23 replies to this topic

[CaptSaaz]

Yeah yeah.. blame us... ATC... it's usually weather, mechanical or, in the case of JFK, Newark, LGA, volume... in air or on the ground holding is due to congestion at the airports which can't land and depart aircraft as fast as the airlines wish.

Always leave more time for connections than the airlines think is normal. They give you 40 mins.. book the next flight and give yourself 2 hours. If your connection involves customs and immigration, make it 3 hours. If you are on time, go have lunch and relax.

Also, I've had to get off planes when they took them out of service due to mechanical problems... the toilets wouldn't flush! :lol

[Capn Jack]

Whatever the reason, I find I'm much happier being on the ground, wanting to be in the air - then to be in the air, wanting to be on the ground.

[georoc01]

Yeah yeah.. blame us... ATC... it's usually weather, mechanical or, in the case of JFK, Newark, LGA, volume... in air or on the ground holding is due to congestion at the airports which can't land and depart aircraft as fast as the airlines wish.

Always leave more time for connections than the airlines think is normal. They give you 40 mins.. book the next flight and give yourself 2 hours. If your connection involves customs and immigration, make it 3 hours. If you are on time, go have lunch and relax.

Also, I've had to get off planes when they took them out of service due to mechanical problems... the toilets wouldn't flush! :lol

I wish it were that easy. Out of many of these cities, you have a choice of 1-2 flights a day. So you can take a 2 hour layover or an overnight layover or a red eye flight with three stops. All I find I can do is minimize the number of stops, take as many direct flights as possible and try to leave as much time as the flight schedules allow. And in my case last Monday, even 3 hours wouldn't have been enough as we landed 3 hours late.

[Starfish Sandy]

Whatever the reason, I find I'm much happier being on the ground, wanting to be in the air - then to be in the air, wanting to be on the ground.

I'm with you Capn Jack!!!

[Fordan]

Yeah yeah.. blame us... ATC... it's usually weather, mechanical or, in the case of JFK, Newark, LGA, volume... in air or on the ground holding is due to congestion at the airports which can't land and depart aircraft as fast as the airlines wish.

NY TRACON?

Good points; you often hear people speaking of how crowded the skies are (with events like Bush opening up military airspace for Thanksgiving), but my impression is that the issue is usually too many airplanes trying to occupy too few feet of concrete runway at airports, especially with weather and every airline trying to depart at the same time during push time.

I'm a lot more worried about the ATC staffing issues that are starting to raise their head than technological issues. The controllers who were hired after Reagan's firing of striking controllers are starting to retire, and the FAA hasn't been keeping up. The FAA needs the experienced controllers to stick around and help train the trainees, but with the imposed contract and no cost-of-living adjustments, the incentive really isn't there to stick around. The hardware needs to be modernized too, but I'll take an old radar with an experienced controller over a new radar with an inexperienced or undertrained controller any day.

I wish it were that easy. Out of many of these cities, you have a choice of 1-2 flights a day. So you can take a 2 hour layover or an overnight layover or a red eye flight with three stops. All I find I can do is minimize the number of stops, take as many direct flights as possible and try to leave as much time as the flight schedules allow. And in my case last Monday, even 3 hours wouldn't have been enough as we landed 3 hours late.

Yeah, it would be challenging with some of the small Caribbean airports that don't see a lot of services. But they usually fly back to hubs, and you can sometimes control the 2nd flight, if you're heading to a major airport seeing multiple flights per day. And there are worst placed to be stuck than Miami during the winter/early spring.

[georoc01]

Yeah yeah.. blame us... ATC... it's usually weather, mechanical or, in the case of JFK, Newark, LGA, volume... in air or on the ground holding is due to congestion at the airports which can't land and depart aircraft as fast as the airlines wish.

NY TRACON?

Good points; you often hear people speaking of how crowded the skies are (with events like Bush opening up military airspace for Thanksgiving), but my impression is that the issue is usually too many airplanes trying to occupy too few feet of concrete runway at airports, especially with weather and every airline trying to depart at the same time during push time.

I'm a lot more worried about the ATC staffing issues that are starting to raise their head than technological issues. The controllers who were hired after Reagan's firing of striking controllers are starting to retire, and the FAA hasn't been keeping up. The FAA needs the experienced controllers to stick around and help train the trainees, but with the imposed contract and no cost-of-living adjustments, the incentive really isn't there to stick around. The hardware needs to be modernized too, but I'll take an old radar with an experienced controller over a new radar with an inexperienced or undertrained controller any day.

I wish it were that easy. Out of many of these cities, you have a choice of 1-2 flights a day. So you can take a 2 hour layover or an overnight layover or a red eye flight with three stops. All I find I can do is minimize the number of stops, take as many direct flights as possible and try to leave as much time as the flight schedules allow. And in my case last Monday, even 3 hours wouldn't have been enough as we landed 3 hours late.

Yeah, it would be challenging with some of the small Caribbean airports that don't see a lot of services. But they usually fly back to hubs, and you can sometimes control the 2nd flight, if you're heading to a major airport seeing multiple flights per day. And there are worst placed to be stuck than Miami during the winter/early spring.

I would agree with you on Miami itself (and it was nice to be able to rent a car and drive across the state and see my parents in Naples), but the Miami airport is certainly not one of my favorite airports to hang out with. Give me Houston or Dallas anytime.

I know I live in a major hub airport, yet there is only one flight a day to Miami, and is scheduled to leave at 5pm. How often it actually does is a seperate question

[Starfish Sandy]

Yeah yeah.. blame us... ATC... it's usually weather, mechanical or, in the case of JFK, Newark, LGA, volume... in air or on the ground holding is due to congestion at the airports which can't land and depart aircraft as fast as the airlines wish.

NY TRACON?

Good points; you often hear people speaking of how crowded the skies are (with events like Bush opening up military airspace for Thanksgiving), but my impression is that the issue is usually too many airplanes trying to occupy too few feet of concrete runway at airports, especially with weather and every airline trying to depart at the same time during push time.

I'm a lot more worried about the ATC staffing issues that are starting to raise their head than technological issues. The controllers who were hired after Reagan's firing of striking controllers are starting to retire, and the FAA hasn't been keeping up. The FAA needs the experienced controllers to stick around and help train the trainees, but with the imposed contract and no cost-of-living adjustments, the incentive really isn't there to stick around. The hardware needs to be modernized too, but I'll take an old radar with an experienced controller over a new radar with an inexperienced or undertrained controller any day.

I wish it were that easy. Out of many of these cities, you have a choice of 1-2 flights a day. So you can take a 2 hour layover or an overnight layover or a red eye flight with three stops. All I find I can do is minimize the number of stops, take as many direct flights as possible and try to leave as much time as the flight schedules allow. And in my case last Monday, even 3 hours wouldn't have been enough as we landed 3 hours late.

Yeah, it would be challenging with some of the small Caribbean airports that don't see a lot of services. But they usually fly back to hubs, and you can sometimes control the 2nd flight, if you're heading to a major airport seeing multiple flights per day. And there are worst placed to be stuck than Miami during the winter/early spring.

RETIRE RETIRE RETIRE!!!!!! Yay! 2 years from April he can tell the ATC world good bye!!!!! AND be Texas bound!
Sorry Fordan - got excited. I agree - the ATC staffing is hurting...........something needs to be done and quickly.

[Starfish Sandy]

I would agree with you on Miami itself (and it was nice to be able to rent a car and drive across the state and see my parents in Naples), but the Miami airport is certainly not one of my favorite airports to hang out with. Give me Houston or Dallas anytime.

I know I live in a major hub airport, yet there is only one flight a day to Miami, and is scheduled to leave at 5pm. How often it actually does is a seperate question

Miami airport....................ew. I really miss DFW - JFK is just nuts and that is just trying to get in to the airport past the HONKING CARS.

[Bubble2Bubble]

CaptSaaz

Yeah yeah.. blame us... ATC... it's usually weather, mechanical or, in the case of JFK, Newark, LGA, volume... in air or on the ground holding is due to congestion at the airports which can't land and depart aircraft as fast as the airlines wish.

Dan...Starfish Sandy looks like a lil hottie in her new avatar

O Ya Airports...
AA cant change my outbound flight times..so I guess will leaving EYW 3hrs before I get to the Airport I have till Aug to iron this out.


Bubsski