Alaska Airlines foo
Jun. 5th, 2006 12:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
howeirdIt's 6:30 pm when I check in for my 8:30 pm flight from SEA to SJC and it is delayed till 10:38. A 2-hour delay for a 1.25-hour flight? What kind of BS is that?
The plane did not actually board till 11, and took off at about 11:45. Got to SJC at 1:05 am. SJC normally shuts down by then, my shuttle to De La Cruz parking did not arrive till 1:25. Home by 2. Should have been home by 11.
When we were pulling out of the slip, and again when we reached cruising altitude, the captain made profuse apologies but said they had a flat tire "and there is nothing we can do about that".
Bullshit.
What they can do about that is have spare aircraft. Alaska has something like a 0% on-time record for their evening flights, because they run it like a shuttle, one plane just goes back and forth between SJC and SEA. Another plane adds PDX to the loop. One mechanical breakdown and the whole schedule gets hosed. They really need to buy some extra planes. Seattle is their major lower-50 hub, they ought to have spares there.
SeaTac Airport has remodeled, and they have taken away all the internet kiosks! There is no longer any way for a stranded passenger to get online unless he has brought along a laptop. WTF?
So I read The DaVinci Code. By the time the parking shuttle arrived, I was on the last 3 pages, which I finished at home in bed. Review coming soon.
The plane did not actually board till 11, and took off at about 11:45. Got to SJC at 1:05 am. SJC normally shuts down by then, my shuttle to De La Cruz parking did not arrive till 1:25. Home by 2. Should have been home by 11.
When we were pulling out of the slip, and again when we reached cruising altitude, the captain made profuse apologies but said they had a flat tire "and there is nothing we can do about that".
Bullshit.
What they can do about that is have spare aircraft. Alaska has something like a 0% on-time record for their evening flights, because they run it like a shuttle, one plane just goes back and forth between SJC and SEA. Another plane adds PDX to the loop. One mechanical breakdown and the whole schedule gets hosed. They really need to buy some extra planes. Seattle is their major lower-50 hub, they ought to have spares there.
SeaTac Airport has remodeled, and they have taken away all the internet kiosks! There is no longer any way for a stranded passenger to get online unless he has brought along a laptop. WTF?
So I read The DaVinci Code. By the time the parking shuttle arrived, I was on the last 3 pages, which I finished at home in bed. Review coming soon.
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Date: 2006-06-06 12:21 am (UTC)It has already run in the newspaper. The FAA is stating expect all your flights to be late, some will even be very late. See Kevin Stanley's report on Cheryl Morgan's flight to WisCon.
The system in its wisdom to improve the All Mighty Bottom Line has officially cut costs to the point where there are no spare aircraft, there is no spare personnel, you are lucky to have a seat. And they have cut corners and salaries to the point that the drones no longer care.
And now they want to cut the starting Air Traffic Controllers starting salary to $17K a year. If it was good enough in Reagan's time, it should be good enough now. I'm sure they'll find Mexicans willing to work for that.
I don't care what they say about Driving is Less Safe than the Flying. I'm driving whenever I can this summer.
And remember, the Economy is booming. We just aren't allowed to know it. Huh?