Well here’s something you don’t often see, which deserves calling out…
In this post:
A United captain’s compassionate LinkedIn post
United Airlines Boeing 787 captain Luis Perez took to LinkedIn, to write about the passengers he had to leave behind on a recent flight from Newark (EWR) to Lisbon (LIS). Let me just share the post in its entirety, because it’s short and sweet:
I want to say I am sorry to the passengers we left behind last night (October 12th) on United Flight 64 from Newark to Lisbon.
Our team had delayed the departure by six minutes to wait for late connecting passengers. Once everyone had boarded, the gate agent closed the flight, pulled the jetway, and we completed our final checklists in preparation for pushback.
Just as we were ready to go, the tug driver asked if we could take two additional bags that had just arrived from the late connection. We agreed, and the ramp crew quickly loaded them into the aft cargo compartment.
While that was happening, we noticed three people waving from the windows in the boarding area. At first, we thought they were pointing at the jetway — but we soon realized they were trying to get our attention, hoping to still make the flight.
It broke my heart to see them there, pleading to come aboard. Unfortunately, at that point, the flight was officially closed. The jetway had been disconnected, the gate agent had left, and the weight and balance had already been completed.
Reconnecting everything would have required reversing multiple safety and operational steps, causing a long delay for other passengers making onward connections.
Still, the sight of those passengers stayed with me.
It was a powerful reminder that behind every procedure and checklist, there are real people — with hopes, plans, and stories.
To those travelers: if you ever read this, please know that we saw you, we felt for you, and we truly wished we could have brought you with us.
We need more of this in the airline industry
The airline industry is an incredibly complex business, and there are so many operational complications that can impact the perception that people have of an experience.
All too often, the one thing missing for passengers is empathy. People just want to feel understood and heard, and like someone cares. So it’s lovely to see a pilot who can put themselves in someone else’s shoes, and show this level of caring.
Pilots aren’t just “heavy machine operators,” but they’re transporting a countless number of people through their best and worst times.
Obviously the captain made the right choice. If they had reopened the door for three passengers, there could’ve then been dozens of passengers who ended up misconnecting on the other end, and had their plans ruined. United does a great job with its ConnectionSaver technology, which determines the optimal amount of time to wait for passengers.
Of course pilots also aren’t really “frontline” employees, so they don’t deal with a majority of the direct frustration of passengers. So I get how so many gate agents are sort of desensitized to passengers who may be having a really hard time. But a little bit of kindness and compassion also goes a long way.
Bottom line
A United Airlines captain posted on LinkedIn about his sadness with having to leave three travelers behind on a recent transatlantic flight. While he said there’s nothing he could’ve done differently without then inconveniencing other passengers with connections, it’s so nice to see a pilot showing such care for others. Kudos to captain Perez!
Anyone else love this message from a pilot as much as I do?
I believe if I was left in Newark, about 3% of my frustration would be because I missed my plane; the other 97% would come from being stuck in Newark.
Oh!, I sure do appreciate the Captain of the United Airlines for his human feelings and voicing it out. That's part of the training and regulations of the airline; which makes me happy to be a flyer with the airline whenever I'm in the US.
Reading this pilot's post brought me to tears. I recently missed a connection returning home from my mother's funeral on an overseas flight. I was flying alone and the missed connection cost me 16 hours and a great deal of stress. Just the thought that an airline employee saw and cared truly warmed my heart.
I love this pilot! We need more people like him in the world!
❤️
Nice of him to apologize, but those passengers should have gotten there sooner so as to not miss their flight !
It 's on THEM for not showing up on time, and not the pilot's fault that they had their heads up their butts ! They should have allowed themselves more travel time to GET to the airport in case of unexpected traffic delays !
They were on a delayed flight. Hard to blame a passenger for that,! It isn't in their control.
So what! Another pointless airline story
I'm a United pilot. I'm absolutely a front- line employee. I walk the cabin, greet passengers, push wheelchairs, pin wings on kids, and do everything I can to communicate to my guests and teammates during every phase of the flight. I hope to ease fears and share in the burden, and I am far from alone.
Thank you for sharing my colleague's post. I think most of my crewmates feel just as he did, but...
I'm a United pilot. I'm absolutely a front- line employee. I walk the cabin, greet passengers, push wheelchairs, pin wings on kids, and do everything I can to communicate to my guests and teammates during every phase of the flight. I hope to ease fears and share in the burden, and I am far from alone.
Thank you for sharing my colleague's post. I think most of my crewmates feel just as he did, but may not take the time to post.
It's an absolute honor to connect our passengers, safely, to those that matter the most to them.
Recently, I arrived at the Gate 5 minutes before it was to close and was not allowed to board. I was running late because I didn't realize the gate number had changed and I was pretty far away. Because of this I ended up missing two connecting flights. The gate captain was so rude to me and said, "Haven't you ever traveled before?" Yes, I have many times and never encountered someone like that. I...
Recently, I arrived at the Gate 5 minutes before it was to close and was not allowed to board. I was running late because I didn't realize the gate number had changed and I was pretty far away. Because of this I ended up missing two connecting flights. The gate captain was so rude to me and said, "Haven't you ever traveled before?" Yes, I have many times and never encountered someone like that. I was upset because I needed to get to a critically ill family member and humiliated at the same time. It was United Airlines which I frequently used.
His/her parents raised him/her very well to be kind to others and have empathy for those that he/ she cannot help. We need more people like you in the world.
God Bless you and you family.
@Tim Dunn. We ALL know you LOzvE Dekta.
You cannot show an ounce of compassion for someone at another airline who tried to show he cared. Perhaps it’s tine for you to retire from the comments sections and let the rest of us enjoy a jackass-free environment.
I'm sure United fired the captain for being so nice and writing an unauthorized article.
Not allowed to talk to the press. Only approved spokesperson can do so. Good luck captain!
Kudos! I am in tears. So wonderful and I am very proud to be apart of United Team. God bless
What a kind and gracious human being this captain is by apologizing to the passengers. I'm sure it would have very difficult for him to make any decisions as far as returning to the gate. I applaud his consideration to keep his schedule AND to let those passengers know he was thinking of them and their situation. Just wondering, did those passengers have to pay full price for another ticket for missing their flight?
Passengers need to be on time. That is their responsibility. Plan accordingly.
If you’re on a connecting flight, it’s kinda hard to tell the pilot to fly the plane a little faster so that you don’t miss your connecting flight. Some of these responses are so ridiculous.
Karma will get you on a connection
I call BS on a few items. First the weight and balance is done by computer and those passengers were allocated seats already. Second a few minutes is easy to make up on a long transatlantic flight. They had time to put more bags in. And last if these passengers were on connecting flights to get this flight the airline would know to expect them. Often the plane pushes back so they can claim on...
I call BS on a few items. First the weight and balance is done by computer and those passengers were allocated seats already. Second a few minutes is easy to make up on a long transatlantic flight. They had time to put more bags in. And last if these passengers were on connecting flights to get this flight the airline would know to expect them. Often the plane pushes back so they can claim on time even if only a few feet away from the gate. Lastly the rules airlines use that states on flight crew gets paid till the door closes and that makes the crew motivated to close the door sooner even if their slot is not available for a few more minutes. When will customer service come back to airlines?
Great letter from the pilot, but often times things are beyond their control as this situation clearly was... You try to accommodate everyone, but sometimes you fail. Hopefully whatever delayed those three passengers won't happen again to them. It's horrible to watch your flight pull away and your plans crumble away. Hopefully, I can they caught the next flight and arrived to their destination to be able to fulfill their plans.
Im acretired United Captain. Flew international for almost 30 years.
That Captain could have and should have said he is not leaving until those people were on! The passengers were at the gate!! That flight going “to” Europe could've made up most, if not all, the delay.
His apology sounds good but in actuality was a weak response. The entire team could have done better. The agents were the likely culprits, but the Captain...
Im acretired United Captain. Flew international for almost 30 years.
That Captain could have and should have said he is not leaving until those people were on! The passengers were at the gate!! That flight going “to” Europe could've made up most, if not all, the delay.
His apology sounds good but in actuality was a weak response. The entire team could have done better. The agents were the likely culprits, but the Captain had authority to not leave
without those passengers
THAT would have been noteworthy!
Well said. Seems could have made up flying time over the Atlantic so missed connections sounds unlikely. A few minutes of weight balance calculations and paperwork seems like lame excuse. The gate agents seem likely culprits.
It’s so nice of you to show the world. We still have compassion and understanding for all. Thank you, Captain Luis Perez.
Mistakes happen...oh well..
This is an ultimate human behavior! I love and respect the pilot! ♥️
This is is not a social psychology class.
lmao this would be cool if it came from UA's press or something. But LinkedIn is filled with this crap
Really? I've been a pilot for a rival airline for over 32 years and a Captain for over 25 of those. This happens more often than you'd think (i.e. very frequently) and 99% of the time, the flight deck crew either doesn't notice (uh, we are sometimes a little busy), the airplane is not oriented towards a big terminal window, for all we know the passengers were lingering over dinner and had the attitude that...
Really? I've been a pilot for a rival airline for over 32 years and a Captain for over 25 of those. This happens more often than you'd think (i.e. very frequently) and 99% of the time, the flight deck crew either doesn't notice (uh, we are sometimes a little busy), the airplane is not oriented towards a big terminal window, for all we know the passengers were lingering over dinner and had the attitude that "they won't leave without us" (yes, some passengers actually have that mindset), etc....
I'm not even sure that this narrative was written by a real Captain, and if it was, he/she/it is breathtakingly naive and self-serving. I've got 300 people in the back and I'm mentally engaged in planning/preparing the absolute safest, most comfortable flight I can, and yet "Captain There's a Puppy Dog in the Window" expects the rest of us widebody Captains to cry ourselves to sleep because somebody missed the flight??? Puhleez.....
If we delayed pushbacks for every late passenger, no flight would ever leave on time. If we had a private meltdown every time a passenger missed a flight, we'd have a lot more accidents (this "incident" evidently bothered this "Captain" all the way across the Atlantic and to his hotel. A bit sad on his part, and actually somewhat disturbing). But...I guess the next bus driver who is forced to pull away from the curb while a runner scampers down the sidewalk waving their arms should lose sleep for days, too. Just like Captain Teary-eyed.
BTW, betterbub, this wasn't meant to be a response to your post, but it seems to have been archived that way.
You are a' little busy ' on the flight deck, but you are working for the public/ the people.
At some point operations makes a decision based upon a number of factors. Being pulled back to the gate, reapplying the tug and jetbridge, getting more passengers on also causes changes in paper work. It's not a five minute process. I can agree with his feelings but in the airline business there's a schedule to be kept and hard decisions made.
The captain did the right thing,everything was disconnected from the aircraft, plus wasn't fear to the people that had connected flights.
A caring Airline Captain deserves a nice gesture for a very nice apology to the passengers left behind, The Airline is lucky to have a compassionate Captain.
Is this even a verifiable story. There are stories like this that are used to drive engagement.. or recycled stories. These days I don't believe anything on social media.. but LinkedIn is a weird choice.. it's full of virtue signalling cretins usually praising soulless CEOs
I know Luis, great guy, I completely believe he wrote that and further I know he believes every word.
I actually feel the same way and try to remember why I am here and who has paid for the many wonderful things my family enjoys in life.
I also remember people like my grandmother who was only able to travel one time in her life out of the USA to go to Honolulu...
I know Luis, great guy, I completely believe he wrote that and further I know he believes every word.
I actually feel the same way and try to remember why I am here and who has paid for the many wonderful things my family enjoys in life.
I also remember people like my grandmother who was only able to travel one time in her life out of the USA to go to Honolulu for a week, she saved for two years, late in life, for that trip of a lifetime. I know when people are boarding my plane to Europe, for some this is their trip of their lifetime and I am going to try and make it perfect for them.
As a 787 Captain with not many years left till I retire I give 100% each flight and will till my last day flying at UAL.
This is AI generated crap.
Hawaii is in the USA.
If you meant “off the mainland” you should have said so like an actual captain would have.
Years ago before the UA/CO merger, I was in Destin FL after a hurricane to check on properties we owned. While there I got word my Dad was dying and the only flight available was in Pensacola. I immediately drove there only to find the exit signs had been blown down and the portable electric signs had ceased ops. I called Continental and explained I was lost and had just crossed the state line on...
Years ago before the UA/CO merger, I was in Destin FL after a hurricane to check on properties we owned. While there I got word my Dad was dying and the only flight available was in Pensacola. I immediately drove there only to find the exit signs had been blown down and the portable electric signs had ceased ops. I called Continental and explained I was lost and had just crossed the state line on I-10 and was trying to make a flight for the stated reason. They patched me through to the counter at PNS and the counter agent guided me back to the correct exit. I then threw my keys, ala OJ Simpson old Hertz ads to the Hertz agent and ran to the CO check in desk. The agent personally took my carry on to TSA for inspection and told me to go to gate security. I ran and when I got to TSA, yes this was shortly after 9-11, the same agent is on the other side of TSA and I was out of breath .. she winked and told me to take it easy … the aircraft had mechanical issue. As soon as I was seated the mechanical issue disappeared and was resolved. I wrote to the CEO of CO at the time. To my amazement Larry Kellner, then CEO, wrote back and from what I understood the employee was praised for her empathy and doing the right thing! Those were the days! (The foregoing is a true story and AI was NOT involved.)
In my years as United 1K, I rarely received thank you notes from the crew. Far more common to get them from Delta and Virgin crew. But there was one instance where a UA captain wrote a substantial note which he handed over himself on a Transatlantic flight. I still have that note on my desk and recently showed it proudly to my parents. That's how you build loyalty.
The UA pilot in this article did the same. People want to be treated as humans not self loading cargo.
A nice gesture and I can feel that it is genuine, but it would lose its value if it was done after every flight. Why was this flight so special that the pilot decided to do this. I think that in some way he was trying to get attention.
Actually, I believe it was the personal connection he made when he saw the passengers waiving at him in the gate area. That enabled him to make that decision. At some point, we are all human.
Alan Z, I sure hope "we are all human"... *beep boop*
You would never get an apology like this from Delta pilots. This is another positive advancement for United. I envision by the Summer '26 travel season that United will have surpassed Delta in every metric.
you do realize that UA's profit YTD for 2025 is down $1 billion which is a sizeable decline from last year.
Word is that UA is going ape crazy on DEN-ANC since WN has decided to fly it.
Flying MAX8s across the Atlantic and dumping capacity into markets in order to try to drive out competitors is precisely why UA will not match DL's financial metrics as long as the current testosterone driven exec...
you do realize that UA's profit YTD for 2025 is down $1 billion which is a sizeable decline from last year.
Word is that UA is going ape crazy on DEN-ANC since WN has decided to fly it.
Flying MAX8s across the Atlantic and dumping capacity into markets in order to try to drive out competitors is precisely why UA will not match DL's financial metrics as long as the current testosterone driven exec team is in charge.
And the reason why DL pilots wouldn't do this is because they understand they are part of a team and other team members make the call about what passengers to wait for and which ones to leave. It's a tough part of the business but it is not a job given to pilots.
If it were, this pilot would have made the call to get those passengers onboard; he did not because he knows he would have been disciplined for delaying a flight which he was told had to depart by other UA team members.
UA' profit relative to DL is down $1 billion year over year to date
and UA"s customer service metrics as measured by the DOT almost entirely trail DL's.
most notable is that UA's baggage handling for July (the latest reported to the DOT) was the worst in the US carrier industry - almost twice as bad as DL's
UA's on-time percentage was markedly worse than DL's.
so, no, UA is not in the least likely to overtake DL in anything positive but only in the amount of pollutants spewed into the atmosphere.
Triggered.
no, just getting all the facts in for the delusional people that make statements that are further from reality than they imagine.
Lil Timmy get bask on your meds
And you know damn fcking well, if this was a DL pilot post, you would be slurping all over them claiming how customer friendly the airline is.
Piss off wanker.
you missed - no, ignored, in the VERY VERY FIRST POST I made on the topic that I specifically said this situation applies to all large airlines.
YOU and your ilk are triggered by hearing that this really wasn't a great idea and pilots are part of a team; their job ends where someone else's begins and vice versa.
Ground staff have access to passenger data and are GIVEN responsibility by the company for...
you missed - no, ignored, in the VERY VERY FIRST POST I made on the topic that I specifically said this situation applies to all large airlines.
YOU and your ilk are triggered by hearing that this really wasn't a great idea and pilots are part of a team; their job ends where someone else's begins and vice versa.
Ground staff have access to passenger data and are GIVEN responsibility by the company for making the decision as to who to wait for and who to leave.
If the good captain really had empathy, he could have told the ops people to put the jetway back on - but he didn't because he knows that is not his job and he would have heard about it if he stepped into one of his coworker's territory.
and United simply is moving BACKWARDS in closing the gap with Delta not just in financial metrics but also operational metrics.
If some people like you could simply accept reality instead of arguing, I truly would have to write far less.
My goal is to find myself a promoter like our pal, @Tim Dunn. That level of dedication, fanaticism, and consistency is valuable. Game respects game. Keep Climbing! 100 more years!
thanks, but my goal has always been to speak the truth, even if it is uncomfortable to some or many.
It is ironic that many brand me as the fanatic but there are a handful of UA fans that spend far more time and spill far more ink touting their view of the world which happens to be pretty disconnected from reality.
Specific to this sub-thread, UA is not at all close to DL in...
thanks, but my goal has always been to speak the truth, even if it is uncomfortable to some or many.
It is ironic that many brand me as the fanatic but there are a handful of UA fans that spend far more time and spill far more ink touting their view of the world which happens to be pretty disconnected from reality.
Specific to this sub-thread, UA is not at all close to DL in MANY metrics despite flying 10% more ASMs.
I commend what UA has accomplished but they are still well in DL's rearview mirror.
I would wholeheartedly agree with this. As a person whose 12 day trip was shorted by two days thanks to United, and my luggage didn’t arrive for 10 days, I witnessed first hand their ineptitude. Their customer care department has a lovely script that they read from, but they don’t mean any of it. They refused to put us up in a hotel, refused to reimburse us for the necessary items we had to purchase,...
I would wholeheartedly agree with this. As a person whose 12 day trip was shorted by two days thanks to United, and my luggage didn’t arrive for 10 days, I witnessed first hand their ineptitude. Their customer care department has a lovely script that they read from, but they don’t mean any of it. They refused to put us up in a hotel, refused to reimburse us for the necessary items we had to purchase, and refused to refund the fare for the flight that never got ticketed.
Pilot was right. We recently waited almost an hour for passengers who arrived late in Newark, 2 gates over, who had been left behind. In this case the plane returned to the gate to get them- never seen that before. We were getting crazy notifications from United that the plane had to return (3 feet, and reattaching the jetway) to deal with “a customer issue”. Then, that a new gate was reassigned (the same gate)...
Pilot was right. We recently waited almost an hour for passengers who arrived late in Newark, 2 gates over, who had been left behind. In this case the plane returned to the gate to get them- never seen that before. We were getting crazy notifications from United that the plane had to return (3 feet, and reattaching the jetway) to deal with “a customer issue”. Then, that a new gate was reassigned (the same gate) and finally those passengers got on. In the meantime my family had been upgraded to their original seats so they headed back to our old seats ;-)
Nice United returned for them? Sure, but not to the multiple passengers who missed their regional connections in the Caribbean that day and had to wait hours for another flight with room for them. My feeling was United did this because it was the only flight that day out of Newark and they would have had to put the passengers up overnight, while as passengers missing their connections to a small regional airline wasn’t their concern ♀️
Trying to make a reliable connection at EWR is taking a risk. The airport has been plagued for over a year with major ATC issues causing large delays. Curious whey UA flight ops didn't initially hold the plane at the gate if the paxs were so close to boarding. I doubt UA paxs are making connections in Lisbon so a 15 minute delay wouldn't be that significant
The transition from @TravelinPenis to @PENILE was seamless. Unlike Delta connections.
Zing!
Love this post. As a frequent flyer who has missed the odd connection over the years (I’ve been lucky, have only missed 3), it’s still nice to hear the positive intent - as well as all the things that would need to be undone to get the aboard.
Knowing the ‘why’ behind decisions helps with managing the disappointment. If only more airlines and crew did were better communicators like this pilot. It’s not “the...
Love this post. As a frequent flyer who has missed the odd connection over the years (I’ve been lucky, have only missed 3), it’s still nice to hear the positive intent - as well as all the things that would need to be undone to get the aboard.
Knowing the ‘why’ behind decisions helps with managing the disappointment. If only more airlines and crew did were better communicators like this pilot. It’s not “the flight is closed”, it’s “Regating would make this flight at least 40 minutes late and dozens of people would miss their connections which would be even worse for everyone. Now, let’s look at rebooking you to get you home as soon as possible.”
I disagree on the communication thing. If you’re not going to reopen the door, the flight is closed. That’s what closed means. It’s succinct, it’s clear - remember not every passenger is a native English speaker especially on a freaking INTL flight. Brevity and clarity, delivered in a respectful tone, is the way to go.
-Penile
I agree on disagreeing. Well done, PENILE, you practice what you preach, by expressing your differing viewpoint with 'brevity and clarity, delivered in a respectful tone.' So far, I see no ad hominins against Rian, or calls to ban or censor your fellow commenters. *slow clap* We did it!
I'm not sure what's the point of this.
It's performative at best. Those passengers are still stuck there even if the pilot says some nice words.
Performative BUT- ceteris paribus- I’d rather have a pilot who has the demeanor to be able to say nice words, than a pilot who is a complete grouch.
PENILE, latin, ooh lala... how about a sassy sarcastic pilot? 'Oh, no... lookie, they missed their connection... anyways...'
Performative, probably. But it does feel genuine and he doesn't need to do it. It's very different than the "our customers are our top priority" from big corporation PR team. Where they don't mean a syllable, you can see them laughing in the background while they look for the form response. Those are the things that make us jaded and hate corporations. Future AI pilots you can be sure will never have the human element.
AI generated slop can type out an apology like this too.
The human element is the executive decision making, to either help those passengers or not.
Gee, if there was only another Star Alliance flight after that, like the one TAP flies.
Thanks for highlighting, so much goodness in the world that isn’t highlighted.
He could have radioed operations and tell the staff to pull jetway up to plane..........I have seen it done many times from a crew as ex AL/US/AA employee who worked above and below the wing...nice of him to post on Linkedin but it can be done and believe me as fromer operations agent to.........takes no time to re-work figures for weight and balance.
You would never get an apology like this from Delta pilots. This is another positive advancement for United. I envision by the Summer '26 travel season that United will have surpassed Delta in every metric.
Wow - an 0riginal employee - rare these days. Congrats on your career.
I'm ex PI.
Yes, apologies are a good start; but, also, let's do EU 261-style air passenger rights legislation in the USA. K, thanx, byeee.
Couldn’t agree more!
Well, I do agree that sometimes being a Johnny one-note is a great idea.
Well, sometimes being a Johnny-one-note is a good idea.
Sometimes, a Johnny-one-note is a good idea,
Sometimes, a Johnny-one-note is a good idea.
Alan Z -- I see what you did there. *wink*
Empathy is great but he threw a whole lot of people under the bus including UA's operations and passenger coordination team that unfortunately has to make the decision to leave some people behind - and that is true at any large airline.
An airline with a vaunted connection saver and such industry leading automation knows who they were leaving and why; the captain knows none of that. It is likely that the passengers were banging...
Empathy is great but he threw a whole lot of people under the bus including UA's operations and passenger coordination team that unfortunately has to make the decision to leave some people behind - and that is true at any large airline.
An airline with a vaunted connection saver and such industry leading automation knows who they were leaving and why; the captain knows none of that. It is likely that the passengers were banging on the jetway door with the gate agent at the jetway controls waiting for the plane to push.
If the pilot really wanted to show empathy, he could have radioed the operations control center (or whatever UA calls it at EWR) and said he isn't leaving until the passengers get on. He clearly didn't because he knows that is not his call.
and the real question is why the people weren't on the plane during regular boarding time. If it was a late connection, it simply highlights that EWR is not operating at US national levels of on-time and EWR is a high risk place to connect. If they were local, perhaps it was a late check in or TSA delay.
We don't know and neither did the captain. There are people at United who made the decision to go without those people and that is the plan that everyone at United should get behind.
and, again, the same principle applies at any large airline.
Not that you’d recognize empathy.
Hey, Jack, are you the same 'Jack' over at DoC that keeps getting replied my someone with the alias 'MeOff'? Just checking. We need a few more laughs, these days.
Nor misconnecting is exclusive to EWR.
Delta keeps ticketing me 30 min in MSP DTW or 35 min in ATL.
I missed a lot of them unless the gates are right next to another.
Never sent me a Porsche either.
Delta is a high risk airline according to your benchmarks Tim.
Jesus H. Christ. Is there anyone more despicable than Tim Dunn (other than perhaps Donald tRumpf and everyone who works for him)? This shred of detritus could ruin a wet dream. He has his head so far up Ed Bastian’s arse that he can lick Ed’s esophagus.
Neal Z
some of you are so triggered by seeing name that you can't think clearly.
Multiple people echoed the same themes that I raised; it does the family no good to have an apology which the pilots could have enacted in reality if they really cared. He controls the parking brake.
and he smeared many of his United coworkers who are paid to make decisions about who to connect and who...
Neal Z
some of you are so triggered by seeing name that you can't think clearly.
Multiple people echoed the same themes that I raised; it does the family no good to have an apology which the pilots could have enacted in reality if they really cared. He controls the parking brake.
and he smeared many of his United coworkers who are paid to make decisions about who to connect and who to misconnect; his job does not involve making those decisions and he clearly knows that or he would have taken it upon himself to have told ops and the gate agent that he wasn't leaving w/o the people in the gatehouse.
Cranky Flier summed it up in his summary of UA's earnings call which included this:
"United also says its ConnectionSaver saved 290,000 potential missed connections which is kinda like leading the league in offensive rebounds — good to have happen, but you’d be better off making the shots the first time."
EWR is high risk because it has some of the worst delays; in contrast, DL's hubs consistently have some of the best on-time in the industry. No airline is free from misconnects but, whatever "alot" of misconnects is statistically not likely. I personally would not choose a 30 or 35 minute connection at any US airline hub but DL's hubs are far more on-time than UA's and esp. EWR; it is chronic delays that create risk, not the connect time.
Ohh.. way too much imagery there @Neal Z, even if I tend to agree with the sentiment.
You speak of empathy while find every reason possible to make the actions of the pilot about any but empathy. The guy felt bad. Leave it at that. Why does it have to degrade into searching for any possible reason why a statement of kindness and empathy was in some way nefarious?
Using your routine phrase, YOU DO REALIZE so come across as biased toward UA, right? Cuz the rest of us sure do.
...You speak of empathy while find every reason possible to make the actions of the pilot about any but empathy. The guy felt bad. Leave it at that. Why does it have to degrade into searching for any possible reason why a statement of kindness and empathy was in some way nefarious?
Using your routine phrase, YOU DO REALIZE so come across as biased toward UA, right? Cuz the rest of us sure do.
And, @Tim Dunn FWIW, the operational reliability between DL and UA is not as wide as you’d like to make it out to be. I watched my 2.5 hr connection on DL at JFK last week evaporate to 30 min before my eyes.
Interesting logic from TD here: If these pax were a late connection, EWR is not operating at US National levels of OTP (implying that US National levels of OTP would have <2 miss connections). Somehow I think all Delta hubs (and all hubs of any US airlines tbh) have more than 2 people misconnecting per day Tim - I mean Newark (or any NYC airport tbh) is certainly not great for OTP so not arguing...
Interesting logic from TD here: If these pax were a late connection, EWR is not operating at US National levels of OTP (implying that US National levels of OTP would have <2 miss connections). Somehow I think all Delta hubs (and all hubs of any US airlines tbh) have more than 2 people misconnecting per day Tim - I mean Newark (or any NYC airport tbh) is certainly not great for OTP so not arguing the point, just arguing your terrible logic.
I agree, overall, bit weird to bash your coworkers on Linkedin - I'm sure UA's social media monitoring team will be having a chat with the guy because I don't think this is a great look. Also is this the first time this pilot has left people behind? Surely not.
I worked for a small budget airline and the lack of empathy was horrendous on so many levels. My coworkers called passengers dumb and always gaslit them for difficult conversations. I'm sick of this industry and the lack of accountability for trash customer service. Though I miss working for the airline industry when I got to meet people from all corners of the world, but I hated how little I could help them and how...
I worked for a small budget airline and the lack of empathy was horrendous on so many levels. My coworkers called passengers dumb and always gaslit them for difficult conversations. I'm sick of this industry and the lack of accountability for trash customer service. Though I miss working for the airline industry when I got to meet people from all corners of the world, but I hated how little I could help them and how my company wanted me to rip them off as much as they legally can get away with. No refunds for delays, lying about bags, changing schedules all the time then blame the passengers when they didn't get the email notifications, charging people for personal items because it LOOKS too big then won't let me refund the passenger when they call in. This industry is not what it used to be. It's just a downward spiral.
It’s very easy to say that gate agents lack empathy but the same way passengers expect the airline employees to be empathetic to their situation people must understand the pressures of being a gate agent when you have very little power and have to do what you’re being told or risk being reprimanded for it. Furthermore, we take a lot of abuse from people that isn’t justified and we’re expected to just take it. There’s...
It’s very easy to say that gate agents lack empathy but the same way passengers expect the airline employees to be empathetic to their situation people must understand the pressures of being a gate agent when you have very little power and have to do what you’re being told or risk being reprimanded for it. Furthermore, we take a lot of abuse from people that isn’t justified and we’re expected to just take it. There’s two sides to a coin and passengers often only see their side of it.
No, david, this is exactly why Asian hospitality is so much better than in the west, on average. Reciprocity in empathy does not apply when the one party (customer, client) is PAYING for the service - the customer does not bear the burden of being empathetic. Asian cultures understand this much better than western cultures. The service provider is being paid to have...
No, david, this is exactly why Asian hospitality is so much better than in the west, on average. Reciprocity in empathy does not apply when the one party (customer, client) is PAYING for the service - the customer does not bear the burden of being empathetic. Asian cultures understand this much better than western cultures. The service provider is being paid to have the patience and "tak[ing] a lot of abuse" (obviously actual abuse would need referral to law enforcement handling, but you seem to be talking about run-of-the-mill job stress. that's what a paid employee is paid to handle.)
@Travelwithdavid
Stop gaslighting us.
Gate agents have a lot of power.
As matter of fact, among customer facing roles in every industry, gate agents probably among the group with most power to make things right. But you act like you're an offshore outsource chat agent who can't fix anything.
Get to the airport on time and you won’t have this problem, just sayin.
@Layne. Funny is was just teaching my 8 year old about context and explaining how things are taken out of context.
How do you know those folks were stuck on a connecting plane, maybe they left home early like they always do, but this time there was a major traffic jam etc
Have to know the story before conclusions.
Layne apparently has never had a connecting flight before.
Still poor planning imo. If I know the drive to the airport was an hour and I'm doing an international flight in planning a 4-5 journey. Free is no way you're going to miss your flight. I never missed one in the last 30 years of traveling. And if I'm flying in and connecting on a different airline I'm staying overnight at a airport hotel. Because any issues at that point is on me. How...
Still poor planning imo. If I know the drive to the airport was an hour and I'm doing an international flight in planning a 4-5 journey. Free is no way you're going to miss your flight. I never missed one in the last 30 years of traveling. And if I'm flying in and connecting on a different airline I'm staying overnight at a airport hotel. Because any issues at that point is on me. How many of these late comers are late because they want to take cheaper transport or they keep forgetting things at home or too busy chit chatting. If you're chronically late and I have many friends like that then you need to be investing in things like clear, scheduling rides so you can't putz around. When I have to travel with friends like this I give them a departure time am hour earlier than it really is because I know they are unreliable.
Meanwhile AA gate agents pretends to not see anyone even if they're already in line.
class? more like no class.
this is self-serving virtue signaling laundering guilt through a linked in post.
if you want to be nice as a pilot you make every effort to go back to the gate and pick up those passengers. f*** connections in LIS. 99% of the plane is going there for leisure IG and TikTok selfies. it's not as though misconnecting in LIS will delay a Wachtell deal team leading to the failure to close a trillion dollar M&A deal on time.
oh my god you are ~ * e x h a u s t i n g * ~
cut the shit PENILE, aren't we the same damn person?!
somebody needs to re-up their psychiatric meds asap
not me. I am a stable genius, and hella rich
No kings.
No Kings
That was yesterday dipshit
Ugh... The trolling is real.
You DO know that plane is turning in LIS to go right back to EWR woth a plane full of connections, right? So, the ground staff is waiting oj arrival.to clean the plane, cater it and re-board for the flight back. But that wouldn't support your narrow-minded perspective, would it?
It should be uber-tiring to argue against yourself.
Tiring, tiresome... And deranged.
PENILE, My annual income is EIGHT FIGURES -- This was a master class in schizophrenia. Thank you.
Agreed, this kind of empathetic message, if presented in a relevant forum (seriously? LinkedIn?) could be wise comms for a big corporation. So I agree it's part of the solution. But the context is still real: the amount of lying by airline employees directly to passengers' faces kinda negates this one positive message. "The overheads are full, you have to check your rollaboard". "We're experiencing an oversell". "Cellphones interfere with navigational equipment". "Sorry, we ran...
Agreed, this kind of empathetic message, if presented in a relevant forum (seriously? LinkedIn?) could be wise comms for a big corporation. So I agree it's part of the solution. But the context is still real: the amount of lying by airline employees directly to passengers' faces kinda negates this one positive message. "The overheads are full, you have to check your rollaboard". "We're experiencing an oversell". "Cellphones interfere with navigational equipment". "Sorry, we ran out". "Delayed due to weather". "Close your blind".
Yes, honesty is welcome. Kudos to this one pilot, this one time. But enough with the lies.
"Close your blind".
Lol
every reasonable person understands that realtime vision into overheads isn't possible and an obviously conservative estimate must be made in order to prevent backups of the single aisle boarding process and get the flight closed out on time.
great! free money for volunteers or even more money for the IDB'd. up to $10k or is it $15k now? thank you Dr....
every reasonable person understands that realtime vision into overheads isn't possible and an obviously conservative estimate must be made in order to prevent backups of the single aisle boarding process and get the flight closed out on time.
great! free money for volunteers or even more money for the IDB'd. up to $10k or is it $15k now? thank you Dr. Dao.
they very well can, have you taken electrical engineering 101? empirically the risk is low but why take it. pilots manage the risk very well - when it's high they ask you to turn all cell phones fully off (not even on in airplane mode).
that means either literally out or it's too inconvenient to get it for you. why would you want service from someone who does not want to serve you?
weather doesn't have to be literally overhead, it could be anywhere in the area or along the routes that would impact your flight plan
glare from the sunlight might be hitting another passenger at just the right angle. if you don't accommodate a reasonable request you are a d**k and if you don't accommodate an instruction from a crewmember which you are legally obligated to do then you can find yourself meeting LEO when you deplane. I'm not talking about DiCaprio, but guys with guns.
Damn Penile, go outside and talk to a women.
My wife would not appreciate that.
Inflatable doll doesn't count as wife.
It would be good for people to know that when a flight is closed (the 15 min window they say you must be on board before the departure time), it sets in to motion a chain of events taking ~15 minutes, involving finalizing all paperwork, calculations, getting clearances and coordination from dispatch/ATC etc, to get the flight on its way. For someone to be let on, it would mean going through the steps to get...
It would be good for people to know that when a flight is closed (the 15 min window they say you must be on board before the departure time), it sets in to motion a chain of events taking ~15 minutes, involving finalizing all paperwork, calculations, getting clearances and coordination from dispatch/ATC etc, to get the flight on its way. For someone to be let on, it would mean going through the steps to get the jet bridge attached, and *then* resetting that 15 min clock to do all the steps again. It's not like because someone thinks the distance to the plane is just a few feet, it's that simple. Now, it's a whole different issue when the airline pads the schedule, or they close the gate only to sit there because there's a curfew on the other end.
....agree and not to mention all of the passengers who have also paid for a flight to leave (and hopefully) arrive on time - some of whom also have connections and deadlines to make
and yes, I have missed flights due to all sorts of reasons, including doors shut in my face by GA, but rules exist for a reason. Some people may not like those reasons, especially when they want them bent