A network failure knocked out Alaska Airlines ticketing system for five hours today, causing long delays and canceled flights . But don't you worry all you passengers who waited for hours in line, only to discover your flight was canceled:
Understand, if you miss your flight because of bad traffic, or say, a particularly long line at TSA, well fuck you and your "nonrefundable" ticket . But if you miss your flight rental car las vegas airport (and possibly an important business meeting or family event or long scheduled vacation) because the airline fucked up, they'll graciously let you rebook without a fee. Assuming you can find a flight. No upgrades, no compensation, no cost for failing to provide the service you paid for.
Whatever. I'm sure nobody in Mitt Romney's tax bracket was inconvenienced in the slightest; quite the opposite actually, since this would have meant fewer commercial flights crowding the tarmac for the private & corporate jets.
see also: " Rule 240 ," which was lost when we deregulated the airlines, but lives on to some degree in their contracts of carriage, and requires them to put you on another airline's flight if one is available when yours is delayed and it's the airline's fault.
You could say that the compensation and upgrades and blow jobs from the executive of your choice -- or the lack thereof -- are priced into the ticket. Given some percentage of downtime and some percentage of canceled flights, airlines could add a few bucks to each ticket and use it to compensate people who suffer such disruptions.
But you can't have it both ways -- rock bottom prices and generous compensation for inconvenience. It's like the morons who shop at Walmart because it's cheaper rental car las vegas airport but complain about jobs going to China.
I thought it was bad when a broken luggage strap delayed a flight from Sea-Tac to McCarran, and then the turnaround (my flight) was delayed again when something went wrong with one of the aft toilets. As it was, we were only an hour behind schedule, thanks to a strapper and the crapper. And, besides, I was in Vegas to see Peter Gabriel. I'm not going to let an hour's delay take me off that high.
"I'm sure nobody in Mitt Romney's tax bracket was inconvenienced in the slightest; quite the opposite actually, since this would have meant fewer commercial flights crowding the tarmac for the private & corporate jets."
@3: Computer networking is not part of Alaska Airline's service. rental car las vegas airport If I show up with a ticket or boarding pass and they refuse to transport me, citing reasons like their accountant having quit, the office copier being out of toner, or their intranet being down, that *is* their fault. If I risk my travel on showing rental car las vegas airport up at the airport without proof that I've arranged with Alaska to transport me and expect someone to be able to retrieve that information with a high-tech ticket dispensing machine at the airport, only to find that the machine is malfunctioning, leaving rental car las vegas airport me without rental car las vegas airport access to such proof, then shame on me.
I flew Alaska today, and received an email during my flight offering me a refund of any non flown airfare on October rental car las vegas airport 8 or 9. From my seat it appears rental car las vegas airport that they offered refunds just about as soon as their network was back up.
Don't apologize, Goldy. One of the great rules of capitalism is that there should be no risk. Sure, Alaska Airlines can implement the system, but, you know, they shouldn't be blamed when their system fails. After all, it's not their fault that "redundant" means two lines on the same network system. Or something like that.
I'm always amazed at the lack of planning for catastrophic failure. I mean, shit, you know? If my network goes out at home, I still have my smart phone. rental car las vegas airport True, it's easier to back up my personal needs than an entire airline network, but, then again, I'm not charging anyone rental car las vegas airport hundreds of dollars rental car las vegas airport a pop for each Slog comment I write.
But for some people, it's unfair to expect a large business to actually have a failsafe. You know, it hurts the bottom line to spend that money, and if it comes down to executives not being able to buy vacation homes or expensive cars? Well, then they're going to have to fire some people.
The things that are in your control? Like leaving too late to the airport? They're your responsibility. The things that are in Alaska Airlines' control? Like making sure they have alternatives in the event of catastrophic network failure? Well, that's not the company's responsibility, and if you suggest it is, well, you're a job killer.
Or something like that. Sorry, my Republican-speak function is permanently rental car las vegas airport set somewhere between sarcasm and high disdain. But while some things are our responsibility (check traffic, &c.), other things are not (TSA, &c.). I'll split the difference with you on those points. But these folks who are so upset at you for expecting an airline to be responsible? Don't apologize to them.
You could always vote with your feet and not fly airlines who don't treat you the way you like. except that you won't, because the value of fast convenient travel rental car las vegas airport is way more than the cost of the ticket.
@22: Unfortunately modern airlines have a strong lobby in DC and an informal cartelization that allows them to avoid having to worry about pesky things like one of their competitors offering free perks or customer service akin to any other private industry. The best you can hope for these days is no baggage fee or maybe a free movie.
@22 I've voted with my feet. I don't fly nearly as often as I did 10 years ago. I've taken the train when I could, but mostly, I just don't see my family back East as often as I used to, because I am sick and tired of being treated like a terrorist every time I travel, and of never knowing whether I'm going to get where I'm going when I'm supposed to get there.
Sorry @8 and Goldy, I just can't fucking stand people bitching about how awful flying is. Very few people on Earth get to fly. Getting treated like a terrorist, Goldy? Really? Even Noam Chomsky accepts as legitimate the TSA's authority to search his shit when flying.
The Virgin people were total dicks about everything. Sure, it was the weather, so "not their fault" but they yelled at us when people asked for blankets and pillows. Then the supervisor came by and she was even nastier. I think it's because people asked for meal coupons.
It's true Virgin didn't owe us anything beyond flying us out eventually. But I'm never flying Virgin rental car las vegas airport again and I tell people about our stupendously awful experience with them whenever the conversation turns to airlines. If they had been nice to us I would probably fly Virgin all he time and talk about that one time they went above and beyond and earned my loyalty.
The asymmetry is pretty bad; airlines sink hundreds of millions - frequently billions - into long-term capital equipment, training pilots who are in charge of hundreds of lives every day, and maintaining presence in lesser hubs that don't really merit service financially.
Out of curiosity - is it normal for an aviation group to be fully dependent on a single company for their network? Not having any kind of redundancy with another rental car las vegas airport group for a mission critical system seems risky. Do the big boys (UA/DL/AA) rental car las vegas airport also do this kind of thing, or is it just rinky-dink Alaska?
And to the guy who thinks Virgin rental car las vegas airport America's sh*t don't stink - wait a few years. People were saying the same thing about JetBlue when it first came down the pike (snappy crew, shiny new planes, etc)... then they got old. Their workers got restless. Their planes got old and started to break down. Those costs were invariably passed on to customers.
Until they start treating their pilots with the kind of respect they deserve I'd rather not fly. I'd still love to go to Europe next year, and I hope to use as little air service as humanly possible rental car las vegas airport while still seeing as much of Europe as possible. Their loss.
Don't know about aviation but multiple ip services are an expense and it's quite possible to run into problems even then; e.g. It isn't unknown for multiple companies rental car las vegas airport to share a trench or have set ups that aren't entirely co-operating.
What(thefuck)ever! Last year this week my wife and I were stuck all day at sea-tac, flying Alaska. 10am flight to boston turned into a Delta flight to Chicago getting rental car las vegas airport in at 1am, free hotel, 3 hours sleep then a flight out of Chicago at 6:30am. We just rolled with it, drank, snuck off and screwed, and never complained. flying is still an amazing feat of Man, and we should be grateful if we can afford the cost and time it takes.
There's such a thing as striving to be the best. It's kind of an American thing. rental car las vegas airport Perhaps you've never heard of it. We know we can do better, but the same Randian/Libertarians who feel that industry should be completely unfettered also are quick to defend industry's shoddy & lazy practices. Gov't regulations aren't designed to hold industry back, but to force them to act in a proficient & excellent rental car las vegas airport manner.
No, of course that doesn't always happen. But if the wingnuts really wanted "government off our backs," then why do they continue to act in such a way that demands oversight for the system rental car las vegas airport to run smoothly?
Again, this is why I avoid US carriers as much as possible. If more people would start doing this, things rental car las vegas airport might approve. Planes are becoming the the Greyhouds of air travel. Service sucks at every level, and they act like they neither want nor need customers. Let's show them what their business looks like without customers.
Goldy, I'm with you on this. I've only ever been slightly screwed by an airline and it was regarding rental car las vegas airport my baggage but the idea that a person might miss a funeral, a job interview, or dare I say a vacation, rental car las vegas airport and receive no compensation pisses me off.
As for the critics, Goldy is not some high highfalutin elitist for taking a vacation or being disgruntled by the prospect of missing a vacation. Everyone should be able to take a vacation and not enough people are able to.
Alaska is equally helpful when THEY are the customers. A few flights bac
No comments:
Post a Comment