Airline meltdown story and no mention of propaganda

[mikea]

Wanna know why the airline wishlist bill isn't doing too well for them? It looks like the press knows the truth:

The evidence is quickly adding up: After more than a decade of troubled air travel, the summer of 2007 may be the most tortured yet, with congestion growing daily, and more frequent meltdowns that ripple across the nation, stranding passengers for days.

The airlines' on-time arrival performance in the first five months of this year was the worst in 13 years, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported Tuesday. Only three of every five flights departing O'Hare International Airport were on time over those months, ranking O'Hare last among the busiest U.S. airports. And that was before the weather got really bad.

...
Nor do the statistics capture the most distinctive dynamic of this summer's air woes—the moments when the nation's hub-and-spoke network of airports seem to seize up altogether, causing passengers to miss not just one flight, but the next and next and many more, because planes are full, or grounded, or both.
...
With a record 209 million passengers projected to pass through the nation's airports this summer, airlines are trying to keep airplanes as full as possible. When it works, the airlines make a modest profit and passengers get low-priced fares. But when things go wrong, airlines have little room to maneuver, and delays and cancellations multiply quickly.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-airwoes_bd08jul08,1,3095190.story?coll=chi-news-hed

I love this part:

"A canceled flight could mean a two-day wait instead of waiting for the next flight because so many flights leave full and there is no extra capacity," added Schwieterman, a former airline pricing analyst. "This is the new reality for travelers."
...
"Customers are going to have to make some adjustments. It's just no longer prudent for a passenger to take a morning flight to meet a cruise ship in the afternoon," Castelveter said.
....

He was rebooked on a 4 p.m. flight, which actually boarded passengers at 5 p.m., pulled back from the gate and sat on the airfield until shortly before 9 p.m., when the flight was canceled.

He couldn't get his bag back, so McCarthy took a cab home empty-handed, and returned to O'Hare early the next morning. He finally departed on an 8 a.m. flight to spend a shortened weekend out of town with his wife.

"The airline industry is screwed up," he said. "You have no really good choices."

There are good choices but the airlines are working feverishly to burden them so they're less attractive.

Those pesky customers are just going to have to get used to the idea that their high speed 4 hour flight may take 2-3 days to complete.

Might be a good time to start a long haul limo company.

 

[mikea]

Another one:

This year, airline passengers and employees already frustrated by delays say they have added peevishness, anger, even shouting matches to their travels. Chances are not only greater that you will arrive late at your destination these next few months, they say. It's just as likely you'll have a thoroughly unpleasant time on the way.
...
The chances of you having a seamless experience when relying on the airline system are almost nil. The chances of having a terrible experience are really, really high," said Joe Brancatelli, editor of the Internet column JoeSentMe.com.

"You want my best advice?" he asked. "Stay home."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-uglyskies_bd08jul08,1,3629919.story?coll=chi-news-hed

The airlines might try to turn this anger elsewhere like toward GA, but I don't think the public will be too accepting.

 

[sbonek]

Another one:


The airlines might try to turn this anger elsewhere like toward GA, but I don't think the public will be too accepting.

makes me want to book a flight right now

I hope you are right and the public isn't buying into it and doesn't start buying it when, or if, the full-court press the airlines are putting on right now with their "mis-direction efforts" hits the mainstream press...

Hopefully they will remember all of those previous articles they read about how wx is the major cause of these delays... we shall see...

 

[Cap'n Jack]

...Only three of every five flights departing O'Hare International Airport were on time over those months, ranking O'Hare last among the busiest U.S. airports. And that was before the weather got really bad....


...Those pesky customers are just going to have to get used to the idea that their high speed 4 hour flight may take 2-3 days to complete...

...Might be a good time to start a long haul limo company.

The Chicago Tribune makes it look better than it is. I think only 1/4 of my trips through Chicago were on time (coming or going).

Earlier this spring, I had a couple of trips that took 2 days coming AND going. It would have been faster and less stress to drive.

As for the limo company- how about if Greyhound set up a terminal at ORD?

 

[Ghery]

Aloha. My NWA flight yesterday was only about 5-10 minutes late getting into HNL. Not bad for NWA. Hawaii remains the only place they have gotten me to/from on time in about 38 years of riding in airliners.

Oh, and my wife enjoyed her ride in 1st class while I was in coach (at least I had an exit row seat). She came back in the middle of the flight to tell me all about the food and drinks she had enjoyed. And she was flying on MY frequent flier miles. Oh well...

Meetings through Saturday (next weekend) then vacation in paradise.

 

[gibbons]

Oh, and my wife enjoyed her ride in 1st class while I was in coach (at least I had an exit row seat). She came back in the middle of the flight to tell me all about the food and drinks she had enjoyed. And she was flying on MY frequent flier miles. Oh well...

Ghery,

I'm impressed. That was a nice thing to do for your wife.

 

[Ghery]

Ghery,

I'm impressed. That was a nice thing to do for your wife.

It was the only way I could get her a nonstop from SEA to HNL. Flying coach on miles she would have had to go to SFO or LAX, change planes, etc. Then Amex travel came up with the same flight as the low cost option to get me there. And if I had taken the 1st class seat and put her back in coach, you know where I'd be sleeping.

But, she's worth it. Not many women out there would put up with me for 34 years.

 

[colomtnflyer]

Hmmmm.... sounds like our charter business can only get better! Sometimes, given number of pax, distance, time, and schedule, chartering can be cheaper than commercial!

But I must admit, we had a ground hold in HOU on Friday for 2 hrs due to weather...(everyone was put on hold) and then we were routed around the long way for a 1 hr flight... So even charters are not always exempt from delays, but they are extremely rare.

While airborne, the guy handling us at Houston Center asked if we had filed our route, or if ATC had given it to us... When I responded it was an ATC assigned... he just said "you've got to be kidding" and gave us direct! WooHoo... Only added about an extra 20 minutes to our time...

 

[Pjsmith]

The secret to on-time flights in and out of O'Hare is to be running late; If you get there over two hours before your flight departs, it will be late. If you are checking in at the kiosk 47 minutes before your flight departs, it will be boarding on time, to the minute. This rule is true for all flights except those between ORD and JFK, which seem to be invariably late.