Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 12, 1991 TAG: 9103120414
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: E. SCOTT GELLER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
My round trip to Beaumont, Texas, departed from Roanoke on USAir, through Pittsburgh. After I boarded the USAir jet out of Pittsburgh, the pilot announced a wait of 15 to 20 minutes for passengers arriving late from Philadelphia.
This was not my first USAir flight that delayed departure to wait for a late connection. Although I have never missed another connecting flight because of one of these brief delays, I often have felt impatient and have complained - as have some letter-writers to the Roanoke Times & World-News - about the delays.
However, on my return via American Airlines and American Eagle, through Raleigh-Durham, the shoe was on the other foot.
My American flight to Roanoke was 30 minutes late leaving Dallas-Fort Worth because of mechanical problems. I wondered whether I would make my connecting American Eagle flight out of Raleigh-Durham, but I felt much better when I learned there were four other passengers whose destination also was Roanoke. I remembered the many times my USAir flight had waited for a few late passengers on a connecting flight.
Our 9:25 American Eagle connecting flight to Roanoke was the last of the night; surely the crew would wait. After all, half (or more) of the passengers for that commuter flight were on the late American Airlines flight.
We arrived at Raleigh-Durham at 9:40 p.m. to find our American Eagle connection gone. Then, I found the counter at Gate 14A crowded with travelers whose American Eagle commuter flight had left them stranded in Raleigh-Durham.
After almost an hour, some of us were on our way to the nearby Holiday Inn, filling a van to capacity. We were not happy campers.
I couldn't help but speculate on the ramifications of a decision not to wait 15 minutes for a late connecting flight. Everyone vowed to avoid American Eagle in the future if he or she could. One passenger, a travel agent, promised (to our approval) to tell her customers of this incident. It was apparent that the decision not to wait resulted in a net financial loss for the airline - an outcome that could easily multiply and result in increased fares.
The American Airlines ticket agent said the decision was American Eagle's. The American Eagle agent in Roanoke said it was a policy of American Airlines not to wait for late connecting flights. A flight attendant said the decision was probably made to assure the flight crew received necessary sleep time.
Regardless of the source of the no-wait policy, such an inflexible approach is unwise from either a financial or customer-service perspective; eventually, it could cause one more commuter airline to leave Roanoke.
I like having a choice of airlines. As a psychologist, I know the stress-reducing and motivational advantages of having at least the perception of choice.
The American Eagle flight, by not waiting in Raleigh-Durham, took many choices from me, and inconvenienced several travelers and their friends and family who had traveled to meet them in Roanoke.
The next time a USAir flight waits a few minutes for a connecting flight, I will appreciate this flexibility from both a business and human-concern perspective. This is empathy gained from personal experience - something we all could use more of these days.
by CNB