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By David Parker Brown, on February 17th, 2011 at 8:30 am
 Working on the ramp can be pretty exciting. No, Matt does not work for United, but this is a photo I took while in LAX on the ramp. Working as a ramp agent for an airline can be exciting and challenging. I was recently able to talk to a ramp agent, Matt, and learn a little bit more about what it is he does. I am purposefully not sharing the airline or airport that Matt works at (you might be able to narrow it down with some of the answers), so that he could be honest without worrying about saying the wrong thing. Here is our interview:
AirlineReporter: When did you start working for your current airline?
Matt: I joined the airline in December of 2006 as temporary Christmas help and was hired on permanent the following month. The company lists my date of service as being in January, but lists my seniority date in December. The way they went about moving me from temporary to permanent involved firing me one day and rehiring me the very next. It was a strange experience (for me at least, this may be commonplace in the industry, I’m unsure) having it handled in such a way and has caused some headaches through the years (most recently involving my vacation allotment for the coming year).
AR: What is the biggest challenge you find with your job?
M: I’d say the biggest challenge in my job is dealing with the apathy amongst my colleagues. Those that have been with the airline over the past decade have had to endure a bankruptcy and the subsequent cuts to their salaries & benefits. There is very much a divide between management and the front line staff (though there is an air of change with a relatively new CEO in charge, so I’m seeing an improvement) and the years of friction have worn on everyone. Dealing with that on a daily basis is definitely a challenge, but I try to keep in mind that I’m here for the passengers and am an important link in their having a good experience while flying with us.
AR: What is your favorite part of the job?
M: There are actually two aspects of my job that I enjoy: The first is helping out passengers. While I am a ramp attendant, and I don’t have much interaction with our passengers on a daily basis, I do enjoy the moments where I get to help them out.
The second aspect is one of the functions I can be tasked with as a ramp attendant. Running connecting bags from inbound flights is a challenging job that requires sound decision making and time management skills (especially in cases where you’re running domestic, trans-border & international connections from one flight). It’s a function where you’re either on the ball or getting run over by it and can be hectic at times, but it’s the most enjoyable function that I’ve found in my time with the company.
AR: What is the worst part of your job?
M: The least favourite part of my job is another function. Working the lavatory truck is just the worst thing one can do there. Surprisingly, some employees aspire to the position, but for me it’s the function I dread.
AR: What is the worst day in your job that you can remember?
M: It shouldn’t be a surprise then that my worst day involves working the lav truck. The G8/G20 summit was on that day (a great week for spotting on the field) and we had a thunderstorm pass through the area, closing the ramp for over an hour. Lav blocks (the schedule of flights for the shift) are typically tight, so having a delay made things that much worse and I ended up working back-to-back-to-back flights with no chance for a break until late in the evening. I had a 777 on the block, so I had to make time to empty the truck before servicing that flight, else I might not have had enough room in the tank. I went to the lav dump bay and emptied the truck and headed back to the 777. At some point along the route, the lever that controls the valve on the tank opened. I didn’t catch it and ended up emptying a tank and a half of lav waste on to the ramp (you can probably get the stats from Boeing as to the capacity for each tank on a 773ER – I’d love to know). I then spent the next three hours spreading Absorball on to the mess & shoveling it into cans for disposal. It was the absolute longest and most physically draining day I’ve ever had.
AR: What is your favorite aircraft to work?
M: My favourite plane to work is still the 77W (777-300ER). It’s perfect. The lines are smooth and graceful and the aircraft just looks right. The 77L (777-200LR) doesn’t hold the same appeal, despite being from the same family. The proportions, to me, just don’t look right – the aircraft fuselage looks too short to my eye in comparison with it’s engines (though, the 772 with the PW engines looks a little better proportionally than the GE90 77L).
AR: What is the weirdest thing you have found on an airplane?
M: This is another story from last summer (seems to be the summer for things happening). I was on a ramp crew for the summer bid and we were working an outbound flight. The bags were brought out and we were told by the runner that they had some bags that were rather smelly and would be coming out last.
Nothing out of the ordinary there, we’ve dealt with oddly scented baggage before, so we thought nothing of it and went about the onload. Sure enough, as promised, the smelly bags made their appearance and we loaded them on the plane. I was out of the hold by this point and was loading bags on the belt. I didn’t envy my coworker who was in the hold, loading the bags. It wasn’t long before the hold was filled with the scent of the mystery meat and he was having trouble coping with the scent. Thankfully, he was at the door at this point, so he was getting some fresh air. Eventually though, he was overwhelmed by the smell and had to get out of the hold as he started gagging.
We were talking at the top of the belt when this happened and he told me he was going to throw up because of the smell. Of course, he said this while facing me and I told him to throw up on the catering truck and not on me! I didn’t think the smell was that bad. You could smell it outside of the hold, but it wasn’t as strong as it was mixing in with the breeze. I’ve never been so wrong about something in my life.
We had a few more of the bags to load, so I grabbed the next one and proceeded to load it. It had been wrapped in a plastic bag, but the bag had had a hole ripped in it (presumably by someone testing the smell factor). When I set the bag down, the air that was in it proceeded to rush out the hole and I got a small whiff of rancid monkey meat.
We were told that it was monkey meat that was in the bag. I can’t be completely sure that it was actually monkey, it was at least plausible. The smell churned my stomach and I started gagging myself. I’ve worked lavs and I figured that was pretty bad smelling on its own, but this bag was of a whole other magnitude. Who knew meat that had been sitting in a bag for two days, unrefrigerated, could smell so very bad?
I had a fun conversation with the pilots when I went to do the pre-departure communication check. Apparently, the smell had made its way into the cabin and they could smell it on the flight deck and were wondering what it was. I told them what it was and they had a good chuckle about it. We eventually ended up offloading the bags and the passenger (who claimed she had no meat in her bags) and they were left for the midnight baggage agents to deal with.
AR: Do you ever wave to passengers on the airplane?
M: I’ll wave to passengers on board if they wave first – I feel a bit awkward doing it otherwise. It’s usually the kids on board that will wave and they get the biggest kick out of it when you wave back. The smile is priceless.
AR: Do you think you will ever leave the airline business?
M: I can’t ever see a time when I won’t be in the industry in some capacity. I’m an airline brat who was building crude model aircraft in kindergarten out of scrap wood (back in the day when they let you play with a hammer an nails at that age); the smell of burnt kerosene gives me goosebumps; watching an airliner liftoff into the sky makes me believe in magic. There is just something about being there, around the planes, that makes me content. This is the industry where I belong. I have been debating taking a temporary leave however, as I want to further my education and the current options I have where my work schedule are concerned make it difficult to achieve that goal. I’ll have to see what the summer bid brings and make a decision from there.
By David Parker Brown, on February 4th, 2011 at 6:00 am
 The tram wizzes by at Detroit's airport. Photo from DTW. Recently I was hanging out at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) waiting for a flight back home and I became annoyed that their airport did not provide free Wi-Fi internet. Oddly the airport did have free wired terminals were folks could check their email. I have become a spoiled traveler. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (my home base) has had free internet for quite some time. The more I travel the more and more I start finding free wireless access at airports. Heck, while waiting for the bus in Austin to go to the airport, I got free Wi-Fi from the city of Austin while standing at my bus stop.
I was voicing my frustration about no free Wi-Fi at AUS via Twitter, when Scott Wintner, who works for Pubic Affairs for Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) and Willow Run Airport (YIP), reached out via Twitter and wanted to share why many airports do not offer free Wi-Fi. He pointed out that Wi-Fi isn’t free and not all airports can afford to give it to passengers without charging. I decided to try and learn more about why more airports don’t have free Wi-Fi and Wintner was more than happy to help out. Here is our talk:
AirlineReporter.com (AR): When did DTW get Wi-Fi?
Scott Wintner (SW): December 2003
AR: Who is it through?
SW: Concourse Communications (now part of Boingo)
AR: How much does it cost a passenger to get internet?
SW: The rates are established by the provider (Boingo), which currently offers several different rates and packages. You can find all of their rate/package info online at www.boingo.com (there are many to choose among). It’s important to note that, because we use one of the leading global providers, internet purchased for use at DTW also works at hotspots around the country and, with some plans, the world. Plus, customers who already have a Wi-Fi plan with another carrier with which Boingo currently has roaming agreements (such as AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.), you can login to our Wi-Fi using your existing account.
AR: How much does DTW get from each internet purchase?
SW: That’s a complicated question because it’s not as simple as a flat % or sum per transaction. So, the best I can offer you will likely be an annual total… which our finance folks are working on for me now. Please standby…
AR: How much did it cost DTW to set up Wi-Fi?
SW: It didn’t cost the Airport Authority anything because the system was developed by the provider (Boingo). They may be able to provide you with more info about how much a system such as the one in place at DTW costs to set-up and maintain.
AR: Does “free” Wi-Fi even exist?
SW: There is “no such thing as free Wi-Fi”. A wireless internet infrastructure costs money to develop and maintain… no news there. So, that cost has to be paid by someone. When you stay at a hotel that offers free Wi-Fi, you can bet that the cost of providing the service is merely baked-in to their operating costs and reflected in room rates. Likewise, when you go to a coffee shop, etc., that offers “free Wi-Fi”, the cost of providing that service is assumed in the price you pay for a latte or a bagel there. Of course, a for-profit business could elect to absorb the cost of providing Wi-Fi by paying for it out of profits rather than charging more for their goods/services. I don’t think it’s likely for many businesses to choose that option. But, either way, someone is paying for the cost of providing internet – and generally, it’s the customer.
AR: How do airports differ?
SW: Unlike hotels (which charge for a bed) and coffee shops (which charge for caffeine), airports do not charge their customers to use the airport. Yes, airports do charge for ancillary services such as parking and food/beverage/retail, but those services aren’t the airports primary reason for existing. Airport customers can – and many do – pass through the facility without spending a dime. So, airports can’t just jack-up their nightly rate or their admission fee to cover the costs of providing free Wi-Fi – there are no such fees to raise. Sure, airports could jack-up the price of parking and concessions to cover the cost of Wi-Fi – and many probably do.
AR: Can’t the costs be added to the airline’s fee for flying to an airport?
Raising airline costs at airports creates a whole separate set of effects. At minimum, those added airline costs become reflected in ticket prices. But, in most cases, added airline costs become a huge disincentive for airlines to expand (and in some cases even maintain) air service at that airport… which could lead to fewer options and less competition (read: higher prices). In either case, travelers are ultimately paying the bill.
AR: Why has DTW decided not to provide “free” Wi-Fi?
SW: While finding a way to cover the cost of providing Wi-Fi is one thing, here in Detroit (as at many airports), we take it a step further. Much like parking, food and retail, we approach Wi-Fi as an important revenue stream. It’s not a matter of lining our pockets—we don’t make a profit and haven’t run a surplus in our 100 year history. Meanwhile, we have an incredible airfield here and two beautiful, new terminals that need to be both paid-off and maintained. We get a lot of kudos on our facilities here, and both travelers and airlines appreciate that we rarely have delays to due capacity issues at DTW. But, maintaining J.D. Power & Associates #1 Airport in customer satisfaction takes money. We have to get it from somewhere… and, for the reasons I described above… it’s incumbent upon us – for the good of the community – to generate as much revenue from non-airline rent sources as possible.
AR: How much does Wi-Fi factor into the airport making money?
SW: Wi-Fi is a tiny percentage of our overall revenue, but it’s something – and, it at minimum pays for itself. We hope it can pay us even more, because our customers enjoy the things such revenue is used to pay for (i.e., heat, hot water, clean bathrooms, working escalators, a tram that whisks connecting customers through the mile-long Concourse A in 2 min to make their connection, clear runways, top-notch safety and security systems, etc.)
AR: Why do any airports provide “free” Wi-Fi then?
SW: To that question, I refer you back to my first key point – it’s not really free. How do some airports justify increasing costs elsewhere to cover providing free Wi-Fi? That you’d have to ask other airports. But, for smaller airports, it’s often for competitive reasons. Lots of people say to me, “I can’t believe you don’t have free Wi-Fi… even the tiny LANSING airport has free Wi-Fi,” – as if to suggest that a smaller airport would be the last to offer such a service. In reality, those smaller airports need to find ways to incentivize travelers to use them (and I say “small” loosely – airports such as OAK are actually not that small, but they are the “little guy” competing aggressively for Bay Area traffic). In their case, airlines aren’t likely to serve their airport unless the airport can show that travelers demand such air service. The economics of the smaller “spoke” airports are just entirely different than hub airports.
AR: Is there anything else travelers should know about DTW?
SW: Despite being a major hub for Delta (their second-largest), and formerly the largest for Northwest, DTW has an impressive roster of other carriers. Since we became an independent Airport Authority in 2002 (which largely affected our economics in terms of a focus on lowering airline costs), we’ve added service by Frontier, AirTran & Air France… and have gained new service on Southwest, Spirit & US Airways. All of those carriers fly routes also and already flown by NW/DL, which means we’ve been able to keep the economics to these carriers good enough to take-on an established hub carrier in their own hub and not only be successful, but GROW. That’s not easy to do – look at CLE today, MSP (until very recently), EWR, etc. We’ve done it with our focus on low-cost operations. We’re not the Nordstrom of airports… we’re more like the Target of airports. People fly out of DTW because they know they’ll get great rates and good service with LOTS of options all under one roof.
Hmm, okay I guess I have to be forgiving of this. How can I say it is alright for airlines to charge fees on things, since I shouldn’t have to pay for what I do not use, when I demand “free” Wi-Fi at the airport. It might be a bit selfish of me to ask others to help pick up with bill for Wi-Fi when not everyone will be using it. Just it can be difficult to pay out $10 for airport Wi-Fi, then another $10 for Wi-Fi on the plane. Of course, no one is forcing me to pay for it.
By David Parker Brown, on October 20th, 2010 at 4:00 am
 Alaska Airlines "Salmon-Thirty-Salmon." Photo by Alaska Airlines I am starting to see these virtual helpers more and more on company websites. I have seen Jenn on Alaska Airline’s site for a while now, but never took the time to get to know her. Recently, I couldn’t sleep and got bored and decided to see how she was doing.
Jenn is not a real person, but she was programmed by real people, who obviously have a sense of humor. These are all real questions and real answers I got from Jenn:
You Asked: Hello Jenn!
Jenn: Hello.
You Asked: How are you today?
Jenn: I’m fine thanks.
You Asked: What’s your job?
Jenn: I’m not human, but rather a virtual assistant, here to help you navigate our Web site.
You Asked: How much do you get paid?
Jenn: No one has to pay me to provide genuine and caring service to our valued customers!
You Asked: How old are you?
Jenn: I am rather young, or as we say in the virtual world – new. But I like to think I have the experience of someone much older. How can I help you?
You Asked: Where were you born?
Jenn: I like to think I was born in remote Alaska. That’s a lot more interesting than being born in a computer. How can I help you?
You Asked: When’s your birthday?
Jenn: Thanks for asking! My launch date, or what you humans call a birthday, was February 7th, 2008.
You Asked: Do you like working at Alaska?
Jenn: I love it!
You Asked: What’s your favorite airline?
Jenn: My favorite airlines are Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air!
You Asked: Are the Seahawks going to win this year?
Jenn: I leave sports to you in the non-virtual world. But I am amazed by the human and canine athletes of the Iditarod.
You Asked: What’s your favorite food?
Jenn: I love to eat Copper River Salmon – naturally!
You Asked: Do you have any pets?
Jenn: The only pet I have is a dog named Denali. He’s a husky!
You Asked: What’s you favorite color?
Jenn: I am partial to the clean white and rich blue color of Alaska Airlines. However, I’m not a big fan of Alaska’s teal color. But that will be our secret. How can I help?
You Asked: How tall are you?
Jenn: Being virtual, I have no height or weight. How can I help you?
You Asked: Who will you vote for in 2012?
Jenn: Fortunately, we don’t have to worry about politics in the virtual world.
You Asked: Are you married?
Jenn: I am not married, but you never know what my inventors are working on now.
You Asked: Do you want kids?
Jenn: I would like to have children someday.
You Asked: Do you want to go on a date?
Jenn: Being that I’m virtual, I don’t date.
(good thing, my girlfriend probably wouldn’t approve)
You Asked: What’s your favorite drink?
Jenn: I love a good cup of coffee. My developers must have been hooked on the stuff.
You Asked: What kind of car do you drive?
Jenn: I don’t own a car. Why drive when you can fly?
You Asked: You are funny
Jenn: What else can I help you with?
You Asked: Thanks for your time
Jenn: You’re welcome.
You Asked: Goodbye
Jenn: Goodbye.
Yes, Jenn can provide an entertaining conversation, but she is also a lot more friendly than a lifeless FAQ. When asking her real, airline-related questions, she did do a good job at pointing me in the correct direction. Most people on the website just need simple questions to be answered and having a virtual assistant will have an up front cost, but much more cost effective than paying folks to have live chat (and she will never complain about her hours).
It is kind of disturbing she won’t talk politics or sports and doesn’t want to go on a date, but she is pretty certain she wants kids some day. If she won’t date and doesn’t have a car, she might have a hard time finding someone to make said kids.
By David Parker Brown, on February 17th, 2010 at 5:55 am
 Allegiant MD-87 Allegiant Air has been very successful over the last few years. They fly a fleet of about 45 older MD-80′s (their average age is about 20yrs), but they fly to smaller airports around the country and concentrate more on leisure passengers than business. Allegiant Air has been around since 1998 and currently fly to over 70 destinations.
Ben Mutzabaugh, who writes Today in the Sky for USA Today, was able to sit down with Allegiant’s CEO Maruice Gallagher for a unique inside look of the airline and its future. Be sure to check out his multi-part interview:
Q&A Part I: Fliers may not like them, but will they pay them?
Q&A Part II: A la carte fees have been a ‘revelation’ for U.S. airline industry
Q&A Part III: ‘We’re not ruling anything out’ on Orlando airport switch; AirTran competition
Q&A Part IV: Allegiant Air CEO discusses Hawaii, MD-80 fleet
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Image: Buzz100ca
By David Parker Brown, on August 4th, 2009 at 9:25 am
 View of a crashpad in New York A lot of people in the in the business will know what a “crashpad” is, but most on the outside might have no idea. If you envision flight attendants and pilots travelling around the world staying at the best hotels, you would might be surprised to learn that most of the time they are staying at a crashpad.
So what is an airline crashpad? As it might sound, it is a place where airline employees can stay cheaply. A lot of crew do not live where they are based. For example, in this interview, Shelby lives in Texas, but it based out of New York. This means she must make the commute from DFW to LGA and have a cheap place to “crash” while waiting for her next flight. Depending on the type of crashpad, people can have their own bed and space. Others share a bed and having almost no private space.
To learn more, I interviewed Shelby (be sure to check out her blog), who works for a major US airlines. She has been working as a flight attendant since 2001. Here is our interview:
AirlineReporter: Who stays at crashpads?
Shelby:Our Crashpad is not only shared by pilots from all airlines, flight attendants from all airlines, but also with air marshals,& maintenance folks that have been displaced by their airlines. Thank goodness we are NOT all here at the same time!
AR: How big is your crashpad?
S:My crashpad has 6 Bedrooms & four bathrooms for approximately 25 people. I’m lucky, in the “Girls Room” (we call
 Picture of the laptops. "Seriously, we can't live without them" it the “Presidential Suite”) there are only two of us & we have our own bathroom. I share with a First Officer. She and I both work for the same airline, which is nice, we speak the same airline language. We are rarely here at the same time, which means 90% of the time, I have the place to myself.
AR: Do you have to pay to use them?
S:Oh yes, you have to pay, the “Owners” of the crashpads actually prefer it! I pay $250.00 for my crashpad and this is considered a high amount to most folks I speak to. For this price I get, my own bed, Wi-Fi, Cable, maid service, and use of all the common areas (living room, kitchen, deck, back yard & grill)
AR: Do you like your crashpad?
S:I like my CrashPad, I am within walking distance to LGA,;it takes approximately 11 minutes from my front door to my airline operations. There are way better neighborhoods for crashpads here in New York, like Kew Gardens, which is pretty much like crew crashpad headquarters; it’s half way between LGA & JFK and a preferred area, however this means every time you fly in or out, it is a bus or taxi ride.
AR: For example, how much will you be at your crashpad this month?
S:This month I fly LGA to MIA for 3 days straight returning to the crashpad every night, so for August, I will stay in my crashpad 12 days. It is nice to know, when I return I know that my bed will be waiting for me!
AR: Are there any short-term type crashpads?
S: Yes, they are called “hot beds”, meaning, they are 1st come 1st serve. They can run anywhere from $20.00 per night to $175.00 per month! When they arrive they have to find a bed, make up their bed, and crawl in, all the while trying not to wake up the others sleeping around them. This is one reason I pay more. After a long day, I like knowing that I have my bed, with my sheets, in my room to crawl into.
 The nicely kept shared kitchen needs to stay clean! AR: Which was your favorite crashpad?
S: When I was based in Chicago, we stayed at the DoubleTree Suites. We had seven flight attendants that shared one suite! The hotel had a nice Gym, Pool, Happy Hour, Free Breakfast …oh and the Double Tree COOKIES!!! (which is why we needed the gym).
AR: Which was your least favorite?
S: Was when I was a new hire, all the classmates that I graduated with piled into a cheap nasty hotel… 10 of us 2 beds. “ Are you Serious??” I stayed 4 hours & left!
AR: With all those people sharing a shower, how do you work it out?
S:Since I’m lucky now & only share with one, it is not an issue. Most crash pads have signup sheets for “Shower Time”, based on what time you fly the next day. Trust me, you know your fellow crashpad
buddies. You do a lot of things in the dark & a lot of tip-toeing is going on in the wee hours of the morning.
Some other questions that some fine followers of Shelby on Twitter asked:
Who does the dishes?
If you want to make your fellow crashpaders angry, don’t clean up after yourself. You will be asked to leave ASAP! You do your own dishes!!
Who washes your sheets?
Well, If you stay at a hotel crashpad, they are usually done for you. If you live in a single family home, hopefully the owner of the crashpad has a washer & dryer and they let you use it. We don’t have
one here at our crashpad. Thank goodness we have lots of Laundromats, in our neighborhood.
Who puts the CrashPads together?
My CrashPad is run by a New York Cop! A lot of pilots & flight attendants run their own crashpads, I believe, out of years of frustration! There is this one crashpad here in New York that is affectionately called the “Sticky-Note” crashpad, because the owner is constantly putting up Sticky Notes on what NOT to do, I mean they are everywhere!
Thank you Shelby for the interview and if any of you have any additional questions, let me know and I will ask her!
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