Oh yeah, that's just what a bunch of folks want while sitting for six hours. Cheap bastards at CO!...the waiting area had “chips and pretzels and water,”
Man, that is surprising... I typically get very good service from CO, but that's through the Houston hub. I'm going to use this one isolated incident to formulate my opinion that all Texans are just friendlier than all New Yorkers/New Jerseyans .
Not magic. False imprisonment, IMHO. And a cause for action (read: lawsuit.)Doh - posted in wrong thread. My real response:
Boy, I sure wish I "Got It" so I could explain why airlines don't have the ability to let people off the plane, but somehow, police are always able to enter the plane and get people off....
Must be magic.
Doh - posted in wrong thread. My real response:
Boy, I sure wish I "Got It" so I could explain why airlines don't have the ability to let people off the plane, but somehow, police are always able to enter the plane and get people off....
Must be magic.
Hum, and I'll take from your statement that all Texans need more geography lessons. How does something that takes place in Newark, New Jersey and Baltimore, MARYLAND mean New Yorkers are unfriendly? (Not that they are not unfriendly but I fail to see how to draw this conclusion from the article)
Well, the fact that this flight was heading to Newark, a Continental hub, I'm going to assume that the crew was Newark-based, and they are what sparked the events in Baltimore by keeping everyone on the plane and not responding to their needs. Yes, Newark is in NJ, but it's only separated from New York by a river. Hell, the reason it's called Newark is because New Jerseyans were too lazy to separate the two words into New York . So, no further geography lessons necessary here, but maybe I should take a few lessons to curb my sarcasm... nah, I like it where it is .
I had my worst experience with airline personnel with a Continental gate attendant/ticket collector at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport.Man, that is surprising... I typically get very good service from CO, but that's through the Houston hub.
Boy, I sure wish I "Got It" so I could explain why airlines don't have the ability to let people off the plane, but somehow, police are always able to enter the plane and get people off....
Must be magic.
We (pilots/FAs) can't let people off the airplane unless there is a gate agent to receive them. Most of the area around the airplane is considered a restricted area and the TSA/FBI/FAA frown upon us letting people walk anywhere past the nose or behind the wing. Gate agents can't let people off the plane unless there are uniformed security personel present for the same reason...the airplane and the entire ramp are extremely strict security areas (SIDA area) and we they can't let people walk around there unesscorted. The Police all have security clearence, so they can access the plane. Once adequate security is present, then people can be let out on the ramp, but even then the TSA and FBI frown upon having people anywhere but in a secured (non-SIDA) area. It's dumb and incredibly inconvenient, but if we let anyone off or they go outside the permitted area it results in a lot of paperwork and requires that we do a FULL security sweep of any a/c they got near before any of them can be moved.
Teller
Racism is alive and well in the USA, and it isn't even that subtle all the time.
We (pilots/FAs) can't let people off the airplane unless there is a gate agent to receive them. Most of the area around the airplane is considered a restricted area and the TSA/FBI/FAA frown upon us letting people walk anywhere past the nose or behind the wing. Gate agents can't let people off the plane unless there are uniformed security personel present for the same reason...the airplane and the entire ramp are extremely strict security areas (SIDA area) and we they can't let people walk around there unesscorted. The Police all have security clearence, so they can access the plane. Once adequate security is present, then people can be let out on the ramp, but even then the TSA and FBI frown upon having people anywhere but in a secured (non-SIDA) area. It's dumb and incredibly inconvenient, but if we let anyone off or they go outside the permitted area it results in a lot of paperwork and requires that we do a FULL security sweep of any a/c they got near before any of them can be moved.
Teller
We (pilots/FAs) can't let people off the airplane unless there is a gate agent to receive them. Most of the area around the airplane is considered a restricted area and the TSA/FBI/FAA frown upon us letting people walk anywhere past the nose or behind the wing. Gate agents can't let people off the plane unless there are uniformed security personel present for the same reason...the airplane and the entire ramp are extremely strict security areas (SIDA area) and we they can't let people walk around there unesscorted. The Police all have security clearence, so they can access the plane. Once adequate security is present, then people can be let out on the ramp, but even then the TSA and FBI frown upon having people anywhere but in a secured (non-SIDA) area. It's dumb and incredibly inconvenient, but if we let anyone off or they go outside the permitted area it results in a lot of paperwork and requires that we do a FULL security sweep of any a/c they got near before any of them can be moved.
Teller
Bruce, I've been all over the world, and I'm here to tell you, racism is alive and well throught the world, because it is alive and well in the hearts of men. ...
.....Staff at Cancun's five-star Hotel Coral Beach appear to have assumed this was another street vendor or beggar, so without asking questions they ordered her to leave. Except the woman was Rigoberta Menchú, the Nobel peace prizewinner, Unesco goodwill ambassador, Guatemalan presidential candidate and figurehead for indigenous rights.
...
Commentators noted the irony of upmarket resorts discriminating against real Maya while trying to attract tourists with fake Mayan architecture and spectacles.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2150467,00.html
It's ok PJ, I won't hold that against you....I guess I can't speak to that because, as you can probably tell from my avatar, I'm about as White as they get...
...
As I walk into one of the amphitheaters of my medical school to give a lecture to senior medical students on "Medico-legal issues in the care of adolescents" I ask one of the students: "Is this amphitheater B?" The student answers back with another question: Are you from housekeeping?...
It's ok PJ, I won't hold that against you.
But it's true, you have to be a "minority" to really experience racism directed againt you, to live it and to hate it with all your guts. See, I am not only a Puerto Rican, but a dark skin Puerto Rican. Some of my patients trying to be cordial tell me that I look Mexican and others tell me that I speak with a Dominican accent. So I'm really screwed.
Let me tell you all (not just you PJ) about a recent incident and you tell me if racism/prejudice/stereotyping/profiling and any other euphemism we can come up with is alive or not in the US and the world, as Henning just said earlier.
As I walk into one of the amphitheaters of my medical school to give a lecture to senior medical students on "Medico-legal issues in the care of adolescents" I ask one of the students: "Is this amphitheater B?" The student answers back with another question: Are you from housekeeping?
See, that student saw a dark skin Puerto Rican that looks Mexican and speaks with a Dominican accent who can only be good to mop floors.
I know that any job, housekeeping included, is a decent way of earning a living and don't feel superior to housekeepers or anyone. This is just exactly what I experienced and I told it exactly as it was to make my point.
It's ok PJ, I won't hold that against you.
But it's true, you have to be a "minority" to really experience racism directed againt you, to live it and to hate it with all your guts. See, I am not only a Puerto Rican, but a dark skin Puerto Rican. Some of my patients trying to be cordial tell me that I look Mexican and others tell me that I speak with a Dominican accent. So I'm really screwed.
Let me tell you all (not just you PJ) about a recent incident and you tell me if racism/prejudice/stereotyping/profiling and any other euphemism we can come up with is alive or not in the US and the world, as Henning just said earlier.
As I walk into one of the amphitheaters of my medical school to give a lecture to senior medical students on "Medico-legal issues in the care of adolescents" I ask one of the students: "Is this amphitheater B?" The student answers back with another question: Are you from housekeeping?
See, that student saw a dark skin Puerto Rican that looks Mexican and speaks with a Dominican accent who can only be good to mop floors.
I know that any job, housekeeping included, is a decent way of earning a living and don't feel superior to housekeepers or anyone. This is just exactly what I experienced and I told it exactly as it was to make my point.
Nick, document every little bit of it. Even the slightest remark regardless of who it is or their position; above you or below you. There may come a time you will need this information. Without, it's even more difficult to prove reverse racism and bigotry. Nonetheless, it exist. I've seen it as a courier, in Atlanta... surprise, surprise. The reverse racism here is a larger problem than ever these days.I wound up quitting the job, and not looking back. That was a bad situation. Combine that with the fact that every job I've had since I've had at least some comments of "Eee - look at the white guy, no?" at some point (I'm experiencing it a bit right now at T-Mobile). It sucks, but I feel I have to put up with it to make sure I can afford to live.
Nick, I've gotta say, there seems to be a bit of irony in the juxtaposition of your complaints and that little bit of rap song you have as your sig line. Just sayin' is all.
Guess what? We don't give a rat's a**. We don't care that it's a hassle for you, deal with it, that's why they call it a JOB. Get me the F off the plane in a timely fashion, I don't want excuses, I don't want peanuts and crackers. At this point I'm being held against my will. This is going to lead to an ugly showdown one day, you watch, someone will kill some poor FA over this stuff. One nut job with a drop lock from behind, and there goes a broken neck. All the surly FA attitude in the world won't help.
While we've gone wildly offtrack, I'll share a bit. I was stuck on a plane a few months ago, and I politely spoke with the FA at about the 90 minute mark. I smiled, asked how ya doin', hope they were having an easy day bouncing around, etc. Just try to soften the FA up for the bad news coming.
Then I explained that at the two hour mark I was going to start leading the revolt by similar means. I figured from what I'd heard from the pax around me that they would be ready to start in on some ribald and offensive singing and stamping until the drivere found his stones and got us to ANY GATE, not just the US Airways gate. You see, almost all the time, there IS a gate available but it may not be the carriers reserved, or leased gate. Now, they can, and occasionally do borrow or rent a gate from another carrier, but it can be expensive.
I recommend that you drive.
You are advised that once you cross this point you surrender your right to personal property, personal privacy, free speech, and freedom to travel at will.
Do you understand these conditions as have been explained to you?
This is completely incorrect. The ability to use another airlines gate is not decided by the local airline employees. It normally only happens when the airport management needs to do some sort of maintenance either to the jetway or ramp area and access to a gate will not be available. These decisions are also not made in any way by the flight crew. Being a GA pilot teaches you how to fly and how the traffic system works but does not make you an expert in airline operations. I always like the guy who is mad about a delay and then after an explanation of the situation snidely remarks, "I get it, I am a pilot." Not to mention, everyone has been stuck in a traffic jam on the interstate or freeway at some point. Sometimes you may not move for hours. You have no where to go, is it your fault? Do you sue the person that had the wreck? Things happen, if you don't like the possibility of a delay on an airplane then driving is always an option. I am not suggesting that I don't appreciate the passenger/customer as it is their patronage that allows me to fly for a living. Just patience and understanding is appreciated. Thousands of flights depart on-time and arrive on-time every day. Where is the article explaining how such a complex system and logistic nightmare normally works perfectly?
I don't know who would make such a crappy investment. However, it seems viable given the number of times these events seem to take place these days.There's a business to be built here....in the bed of a lifting box catering truck....
The COMPLETE airconditioned bathroom, which comes up to the door, seals up against the companionway....drives off to the septic connection....