Yet Again: Baggage Fiasco in PHL 7/21
Jul 22, 2006, 6:26 pm
#1
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Yet Again: Baggage Fiasco in PHL 7/21
PHL was again thrown into chaos after a brief thunderstorm blew over the airport. I can understand that regulations prevent ground staff from servicing airplanes during thunderstorms, however the time it took US Air to recover was totally unacceptable. Here are a few observations from my seat (we boarded at 2:00):
2:30PM - A fast moving thundercloud passed over the airport. By 3:00 the sun had come out but regulations (?) prevented baggage handlers from leaving the building for a specified amount of time.
3:30PM - Baggage crews begin work but not on our plane. The cockpit crew contacts US Air operations and asks for ramp workers but nothing happens.
4:00PM - The First Officer leaves the cockpit and walks down to the ramp to ask a ramp manager to get someone to service the plane. The ramp manager replied that they were backed up and short of staff; there was nothing he could do.
5:00PM - A passenger uses his cell phone to call US Airways headquarters to see if they could put pressure on the baggage handlers to service the plane. (Reminded me of the frustrated Northwest passenger who called John Dasburg when the airline held them "hostage" during the Detriot blizzard).
5:30PM - Baggage staff finally arrive. The cargo hold was never emptied when the plane arrived in PHL so the first task was to first unload the inbound luggage. (Imagine waiting in baggage claim for 3.5 hours before your bags start to come off the conveyor belt.)
6:00PM - The plane pushes back. Several passengers in window seats agree to wave their middle finger at the ramp worker backing the plane away from the gate. (The ramp worker doesn't look up.)
As the plane taxis out to the runway I saw luggage chaotically piled up on the ground, some piles were beside planes at gates, some piles were beside empty gates, and a few suitcases strewn haphazardly on the tarmac where there were no gates at all.
Is US Air chronically short staffed or are they held hostage by the ramp workers union and some archaic work rules? To say nothing of lost goodwill, they had to have taken a hit for overtime costs and lost luggage claim processing and shipments.
2:30PM - A fast moving thundercloud passed over the airport. By 3:00 the sun had come out but regulations (?) prevented baggage handlers from leaving the building for a specified amount of time.
3:30PM - Baggage crews begin work but not on our plane. The cockpit crew contacts US Air operations and asks for ramp workers but nothing happens.
4:00PM - The First Officer leaves the cockpit and walks down to the ramp to ask a ramp manager to get someone to service the plane. The ramp manager replied that they were backed up and short of staff; there was nothing he could do.
5:00PM - A passenger uses his cell phone to call US Airways headquarters to see if they could put pressure on the baggage handlers to service the plane. (Reminded me of the frustrated Northwest passenger who called John Dasburg when the airline held them "hostage" during the Detriot blizzard).
5:30PM - Baggage staff finally arrive. The cargo hold was never emptied when the plane arrived in PHL so the first task was to first unload the inbound luggage. (Imagine waiting in baggage claim for 3.5 hours before your bags start to come off the conveyor belt.)
6:00PM - The plane pushes back. Several passengers in window seats agree to wave their middle finger at the ramp worker backing the plane away from the gate. (The ramp worker doesn't look up.)
As the plane taxis out to the runway I saw luggage chaotically piled up on the ground, some piles were beside planes at gates, some piles were beside empty gates, and a few suitcases strewn haphazardly on the tarmac where there were no gates at all.
Is US Air chronically short staffed or are they held hostage by the ramp workers union and some archaic work rules? To say nothing of lost goodwill, they had to have taken a hit for overtime costs and lost luggage claim processing and shipments.
Last edited by edsh; Jul 22, 2006 at 6:33 pm
Jul 23, 2006, 5:14 am
#2
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Originally Posted by edsh
PHL was again thrown into chaos after a brief thunderstorm blew over the airport. I can understand that regulations prevent ground staff from servicing airplanes during thunderstorms, however the time it took US Air to recover was totally unacceptable. Here are a few observations from my seat (we boarded at 2:00):
2:30PM - A fast moving thundercloud passed over the airport. By 3:00 the sun had come out but regulations (?) prevented baggage handlers from leaving the building for a specified amount of time.
3:30PM - Baggage crews begin work but not on our plane. The cockpit crew contacts US Air operations and asks for ramp workers but nothing happens.
4:00PM - The First Officer leaves the cockpit and walks down to the ramp to ask a ramp manager to get someone to service the plane. The ramp manager replied that they were backed up and short of staff; there was nothing he could do.
5:00PM - A passenger uses his cell phone to call US Airways headquarters to see if they could put pressure on the baggage handlers to service the plane. (Reminded me of the frustrated Northwest passenger who called John Dasburg when the airline held them "hostage" during the Detriot blizzard).
5:30PM - Baggage staff finally arrive. The cargo hold was never emptied when the plane arrived in PHL so the first task was to first unload the inbound luggage. (Imagine waiting in baggage claim for 3.5 hours before your bags start to come off the conveyor belt.)
6:00PM - The plane pushes back. Several passengers in window seats agree to wave their middle finger at the ramp worker backing the plane away from the gate. (The ramp worker doesn't look up.)
As the plane taxis out to the runway I saw luggage chaotically piled up on the ground, some piles were beside planes at gates, some piles were beside empty gates, and a few suitcases strewn haphazardly on the tarmac where there were no gates at all.
Is US Air chronically short staffed or are they held hostage by the ramp workers union and some archaic work rules? To say nothing of lost goodwill, they had to have taken a hit for overtime costs and lost luggage claim processing and shipments.
2:30PM - A fast moving thundercloud passed over the airport. By 3:00 the sun had come out but regulations (?) prevented baggage handlers from leaving the building for a specified amount of time.
3:30PM - Baggage crews begin work but not on our plane. The cockpit crew contacts US Air operations and asks for ramp workers but nothing happens.
4:00PM - The First Officer leaves the cockpit and walks down to the ramp to ask a ramp manager to get someone to service the plane. The ramp manager replied that they were backed up and short of staff; there was nothing he could do.
5:00PM - A passenger uses his cell phone to call US Airways headquarters to see if they could put pressure on the baggage handlers to service the plane. (Reminded me of the frustrated Northwest passenger who called John Dasburg when the airline held them "hostage" during the Detriot blizzard).
5:30PM - Baggage staff finally arrive. The cargo hold was never emptied when the plane arrived in PHL so the first task was to first unload the inbound luggage. (Imagine waiting in baggage claim for 3.5 hours before your bags start to come off the conveyor belt.)
6:00PM - The plane pushes back. Several passengers in window seats agree to wave their middle finger at the ramp worker backing the plane away from the gate. (The ramp worker doesn't look up.)
As the plane taxis out to the runway I saw luggage chaotically piled up on the ground, some piles were beside planes at gates, some piles were beside empty gates, and a few suitcases strewn haphazardly on the tarmac where there were no gates at all.
Is US Air chronically short staffed or are they held hostage by the ramp workers union and some archaic work rules? To say nothing of lost goodwill, they had to have taken a hit for overtime costs and lost luggage claim processing and shipments.
Jul 23, 2006, 8:25 am
#3
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Looks like 6/22 was worse.
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?se...cal&id=4391999
US Airways Taking the Heat from Passengers
July 23, 2006 - US Airways is getting an earful from some passengers who spent hours waiting at Philadelphia International Airport.
Action News caught up with the passengers, who came in late Saturday night from Charlotte. The weather delayed their arrival by an hour. But frustrations mounted after they had to wait hours more... just to FIND their luggage.
Among the complaints, some passengers said US Airways pointed them to the wrong carousel for their luggage.
Action News made calls to US Airways for a response, but we got busy signals.
(Copyright 2006 by 6abc and Action News. All Rights Reserved.)
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?se...cal&id=4391999
US Airways Taking the Heat from Passengers
July 23, 2006 - US Airways is getting an earful from some passengers who spent hours waiting at Philadelphia International Airport.
Action News caught up with the passengers, who came in late Saturday night from Charlotte. The weather delayed their arrival by an hour. But frustrations mounted after they had to wait hours more... just to FIND their luggage.
Among the complaints, some passengers said US Airways pointed them to the wrong carousel for their luggage.
Action News made calls to US Airways for a response, but we got busy signals.
(Copyright 2006 by 6abc and Action News. All Rights Reserved.)
Jul 23, 2006, 8:33 am
#4
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Originally Posted by edsh
Is US Air chronically short staffed or are they held hostage by the ramp workers union and some archaic work rules? To say nothing of lost goodwill, they had to have taken a hit for overtime costs and lost luggage claim processing and shipments.
Jul 23, 2006, 9:34 am
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In all fairness, the storms here yesterday (7/22) were NOT "light and fast moving", but were extremely heavy and about an hour long. I live in the city and could not see more than a block or so, plus very frequent lightning.
Doesn't matter how much you pay... nobody is going to work in that type of hazard. yes, PHL baggage sucks but so does weather.
Doesn't matter how much you pay... nobody is going to work in that type of hazard. yes, PHL baggage sucks but so does weather.
Jul 23, 2006, 9:59 am
#6
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Two hours seems like too long a time to recover, but the regulations you were wondering about are very simple. No human being makes the decision to close the ramp due to lightning. There's a lightning detection system that notices cloud to ground strikes within x number of miles. The ramp is closed until there have been no strikes within x miles for y minutes (I don't actually know the values for x and y).
During this time planes are still landing and boarding. The ramp, which is presumably staffed to handle the normal number of departures and arrivals, has to play catchup on all the planes they would have been servicing for that hour, as well as the arrivals and departures scheduled after that hour.
Nice job flipping off the guy getting $10 hour to throw bags in the rain and heat and snow and cold though. It's his fault they don't have enough staff to recover quickly from a thunderstorm. You sound disappointed he wasn't looking at the passengers in the windows instead of where he was pushing the million dollar airplane.
During this time planes are still landing and boarding. The ramp, which is presumably staffed to handle the normal number of departures and arrivals, has to play catchup on all the planes they would have been servicing for that hour, as well as the arrivals and departures scheduled after that hour.
Nice job flipping off the guy getting $10 hour to throw bags in the rain and heat and snow and cold though. It's his fault they don't have enough staff to recover quickly from a thunderstorm. You sound disappointed he wasn't looking at the passengers in the windows instead of where he was pushing the million dollar airplane.
Jul 23, 2006, 1:28 pm
#7
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Originally Posted by murphy
Nice job flipping off the guy getting $10 hour to throw bags in the rain and heat and snow and cold though. You sound disappointed he wasn't looking at the passengers in the windows instead of where he was pushing the million dollar airplane.
Paying someone $11/hour instead of $10 doesn't make him work faster. Hiring more people or finding a system to make the existing staff work more efficiently would be a solution.
Jul 24, 2006, 6:52 am
#8
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PHL is absolutely the WORST airport I have ever transfered through. US should put tons of pressure on themselves and the airport authority to improve the mess that is currently there.
I once saw an employee of one of those small push around vending carts (this particular one sold popcorn) sound asleep on the job.
I once saw an employee of one of those small push around vending carts (this particular one sold popcorn) sound asleep on the job.
Jul 24, 2006, 7:19 am
#9
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Originally Posted by edsh
To clear this point, I did not participate in flipping the guy off and I am glad that he did not look up at the windows. I added this to highlight the helpless frustration felt by the passengers (and, to an equal extent, the crew) who endured the ordeal. Baggage handling has long been a sore point in PHL and no matter how many complaints are raised, and no matter through what channel they are directed, the situation never improves.
Paying someone $11/hour instead of $10 doesn't make him work faster. Hiring more people or finding a system to make the existing staff work more efficiently would be a solution.
Paying someone $11/hour instead of $10 doesn't make him work faster. Hiring more people or finding a system to make the existing staff work more efficiently would be a solution.
Jul 24, 2006, 10:17 am
#10
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I believe a lightning strike results in a closure of the ramp for a minimum of 45 minutes. However, let's say you have one strike, and then another strike 35 minutes later, the clock then resets itself for an additional 45 minutes. Ergo, a slow moving front/storm can reall wreak havoc on the operation with cascading delays.
I believe there is a blue pulsing light in PHL that is used to indicate the closure of the ramp during a storm. It is visable from the club.
I believe there is a blue pulsing light in PHL that is used to indicate the closure of the ramp during a storm. It is visable from the club.
Jul 24, 2006, 12:32 pm
#11
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Not to stick up for the PHL rampers (which I totally do not like)....but they can only do so much at a time. More staffing is...or should I say "better" employee staffing would help. Whenever the ramp is closed it creates havic on ramp workers because they can't do anything. When you have the ramp closed for that long you have planes that are awaitng departure an hour ago and planes that have been awaiting arrival for an hour.....in a simple way a traffic jam. Weather is unpredicatable and cannot staff appropriatly for those situations. Patience is key in these situations, where many do not understand how an airport operates.
Jul 24, 2006, 7:58 pm
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Originally Posted by edsh
Paying someone $11/hour instead of $10 doesn't make him work faster. Hiring more people or finding a system to make the existing staff work more efficiently would be a solution.
Sean
Jul 24, 2006, 9:00 pm
#13
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No It Won't...
Paying a Ramp worker $11 instead of $10 doesn't make a DAMN bit of difference. Most of the PHL senior workers have been there since Piedmont and Alleghany. They have had pay cut after pay cut and all that... Plus, it's PHILADELPHIA. Should I say anything else? They do not care. Plain and simple. Even with the incentives that are in place, they still will not/nor ever will care.
Jul 24, 2006, 9:28 pm
#14
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Originally Posted by zsmith2
Weather is unpredicatable and cannot staff appropriatly for those situations. Patience is key in these situations, where many do not understand how an airport operates.
Just speculation, but I bet LUV serviced all their planes in a much more efficient manner after the hold was lifted.
Jul 25, 2006, 11:02 am
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Originally Posted by Gamble1294
Paying a Ramp worker $11 instead of $10 doesn't make a DAMN bit of difference. Most of the PHL senior workers have been there since Piedmont and Alleghany. They have had pay cut after pay cut and all that... Plus, it's PHILADELPHIA. Should I say anything else? They do not care. Plain and simple. Even with the incentives that are in place, they still will not/nor ever will care.
The worst thing about a system breaking down such as this one is that there is no one person to blame. It's a collection of supervisors and managers each responsible for a small piece of the pie. Demanding that the system be fixed only results in a collective shrug of the shoulders.