vsvo
12-27-2004, 10:37
Gee, I wonder if the "unusually high" number of sick calls by flight attendants and baggage handlers has anything to do with the fact that their unions are negotiating pay cuts with US Airways. Times have changed and the industry has changed, but these unions don't seem to want to face reality.
******************************************
For Travelers, Bagfuls of Sorrows
Lost Luggage, Delays and Cancellations Vex Airline Passengers
By Lisa Rein and Lila de Tantillo
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, December 27, 2004; Page B01
The signs of misery filled Reagan National Airport yesterday: in the piles of luggage left over from holiday flights, the hour-long lines at ticket counters, the forlorn look of those stranded or delayed as two air carriers struggled to resolve labor and computer problems.
Financially troubled US Airways scratched 30 flights throughout its system after receiving "an unusually high" number of sick calls from flight attendants and baggage handlers for a third straight day, airline spokesman Amy Kudwa said.
The cancellations were small compared with the nearly 400 flights grounded by the labor shortage Thursday, Friday and Christmas Day. But the airline was working round-the-clock to reunite thousands of frustrated passengers with luggage, some after days without it.
The airline's chief executive issued a bulletin yesterday chiding workers for the absences that contributed to the holiday hardship.
"I have seen lots of excuses for why people took it upon themselves to call in sick, such as low morale, poor management, anger over pay cuts and frustration with labor negotiations," Bruce R. Lakefield said in the memo to employees. "None of those excuses passes the test. We all have our jobs to do."
Comair, a Cincinnati-based subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, resumed a limited flight schedule yesterday after grounding all of its 1,110 flights to 119 cities on Christmas because the computer system that manages crew assignments crashed, Delta spokesman Tracey Bowden said.
Comair has limited service in the Washington region, with 10 departures a day from Dulles International Airport and 14 from National. The airline said it hoped to have its computers repaired and to resume full service by midweek after disrupting the holiday plans of 30,000 travelers.
The chaos began with the winter storms that hit the Ohio Valley late last week, and it continued into a heavy travel day yesterday for many vacationers flying home to return to work today. A storm that coated parts of the Carolinas with freezing snow and rain yesterday dumped as much as nine inches of snow in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia and in parts of the Eastern Shore, slowing traffic on some thoroughfares.
Despite snow to the south, travelers on Washington area roads found less congestion than expected yesterday as some people may have delayed their return drives until this week, a AAA Mid-Atlantic official said.
At National, lines at the US Airways ticket counter stretched beyond the roped dividers, and passengers reported waits of more than an hour. In the baggage claim area a floor below, a steady stream of travelers waded through hundreds of pieces of unclaimed luggage.
Lola Haynes, 28, of Springfield had been trying to retrieve her bags since Friday, when she returned from Miami and found them missing. Inside were clothes, her cell phone charger and, most significantly, her diamond engagement ring.
"They switched us from one carousel to the next," said Haynes, who waited several hours at the airport Friday. She spent Christmas calling the airline's 800 number and checking the Web site to trace her bags. She couldn't bear to tell her fiance.
Yesterday, she returned to the airport in frustration. That's when she spotted the bags -- one in the large pile, the other behind the counter at the baggage service center. They probably had arrived from Charlotte, where the airline flew planeloads of bags this weekend, then parceled it out to various destinations.
In his memo to 26,659 US Airways workers, Lakefield blamed the turmoil on the "irresponsible actions of a few." He said he saw no sign of a job action. "But the impact was nevertheless just as severe." The airline, seeking bankruptcy protection for the second time in two years, is trying to reduce labor costs. Although reservations and gate agents accepted a 13 percent pay cut last week, management has not reached new agreements with flight attendants and baggage handlers.
Spokesmen for the unions representing flight attendants and baggage handlers did not return calls to their offices yesterday.
Caught in the middle were Charles and Linda Poladian of Queens, N.Y., en route to New Orleans to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. The Poladians were stranded at National Airport and separated from their luggage when their connecting flight on US Airways was canceled on Christmas because of "icy rain."
The Poladians said they spent nearly five hours at the US Airways ticket counter before an agent rebooked them on an Air Tran Airways flight yesterday morning. US Airways gave them a $70 voucher that partially covered a hotel room.
Yesterday morning, however, Air Tran told the Poladians that they had no record of the reservation. However, they managed to get a US Airways flight to Atlanta with the hope of a New Orleans connection.
"I'm trying to have a sense of humor about all this," Charles Poladian said. "Hopefully, at least my bag is over in New Orleans."
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
******************************************
For Travelers, Bagfuls of Sorrows
Lost Luggage, Delays and Cancellations Vex Airline Passengers
By Lisa Rein and Lila de Tantillo
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, December 27, 2004; Page B01
The signs of misery filled Reagan National Airport yesterday: in the piles of luggage left over from holiday flights, the hour-long lines at ticket counters, the forlorn look of those stranded or delayed as two air carriers struggled to resolve labor and computer problems.
Financially troubled US Airways scratched 30 flights throughout its system after receiving "an unusually high" number of sick calls from flight attendants and baggage handlers for a third straight day, airline spokesman Amy Kudwa said.
The cancellations were small compared with the nearly 400 flights grounded by the labor shortage Thursday, Friday and Christmas Day. But the airline was working round-the-clock to reunite thousands of frustrated passengers with luggage, some after days without it.
The airline's chief executive issued a bulletin yesterday chiding workers for the absences that contributed to the holiday hardship.
"I have seen lots of excuses for why people took it upon themselves to call in sick, such as low morale, poor management, anger over pay cuts and frustration with labor negotiations," Bruce R. Lakefield said in the memo to employees. "None of those excuses passes the test. We all have our jobs to do."
Comair, a Cincinnati-based subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, resumed a limited flight schedule yesterday after grounding all of its 1,110 flights to 119 cities on Christmas because the computer system that manages crew assignments crashed, Delta spokesman Tracey Bowden said.
Comair has limited service in the Washington region, with 10 departures a day from Dulles International Airport and 14 from National. The airline said it hoped to have its computers repaired and to resume full service by midweek after disrupting the holiday plans of 30,000 travelers.
The chaos began with the winter storms that hit the Ohio Valley late last week, and it continued into a heavy travel day yesterday for many vacationers flying home to return to work today. A storm that coated parts of the Carolinas with freezing snow and rain yesterday dumped as much as nine inches of snow in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia and in parts of the Eastern Shore, slowing traffic on some thoroughfares.
Despite snow to the south, travelers on Washington area roads found less congestion than expected yesterday as some people may have delayed their return drives until this week, a AAA Mid-Atlantic official said.
At National, lines at the US Airways ticket counter stretched beyond the roped dividers, and passengers reported waits of more than an hour. In the baggage claim area a floor below, a steady stream of travelers waded through hundreds of pieces of unclaimed luggage.
Lola Haynes, 28, of Springfield had been trying to retrieve her bags since Friday, when she returned from Miami and found them missing. Inside were clothes, her cell phone charger and, most significantly, her diamond engagement ring.
"They switched us from one carousel to the next," said Haynes, who waited several hours at the airport Friday. She spent Christmas calling the airline's 800 number and checking the Web site to trace her bags. She couldn't bear to tell her fiance.
Yesterday, she returned to the airport in frustration. That's when she spotted the bags -- one in the large pile, the other behind the counter at the baggage service center. They probably had arrived from Charlotte, where the airline flew planeloads of bags this weekend, then parceled it out to various destinations.
In his memo to 26,659 US Airways workers, Lakefield blamed the turmoil on the "irresponsible actions of a few." He said he saw no sign of a job action. "But the impact was nevertheless just as severe." The airline, seeking bankruptcy protection for the second time in two years, is trying to reduce labor costs. Although reservations and gate agents accepted a 13 percent pay cut last week, management has not reached new agreements with flight attendants and baggage handlers.
Spokesmen for the unions representing flight attendants and baggage handlers did not return calls to their offices yesterday.
Caught in the middle were Charles and Linda Poladian of Queens, N.Y., en route to New Orleans to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. The Poladians were stranded at National Airport and separated from their luggage when their connecting flight on US Airways was canceled on Christmas because of "icy rain."
The Poladians said they spent nearly five hours at the US Airways ticket counter before an agent rebooked them on an Air Tran Airways flight yesterday morning. US Airways gave them a $70 voucher that partially covered a hotel room.
Yesterday morning, however, Air Tran told the Poladians that they had no record of the reservation. However, they managed to get a US Airways flight to Atlanta with the hope of a New Orleans connection.
"I'm trying to have a sense of humor about all this," Charles Poladian said. "Hopefully, at least my bag is over in New Orleans."
© 2004 The Washington Post Company