VX Web-based Flight Status System Calamity - Again
 

This one really irked me....

Was booked VX 912 SFO-LAS today....knew that LAS weather was an issue but since I live 7 mins from SFO I checked the VX web site (about 3pm), saw #908 in the air and #912 on time, so left.

Made the mistake with my web boarding pass of not checking status when I arrived and went through long security only to find out that both 908 and 912 were cancelled. I find out that McCarren is closed due to snow (they don't have snow-removal equipment....who knew?)

I get home at 4pm (still 25 mins until the scheduled departure, check the VX web site and see that it is STILL reporting #908 in the air and #912 on time. I quickly checked SFO's own status system and it did show the flights as cancelled.

What is even sadder/funnier is that I checked on #908 on FlightAware right then to see what those poor people ended up enduring (still not reported by VX web site):

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/VRD908

So clearly they tried to get there, circled forever, thought about LAX, and then returned to SFO at 3:46p.

I can't blame VX for LAS' weather...but come on, there is no excuse at all for having a feature like flight status for your own airline but you can't report the information correctly or in real-time. I am a United MM 1K flyer and they don't get high marks for their website, but VX really ought to realize that people depend on accurate status information - plus it keeps somebody from calling an agent at 7x the cost!

<end rant>. VX really needs to fix this.

--Scott

It looks like they saw what was coming up from the south then quickly changed their mind about LAX.

it snows in Las Vegas?

Whoa! :D

I was at SFO today while this whole thing unfolded. They really didn't know what was going to happen until 908 decided to return to the airport. LAS closed (as did all of the roads leading to the airport). I wonder if I saw you at gate A3/A1?

I actually didn't get as far as the gate...I saw the first monitors post-security that showed 908 way late and 912 cancelled. Since I had just checked flight status 20 minutes before I was a bit stunned. As I noted...I certainly understand that things get chaotic when a place like Vegas gets its most snow in 30+ years and shuts down...but VX really should do a better job informing passengers of these irregular ops. I'll even give it to them that the 912 cancellation happened shortly before my arrival around 3:30p - but its 8:34pm right now on 12/17 and the VX web site still shows 908 in the air and 912 on-time! That's embarrassing.

--Scott

That is messed up...I agree. The website has problems.

Why can't they just use real-time flight info, like flightaware.com?

Is there public data available? or would they need to license a feed from somewhere?

Well, that's the idea... either license it or use public data.

Though, gee, if you can see where you are on the plane on RED/Google Maps...

Exactly.

As also said, there are just too many existing FAA data-driven flight status systems (e.g. FlightAware, FlyteComm, etc.) for VX to OEM or leverage since they can't (or don't seem to want) to support their own application.

--Scott

It's likely the FAA system had the flight plan for 912 in the system until it timed out (3 hours after proposed departure). That would not have helped in this case. It also would have shown 908 in the air.

Edit: In fact, 912's flight plan still shows up on flightaware.

You are right....FAA data doesn't help with irregular ops. But if SFO's own web site knows that 912 is cancelled (linked with the in-airport displays) then there is no excuse for VX not to have that same information. Even sucko United does this reasonably well.

--Scott

in general, United uses ACARS for everything that happens once the brakes are released up to and including when the brakes are set. During irrops when a flight goes to "decision" or has a customer service or ramp issue, they are generally good up until the last 15-20 minutes about having flight status updated. It is all tied into FLIFO for their system.

For VX, I have noted since day one that their web based Flight Status system isn't worth the pixels it's printed on and simply don't use it for anything. I think their internal systems used by reservations are more reliable in this regard.

For flight 793, on 12/20, Virgin America flight status shows it as departing LAX at 6:43 PM and arriving SEA at 11:04 PM. Of course, common sense would dictate that it does not take 4 hr 21 minutes to make that flight, and a check of flightaware reveals the flight did not actually land in SEA but instead flew all the way back to SFO and landed there instead. But, the VX site makes no mention of it being "diverted," still listing the arrival city as Seattle instead of San Francisco.

I noticed the same thing when a VX flight from JFK-LAX diverted to Iowa last month and was on the ground a few hours. No mention of the diversion on the VX site.

VX is very aware of this issue...actually it's a reservations system issue and not a web one. A future reservations system upgrade will fix it.