"Why didn't you hold my flight for me?"
SCENARIO: Passenger comes sprinting up to the gate at Denver International trying to make a DFW connection, huge wheelie bag bouncing, five minutes after the stated departure time. She explains that her business meeting "ran late." The aircraft is still at the gate, but the engines are spooling up and the jetbridge is being withdrawn. Passenger demands to know why we can't just shut everything down and hold the plane for her, given her super-elite frequent flyer status.
Naturally, this flight is departing on time FOR ONCE.
We can't hold the flight for her because: 1) the crew has already received their clearance to taxi for departure and they might lose it if we delay. Getting a new clearance can take a while; 2) the pilots might have to redo their lengthy preflight weight and balance calculations to allow for an additional passenger plus her Winnebago-sized "carry on," again causing a delay; and 3) delays have a tendency to snowball on down the line, as aircraft and crews are shuffled around at different stops.
If we held, these pilots might arrive late to DFW, which could make the next flight on a different aircraft that they are supposed to operate be late departing for Los Angeles, and the flight attendants might be late connecting to work their Charlotte flight, which could make that flight and the following subsequent flights and crews late, on and on ad infinitum.
And there is always the likelihood that the crews could be completely split apart passing through the DFW hub, with each individual being sent off to work a different flight. If this flight comes in late, you might create multiple later delays because of just this one flight. That's too terrible to even think about.
Not to mention that the aircraft itself is needed to operate a later flight from DFW to LaGuardia, with entirely different cockpit and cabin crews, who are coming in to DFW on separate flights themselves, which might also be suffering from earlier delays. Everybody needs to be in DFW at the same time for this to happen. And all this for just one flight. We operate 6,700 flights a day systemwide.
So just relax and buy yourself a burned McDonald's burger (at twice the city price) with the meal voucher I broke down and gave you. It's only four hours until your replacement flight. Sorry the terminal wi-fi is down. Here's a copy of last month's American Way magazine to entertain you.
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