Ask any traveler and most will say that one of the most agonizing part of travel delays is getting information.
If a gate agent can’t give you information, they may not be the ones to blame, according to a recent report.
When it comes to delays, there may be “three or four different systems providing information, one quicker than another at any point in time,” according to Cindy Bouchard, former US Airways customer service supervisor.
Gate agents and the flight crew communicate along two different channels. The pilots have the most up-to-date information because they are in direct contact with the airline’s system of operations, also known as dispatch, or the brains that keeps everything on schedule.
They also communicate with the tower, which is directly linked to the FAA’s command center. All the airlines connect to this system to determine when their planes are allowed to come and go.
Even if the gate agents do get information from the flight crew, they delay relaying this information to the passengers until it’s officially in the system. They don’t want to give out erroneous information, according to Bouchard. Imagine having to deal with a cancellation and 200 passengers you have to rebook. “So are you going to announce a cancellation without knowing for sure? I don’t think so.”
Basil J. Barimo, vice president for operations for the Air Transport Association, said that the challenge is that information flows through separate, but not always equal, channels.
Barimo says that “[t]he crew is connected directly to the operations center, so they’re getting the latest and greatest information…The customer service agent is not directly connected, so is getting the information from airport channels.”
This could mean either a radio communication or phone call. The departure and arrival monitors don’t always have the latest information because they rely on information from sources contracted by the airport so there’s always a lag.
For more reliable information, check the airline’s Web site, Flightstats.com, or send a text message to Google (466-453) with the flight number, which will send the information from Flightstats.
Another source is the airlines themselves who will, at your request, send either a text message or voice mail to let you know when a flight is delayed or cancelled.
The Coalition for an Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights, an advocacy group founded by Kate Hanni, would like the airlines to disclose, at the time of ticket purchase, whether the planned flight is chronically delayed.
Her group would also like an update every 15 minutes during a tarmac delay, even if there’s nothing new to share.
Jeffrey J. Read is an executive vice president with Varolii, the company that handles flight alerts for seven airlines in the United States. He says that the 15-minute rule is achievable. Whether it’s overkill, he doesn’t know.
