?" "Sir, step aside please."



This flight got delayed again obviously but left at around 10 30 pm with plenty of GMs I was talking to that day in the terminal. 519 left D13 at around 2 AM.



Was I mistreated or was I crazy to expect to be put on the standby list?

jhayes_1780

mistreated? I don't know... but, you should have DEFINETELY been put on the standby list for the earlier flight (FWIW, I think you could have done it at any ez chein kisok) I would have waited and asked again, or went to another gate and asked for a DM card for the earlier flight.

As far as the bags.... I would lean toward US screwing that one up and not UA.

LyfeSaver

Yeah...

The bags were apparently "trasnferred to UA" but then got released according to the agent, I should've been more clear. I'm not all that too unhappy, because I'm sure everyone resulted from the bad weather.. but thought I would share my feelings towards hearing, "Yes I can, but I will not."

vt2k

Are you sure this was at PHL and not IAD? That's usually the treatment from GAs at IAD. Rather rude bunch they are.

aisleorwindow

You got screwed.

In the amount of time he argued with you he could have put 5 people on the standby list (it takes literally less than a minute to do this).
You should have gone to another agent, but oh well. Since you know the guy's name, I would write a letter.

Miles Ahead

I discovered something amazing on Sunday. Any agent at any gate can put you on the standby list for any flight at that airport. (And issue you a BP, if it clears) Whether the agent will do this is another story, of course, and I can imagine them not wanting to do this too often less chaos ensue, but they can.

roberto99

You must mean the standby list for any flight on their own airline at that airport.

Javan69

You're complaining about the fog in Philly and having to wait for clearance? 2 weeks ago SOF (Bulgaria) was so fogged in we had to land in Belgrade, Serbia and take a 10 hour bus ride, leaving at 4:30 p.m. (add an hour for time difference). The fog was still there 5 days later when my 6 am --> FRA became 1pm --> MUC. That's fog.

pagotto

PHL UA agents are hit and miss. A couple are great, a couple can drive you up the wall, and the rest are average. Part of the problem is the station is chronically understaffed - try checking in this summer at 2pm on a Sunday and seeing one agent behind the counter - with no one staffing the Premier line - and being told to wait 30 minutes since they are between shifts. Yeah. And, add to it a bunch of Mesa flights with int'l connections.

Miles Ahead

There are other airlines?

But seriously, yes, that's what I meant.

Bluehen1

The fog last week was bad.. even down here in Dover 60 miles away.. and the OPs trip reminded me of my own attempt to get to PHL from DCA which took 9 hours of sitting on an RJ and a diversion to AVP

wcj1

You must mean the standby list for any flight on their own airline at any airport.

I always try to get all my standby cards in order at my departure, in case my connection is late, or like was mentioned earlier, you get to another airport and the first agent you see does not want to help you because they are not working your particular flight.

BillJ