I have to ask the same question, except what do they do right.
I was recently on a flight from my town, to another airport, to connect with the big brother airline and fly to my final destination. We, the passengers, the folks who provide the revenue, got on the little jet. It was one of those AJ, BJ, CJ, DJ, EJ planes, I'm not certain which one, except if it was a DJ, it would have been more enjoyable.
The FA announced we had a 35 minute flight. The only words heard from the cockpit, happened 10 seconds later when someone up there (no names, please) announced that it was a 45 minute flight.
Off we go. It was early morning, maybe that's why the FA kept nodding off. Maybe she wasn't, maybe she was closely looking at her buttons. In any event, because it was a short flight, there was no water, or coffee. No biggie.
The FA announces that we are beginning our descent, so seats up, buckle up. Mind you, during the entire flight, no word from the front office. No, the weather is crappy and rainy, it's 900 degrees, nothing. I think to myself, ok, he's busy watching the glass.
We get down, pass the IP, gear down, descending, and then, POWER UP, gear up, and climb up. He went missed. Don't know why. We head north, then south, then north again, holding, except I notice that the next north leg has gone past 4 minutes, so we are not holding.
Again, no words from the front of the bus as to what happened. I questioned the FA, and she said there was FOG. No announcement.
Off we go, climbing again, then we start down, and the FA says prepare for landing, seats up, etc, but we are landing at another airport. Not the destination. STILL NO WORD FROM THE FRONT OF THE BUS. The PILOT is obviously WAY TO BUSY to communicate his, and his companies, intentions to the revenue stream.
We land. taxi off someplace. Sit there. The FA says we are going to take on some fuel, and wait a bit. STILL NO WORD FROM THE CAPTAIN. After a while, FA says we are going. I wonder where. Because, of course, I have missed my connection with the big brother airline.
We take off, go to the destination airport, land.
During the entire time we were on this little jet, the only word we heard from the guy up front was it's a 45 minute flight. Obviously a lie, because it took 3 hours and 40 minutes to get there.
Yup, I missed my connection, and try and find someone who knows WTF is going on, but this high quality regional airline has no one to handle all the passengers that are arriving and have missed their connection. Call the 800 number we are told. Or find a gate agent who is not actively boarding a flight to make your arrangements. The gate agent I talked to said the flight to my destination has left, the next one leaves in 40 minutes, but of course it is OVERBOOKED, the next flight is on another airline, another bankrupt airline, and of course it is OVERBOOKED, but we are going to send you to another city, and then you can get a flight on another airline, not bankrupt, to your final destination.
I got where I was going, 7 hours later than I had planned to arrive, but I didn't have to sleep in a terminal, so all is well.
On my return, the busy pilot in the front of the regional airline had time to tell us what the weather was like, the forecast for the day, the time enroute, and our cruising altitude, and then thanked us for flying his regional airline. The FA was wide awake during the entire flight, and chatted with some of us passengers. The revenue stream.
Unfortunately, I'm not likely to ever trust them again. If they let jerkwaters like that pilot their planes, I don't ever want anything to do with them. I fly commercial when I have to go long distances, and this is the first time I flew this airline, and it is the last.
I thought about writing a letter to the company, but heck, they don't need complaints, they don't care about their passengers, and they don't need the revenue stream, obviously, so frigg em.
