Airlines aren’t known for their customer service. That’s strange in a way because they compete for customer business, and the travel industry overlaps significantly with hospitality. Yet there are far fewer airlines competing for your business than there used to be. To most customers they are large, faceless bureaucracies. And they are complicated and confusing. Capital-intensive, heavily regulated, unionized industries aren’t known for their customer focus.
And in some ways it’s getting worse. Deadheading pilots now get priority at the airport for first class upgrades over even the most lucrative, valued ConciergeKey customers at American Airlines. This follows a similar change awarded to United Airlines pilots during the pandemic
Imagine how frustrating it would be as an airline customer to have your flight cancelled, get sent to a hotel for the night, and face a long line to get to your room – only to see your airline’s staff march right past you with priority.
And they keep coming. pic.twitter.com/6yw5pBMHW2
— Eric Sean Clay (@EricSClay) August 4, 2024
This isn’t airline staff acting entitled. Hotel check-in priority is generally contractual. Hotels agree to get the large block of rooms.
And for pilots, it’s important. At many airlines pilots don’t just have a certain amount of time off between flights they work, but a certain number of hours ‘behind the door’ of their hotel room. Making the pilots wait means delaying flights for hundreds of customers, and pilot fatigue is a real issue.
Pilots of course are generally treated much better than other airline employees. For instance, they get meals when flight attendants don’t. Pilots have far more negotiating leverage, and operational leverage. That’s why they get paid more, too.
I really wouldn’t tag the lack of customer service on the employee unions. Just look to monetizing corporate owners that make booking and everything else so complicated. For the most part I have received good service from flight attendants and gate personnel. The only one real incident was after the AirTran/Southwest Airlines merger and a disgruntled former AirTran check-in agent was a sourly old soul. And AirTran was probably not union.
What people are forgetting is that flight crews have minimum crew duty time schedules. They must arrive earlier and therefore the crew duty day starts earlier. If having to wait in a long queue to check in to a hotel then crew duty time is pushed back and now the scheduled departure for the next flight is pushed back thus creating more problems with the schedule further down the line.
Ok, but, it’s a Sheraton. I’d rather curl up with a good book at an airport gate chair. I mean, even my lovely QR stopover hotel in DOH was not much more than a Japanese capsule hotel.
However, there are plenty of other perks that airline crew get while the passenger gets slammed with various and sundry fees regardless of status, barked at by tsa and gate agents, inflated fares and no COLA (Cost Of LIving Adjustment) in pay for years. Yeah, passengers need a union.
Yes, I recently boarded a regional United flight where one of you entitled so and sos was abusing and belittling the young uniformed pilot sitting across the aisle from me. Saying he looked 12 and how dare he be seated up there, I’m 1k and United sucks…
I couldn’t bury my face in a magazine fast enough, the second hand embarrassment was almost enough to make me throw my own United card in the trash.
Another benefit that pilots and FAs get I’ve noticed is that they never have to wait for a hotel shuttle — often times the driver will arrive several minutes early and wait on them. Great if you are going to the same hotel!
Someone get this guy Eric a straw so he can suck it the hell up. As others have pointed out, the crew only get so many hours behind the door before they go back to work. If crew wait so Eric can get to his room first and they’re pushing up on minimum rest, the flight may be delayed the next day. Wait until this guy finds out law enforcement officers can carry their firearm on a plane, he’s really going to shat himself.
We all want our pilots and flight attendants to be fully rested, ready for work, and to get us to our destination safely.
Some crew fly regular routes, others are there to fill in when flight operations mess up everything.
I have no issues with pilots and flight crew to have priority.
Would you rather there not be rested crew ready to get to your destination? Would you rather at times of delays, weather, mechanicals, that the substitute crews aren’t there when needed?
I have a Delta pilot friend, and a United pilot friend, as well as United flight attendant friends. I’ve heard first hand what happens when flight operations are disrupted. The pilot friends fly international routes to Europe and Asia.
Be kind. Be thankful.
I want a well rested crew on my flights. Let them enjoy their contracted perks. And, Gary, quit beating this dead horse.
Generally, hotels with crew contacts have a sign in sheet and keys available for the scheduled crew in the van at airport pickup. The crew in question “pushing their way to the front ” is probably doing so because the hotel f**ked that up. I know from experience, you’re blame the wrong party here! Or, just make the crew wait…blow their minimum rest and let 130 passengers tomorrow suffer.
@GARY,
You should know exactly why the flight crews laying over don’t have to wait in line. Those rooms are pre reserved and prepaid, unless a crew member cancels it. The line is for vouchers, to be paid.
I’m really getting tired of the SUN and POST type of articles you are putting up.
If you want to get first dibs on a free upgrade on AA, go be a pilot! Invest a good $100,000 plus! Fly a plane for 50,000 hours! Be away from your family! Be a part of a high percentage of divorces! Deal with IOC, crew scheduling, ground ops, flight crew AND idiot passengers simultaneously! And maybe THEN you’ll get first dibs! Or…..BUY THE FREAKIN TICKET TO BEGIN WITH! Quit being a cheapskate then crying about how the people who can SINGLE HANDEDLY end your life MIGHT get to sit in the seat YOU SHOULD HAVE PURCHASED IN THE FIRST PLACE. Simple. Pilots deserve any extra comfort they request. Period. The freaking CK’s or anybody else for that matter will NOT be getting the big tin can from point A to B. Ever. Enough with the pilot hate.
It sounds like the pilots and other flight crew are entitled by contract and for a reason. Of course, if the check in process is slow due to the hotel crew and hotel protocols, I can see why those standing inline for a long time, with aching feet and aching backs due to airplane seats, are grumbling. Maybe they should have used Airbnb where the check in process is less complicated.
Gary…. You’re so mid informed about the hotel shuttles. We wait a lot. More times than not.
Last night – shortly after takeoff – a very entitled elderly FA who was clearly a jump seat traveler took an empty aisle seat in front of me and then quickly jammed the seat in full recline with zero warning.
I was tempted to slam the seat back up but I didn’t want to cause a flight diversion.
Airline crewmember here. Our check in process is usually pre-generated by the hotel. Theres no credit card to process. The rooms are already assigned. The keys are coded and in envelopes. All of these are in a binder or on a clipboard with a sign in sheet. The entire process is pretty much grab and go with little to no interaction with the desk clerk.
So yeah, we walk to the front desk, take care of ourselves and get out of the way. We shouldn’t be impacting your check in process at all.
How is an FA entitled because they took an open seat and reclined. It’s the same thing anyone else could do. Boraxo seems to feel inferior.
As someone that’s been an EXP for longer than I can remember, I have no issues with them getting the last seat up front or checking into a hotel ahead of me.
I’m not sure what’s happened to the new bunch of frequent flyers, but they have become so entitled. It’s almost embarrassing to say I have status anymore as I don’t want to lumped into the “Here comes another A-hole entitled jerk I have to deal with.”
This day and age status is a dime a dozen and EXP doesn’t mean with it did back in the day. So suck it up buttercup, you aren’t that important and the carriers know for most, it’s not your money, it’s your companies money and contracts that feed their pockets.
@BJ – where did I write about hotel shuttles?
I would expect that airline staff is treated as a priority.
Some corporations buy business class tickets for their employees to travel. Some airlines do the same for their pilots. I don’t see a difference.
For the record they are not getting first class upgrades over passengers. They are given a booked first class seat to begin with.
Ron’s reply is the only relevant one here. He described it perfectly. Some hotels even have a little area designated for Airline Crew check-in. The crew steps up, is handed a binder, signs in with front desk, and is off to their rooms with minimal if any impact to the existing line of guests waiting.
Wow, what a bunch of entitled pricks you union people are. Crazy attitude for unskilled workers.
You are one of the most despised people in aviation. The vast majority of crews see you as a despicable inhuman loser. Your union hating union busting rhetoric is vile. But what else do we have to expect from a clown like you.
Boraxo, at my airline jumpseat riders are entitled to take any open seat after boarding is complete. They choose to ride jumpseat in order to allow other standbys to make it onboard. In the end, if there are no shows we can take seat. I take it you don’t fly very much and have no understanding about our policies and procedures.
Just get in the crew check-in queue and say you’re deadheading with X airline. As for your credentials, very discreetly pass a crisp, folded $50 bill under your ID. Priority service for a fee.
Maybe I have it wrong but I thought that one of the pilot contracts requires their pilots flying to get to a job is entitled to the highest class seat on the airplane. This includes displacing a customer paying full price for their first class or business class seat. Is this so? What is the wording of the contract?
This sounds like the ravings of a certain convicted felon, hoping to be “dictator for a day”.
One airline cog can go grab the envelopes for their cohorts and not swarm the front of the line. Be respectful and discreet.
If a Conceargekey passenger wants that First Class seat they can pay for it rather than hope for an upgrade.
While working at a hotel AA Southwest Delta all have their information is already filled out on the clipboard. All they have to do show their bag and is sign in to pick up the keys, We don’t have to swipe a credit card so it takes about 3 minutes tops vs checking in a guest
At some hotels, the airline crews may still have access to special lounges or dedicated hang-out spaces for airline crew.
Gary, we know you hate AA and will opt to write about ANYTHING negative you can dredge up but this takes the cake in terms of tiny “issues” and shows that you clearly don’t understand the hotel or airline business.
First, it isn’t a “perk” they are getting because they have status or anything else. It’s a service the hotel provides as part of their contracted room block for exactly the reason others point out below – to get the crew into rooms so they can rest.
2nd, it takes seconds to give a crew their keys. The keys are pre-made and attached to the crew manifest. There is no credit card swipe, no FF number to attach, no questions about lounge access, high floor, upgrades, lounge access or any of the other BS that front desk agents have to deal with for paying guests. It’s a one second transaction. And if there is a long line that is the fault of the hotel not the airline or a “perk”
And yes hotel vans often do arrive in advance and wait for the crew – again this is for the above reasons and contracted by the hotel – not a “perk”
Find something real to complain about, please, rather than amplifying petty and incorrect observations
The “hotel shuttle” for my company is usually a contracted company and not the hotel’s shuttle. If it is a hotel shuttle, it is a contracted item. The crews have a specific pickup area and the shuttles must wait for their crews to arrive. Normally, other guests are not on the buses. As soon as the crews arrive, the bus leaves. The rooms are pre-assigned. The flight crew and cabin crew usually go to a specific area at check-in. They show their ID, sign in and get their key. I have never seen any of our crews preempt any other hotel guest at the checkin counter. Usually the hotel is contracted to provide a “crew rest” room where they can sit, talk, enjoy soft drinks and snacks. This allows them to relax, read a book, watch TV etc. outside of the public areas or their room. The airline pays for this so regular customers are not being sidelined.
Pilots receive first class seats when they are being put in position to go fly. When they are being repositioned at the end of the day, they get coach.
So at the start of a 12 hour day, first class. End of a 12 hour day, coach.
Keep hating the unions bud
@E-lectric A sounds like they need a safe space to lick their Snowflake wounded feelings. .
I have seen airline crews preempt my check-in and other hotel guests’ check-ins at check-in counters each and every month when at hotels in the US. And it’s not just airport hotels where I see this. There are also airline crews who are put up in city center hotels — think hotels like the Crowne Plaza Times Square in NYC. How much has it delayed some guests check-ins? Anything from a minute to 20 minutes in my experiences during the last year or two.
It’s really too bad that the hotels in the US refuse to get entirely out of the game of requiring in-person check-in for guests to get room keys. I prefer contactless self-check-in and getting room keys without having to talk to hotel staff — even more so when facing the prospect of airline crew guests slowing down check-in for me or others — but unfortunately hotels that used to have that as an option have largely backed off from that and gone back to requiring interacting with hotel reception in-person to get a room key.
Wow. Can you BE any more petty? Or wrong? Jealousy is not a good look.
At hotels, this kind of thing may be less annoying than it is to some at airports. It can’t be fun to barely miss a flight because uniformed flight crew cut the security screening line and caused the passengers in the line to miss the gate-closing cut-off times because of that.
On some evenings at ORD T5 during the last five years, sometimes that meant being slowed down as much as 20-30 minutes at the screening checkpoint for those who didn’t bail out to a different screening line.
Their contract and FAA rules have nothing to do with that man. They cut the line. I hear their problem but it’s still not his problem. They arrived at the hotel late, or the hotel doesn’t have enough people to process the incoming guest. Not his problem. His problem, the line cutting.
David C is correct that the root of this problem is the hotel staffing levels required for checking in all guests quickly.
The hotel owners/operators have gotten so cheap on guests that they have set things up to have a line of 30 people waiting to get to the hotel room at 10pm with one or maybe two receptionists at the front desk rather than to pay to staff up better or have self check-in kiosks that work. And since free cancellations within less than 24 hours of check-in are largely history in much of the US, the hotels don’t care if we have to wait 20 minutes to get checked in on a non-cancelable reservation. They know it’s too late to avoid the penalty for cancelling the reservation at the point.
The hotels have quit caring about 100% guest satisfaction. They care about 90+% of checking-in guests being stuck paying the full rate for the stay even if there customers are dissatisfied with the 15-80 minute check-in lines at the front desk.
And the point of this post is? It would be best to look at the power of collective bargaining to understand where ALPA/AAPA were coming from when the current contracts were negotiated. After years of no/minimum raises and large stock buybacks, the pilots were finally in a position of strength in negotiations had they used it. Just like management did.
I have no respect for any airline employee at all!
Even the once-premium airline Lufthansa has become a vomit-inducing experience with poor aircraft maintenance, flight cancellations & delays, and air crews who are arrogant and even combative!
Low point for me wad when I worked for US Airways. I had to buy a ticket to travel to LAX for Thanksgiving only to find the entire first class cabin was full with one of our Regional VP’s and her entire family. This still continues, all those executives who ran their airlines into the ground have unlimited first class for life.
“You are one of the most despised people in aviation. The vast majority of crews see you as a despicable inhuman loser. Your union hating union busting rhetoric is vile. But what else do we have to expect from a clown like you.”?
That says more about the people hating on him and the state of society than it does about his opinions. Even if he were cut from the same cloth as those who act as if it’s better to be hated than to be ignored (and he isn’t), there is still a public service in staking out positions and having them be challenged and debated in the open.
Keep in mind that our amigo Señor Leff is still the same guy who loved his high school debate team adventures.
I am rather favorably inclined toward labor unions in that it helps to right the balance against the concentrated strength and interests of employers and well-moneyed interests, but the idea that unions never have any possible detrimental impact in society or on customers doesn’t really hold up well in the real world. For example, some may say police unions have been problematic in enabling abusive cops to stay on the job and hop between jobs in law enforcement when those abusive cops are not psychologically suitable to be paid to run around with guns and a badge where they do.
After 34 YEARS of line flying, we as pilots have negotiated if deadheading, we are placed at the top of the upgrade list upon booking. Yes, sometimes we get first, but more often than not, a coach seat. Deadheading can be part of a pilots sequence, and as a professional reserve pilot by choice at seniority .number <1000, it can be at the start of a trip, in the middle, or at the end due to flying broken sequences.
You GET what you negotiate, of you really want a FC seat BUY one! Hope is not a viable plan of action.
We also have some contractual hotel language, granted not enough, but there are limits as to how long we wait at curbside for the van along with some other minor other items.
As for "perks" for us crew when NOT on duty, flying space available is not a viable option in the summer with record load factors. One airplane goes out of service and you'll be left behind. There's a reason why I drive +20hrs to volunteer at two large airshows every year vs not getting out of town for days when the proverbial brown stuff hits the oscillating device such as TS/Hurricane Debby this week.
Oh, I actually got FC on my double deadhead home after getting stuck in TPA an extra day when Debby passed by week. I needed the rest since I only had one day off (vs two) before starting a four day trip.
Wait… So this is really an article about how a group of pilots and FA’s who are on short layovers are given front of line treatment where, you clearly aren’t aware, their rooms are pre-assigned and we simply sign a piece of paper and jot down our van time and go? we’re in and out in seconds.
BTW- with very few exceptions, no Sheraton qualifies for a “long stay” hotel. So, you’re talking maybe 12-13hours break? But yea, keep complaining how you had to wait in line and are not supposed to fly a plane in 12 hours.