G Gates

[PapaGiorgio]

Any you guys there the day when the bus drivers decided to go on strike for about 30 minutes. Talk about some pissed off pax, and crew. The G-gates were about to exploed from over capicity. Hell, I bet the bus drivers make more than most 1st yr pilots working out of the g-gates.

Something has to be done about that freakin place. I'll bet United losses passengers on a daily basis becuase of that place. Thank the sweet lord I'm no longer based there.

 

[smellthejeta]

Any you guys there the day when the bus drivers decided to go on strike for about 30 minutes. Talk about some pissed off pax, and crew. The G-gates were about to exploed from over capicity. Hell, I bet the bus drivers make more than most 1st yr pilots working out of the g-gates.

Something has to be done about that freakin place. I'll bet United losses passengers on a daily basis becuase of that place. Thank the sweet lord I'm no longer based there.

Are you guys trying to tell me that UAX/IAD is worse than the T2 situation at ORD before ACA left? If so, that is pitiful. ORD was so bad, I would tell my friends and family NOT to buy tickets on my own damn airline. (Okay, I know from a revenue stand point it made no difference, but it's the principle.)

 

[smellthejeta]

Yeah I agree, if I had to get a min wage job (wait what am I saying, I have one) I'd work the ramp also rather than walmart or wendy's but the way the hiring situation is, is that they can exploit it and thus you sub par service.

What I don't get is how WN pays their rampers $8.75/hr for the first year and people actually work for that kind of money. I refused a job with them at BWI because I couldn't afford to work for them. I got paid more on ACA's ramp. My current FBO job is about the farthest thing from a minimum wage ramp job you'll ever see. If we whipped out W2's, you wouldn't believe what I made without proof. I'm a FIRM believer in that you get what you pay for, and on the corp side, you NEED good employees, and you NEED to pay them. I got four other competing FBO's on the field; it's pretty easy to pack up your $15,000 fuel order and take it to the competition if you're not happy with the service levels.

 

[PhatAJ2008]

Actually, starting pay for a ramper where I worked was $6.85/hr... The attitudes of most my fellow employees were hoping they could get fired so they could go on wellfare and make more money.
...Sad

 

[Mr Wu]

Prop2Jet,

I hear ya, bro! I have seen everything you have described. My favorite is:

Told an older lady on the ramp these words after she was ready to board us sans fuel, release, and rampers. "DO NOT BOARD THIS PLANE UNTIL MY CAPTAIN OR I TELL YOU TO. UNDERSTAND?" She said 'yes' as she looked right at me. Within 90 seconds, 33 people are standing in the blowing snow wondering why the FLIGHT CREW isn't ready.
Snaab

Dude, sure that wasn't laGarbage?

 

[CoolSidePillow]

There is one answer for all the problems everyone complains about. "Welcome to America" USofA in the 21st century. Scary thing is we havent even hit bottom yet. Walmart economics. Spreading the limited wealth that 95% of the population fight over so thin you can see through it while 5% control most of the money and power while we still pat ourselves on the back and say how great it is here and how much better we are than anyone else. Yeah no kidding those 5% ruined every other place on earth and we are the last to exploit. We here say the french are wimpy and gutless and so bad. Hmmmm not only did they overthrow their powerful but they cut their heads off. Viva la France!

 

[Prop2Jet]

I am proud to be in that 5% class and I enjoyed ruining everypart of G-gates! Now onto Paris and the battle of the Bulge encore!

 

[FCNelson]

I have flown there for the last 3 months at Dulles and I have to say G gates blows.

1Man that place just sucks....

Done ranting!

Merry X mas !

Oh! Aren't you something special! So you've been flying out of IAD for a whopping three months! Aren't you just the grizzled veteran airline pilot who's been there, done that, seen everything, and lived to tell about it. And I suppose because the rampers don't move quick enough for your liking, thats UNSAT in your books and UAL should spend millions to fix the problem. I suppose your next complaint will be that you've been with your airline for six months, haven't got awarded an upgrade, and are pissed, because all your buddies are going to JetBlue, SWA, and FedEx while you're still an FO.

Kid, you don't even have enough hours for an ATP. Get real. I suppose you're perfect and don't get off your airspeed one knot on approaches. Live a bit, then come back and post a bit more. I'm going to enjoy reading your posts, you certainly seem to have mastered the art of complaining like a 25yr Eastern veteran.

FCNelson

-An over 5yr vet off/on of IAD-basing.

 

[suupah]

Oh! Aren't you something special! So you've been flying out of IAD for a whopping three months! Aren't you just the grizzled veteran airline pilot who's been there, done that, seen everything, and lived to tell about it. And I suppose because the rampers don't move quick enough for your liking, thats UNSAT in your books and UAL should spend millions to fix the problem. I suppose your next complaint will be that you've been with your airline for six months, haven't got awarded an upgrade, and are pissed, because all your buddies are going to JetBlue, SWA, and FedEx while you're still an FO.

Kid, you don't even have enough hours for an ATP. Get real. I suppose you're perfect and don't get off your airspeed one knot on approaches. Live a bit, then come back and post a bit more. I'm going to enjoy reading your posts, you certainly seem to have mastered the art of complaining like a 25yr Eastern veteran.

FCNelson

-An over 5yr vet off/on of IAD-basing.

Dang Nelson, if it takes someone longer than 2 weeks to figure out that the G gates suck, they probably shouldn't be a pilot. I have been going there regularly for the past 2 months and clearly see that it is really inefficient.

 

[NEDude]

I think the piss poor service is due to a few factors. And I don't believe pay is really the root. As mentioned SWA doesn't pay much better than anyone else, but the folks there seem to work harder.

I think the root cause is the bean counters at most airlines. As pilots we have not been the only victims of cost cutting. At many stations I have been to the staffing has been greatly reduced over the last few years. As a result, the fewer employees are having to do more work, many times for the same or less pay then before. I have come into a station several times only to find three people trying to handle two flights at the same time. Nobody called in sick, only three people were scheduled for that shift. The flights were on time, so it wasn't like one of the flights wasn't supposed to be there. It was just three people to check in PAX, off load PAX, load/unload bags, get paperwork, call the fuelers and cover anything else that was needed. That, I believe, is the root of the problem.

When I used to pump fuel for the airlines, it struck that me that the biggest difference between SWA and the other airlines was that when a SWA plane came in, there were anywhere from 10 - 12 rampers that worked the plane. At other airlines there were three, maybe sometimes four.

 

[millhouse21]

I think the piss poor service is due to a few factors. And I don't believe pay is really the root. As mentioned SWA doesn't pay much better than anyone else, but the folks there seem to work harder.

I think the root cause is the bean counters at most airlines. As pilots we have not been the only victims of cost cutting. At many stations I have been to the staffing has been greatly reduced over the last few years. As a result, the fewer employees are having to do more work, many times for the same or less pay then before. I have come into a station several times only to find three people trying to handle two flights at the same time. Nobody called in sick, only three people were scheduled for that shift. The flights were on time, so it wasn't like one of the flights wasn't supposed to be there. It was just three people to check in PAX, off load PAX, load/unload bags, get paperwork, call the fuelers and cover anything else that was needed. That, I believe, is the root of the problem.

When I used to pump fuel for the airlines, it struck that me that the biggest difference between SWA and the other airlines was that when a SWA plane came in, there were anywhere from 10 - 12 rampers that worked the plane. At other airlines there were three, maybe sometimes four.

You can really see that in PIT where SW parks right where we used to park. We still park nearby and the difference is stunning. When one of their jets arrives, it is literally swarmed with rampers trying to get the thing turned. We just have the gate saying "are you ready to board?" and coding the delay on the crew since the answer was "no."

 

[NEDude]

We just have the gate saying "are you ready to board?" and coding the delay on the crew since the answer was "no."

Or worse, you tell them yes and they take 25 minutes to start boarding, and then code the delay on the crew.

 

[CFIse]

FCNelson

-An over 5yr vet off/on of IAD-basing.

Wow - that's great news then - if you do it for 5 years either the rampers recognise your high and mighty 5 years and provide better service or you become immune to the incompetence.

Anybody who spends 5 minutes at the G gates can tell it's the gateway to hell, it doesn't take 3 months.

 

[shuttlepilot]

I was one of the lucky ones who broke in the rampers on the g -gates. They were a whole lot worse at first, try being nice to the rampers, gate agents and smile. I rarely had any problems..., I may have waited for a ramp twice, always had great service from those guys and gals.

 

[BRA]

Oh! Aren't you something special! So you've been flying out of IAD for a whopping three months! Aren't you just the grizzled veteran airline pilot who's been there, done that, seen everything, and lived to tell about it. And I suppose because the rampers don't move quick enough for your liking, thats UNSAT in your books and UAL should spend millions to fix the problem. I suppose your next complaint will be that you've been with your airline for six months, haven't got awarded an upgrade, and are pissed, because all your buddies are going to JetBlue, SWA, and FedEx while you're still an FO.

Kid, you don't even have enough hours for an ATP. Get real. I suppose you're perfect and don't get off your airspeed one knot on approaches. Live a bit, then come back and post a bit more. I'm going to enjoy reading your posts, you certainly seem to have mastered the art of complaining like a 25yr Eastern veteran.

FCNelson

-An over 5yr vet off/on of IAD-basing.

Actually at colgan if you wait over 6 months to upgrade people do complain. 6 month upgrades do happen there if people have the time. I upgraded in 14 months. And that took forever. You didn't happen to be one of those colgan people that quit to go to ACA around the 2002 time frame were you???