The Office Cast Left Behind By US Airways

skywaymanaz · Sat May 04, 2013 4:31 pm

Rainn Wilson, who portrary Dwight Schrute on The Office, and some of his cast mates were left behind in PHL when their connection left early without them. Their flight from LAX was 40 minutes late and it looks like they got to the gate for their Scranton flight to find it left 10 minutes early. Rainn took to twitter to express his rage. At first I was sympathetic but the more I read the more I shook my head. I had the impression from reading what he wrote it was the final flight of the day to Scranton and I'd have a hard time understanding what the US Express gate agent was thinking if that were so. Looks like they were rebooked on a flight that left 3 hours later and there was another one after that. They choose to rent cars instead and drive up to the wrap party for the series there. Any have any more info on this? How close was the connection and what are the policies in these situations?

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/stra...sts_airline_hRevCCiax0Tu1c65w78hYK

sweair · Sat May 04, 2013 4:45 pm

The power of Internet, in the old days no one would know.

vlad1971 · Sat May 04, 2013 4:47 pm

Completely agree with US AIRWAYS . Passengers who are not showed up at the departure gate 10 minutes before scheduled departure time are subject to offload . These are the rules . Most of US flights depart earlier to ensure on-time departure which also goes to the DOT. Sorry to tell that but - Late is Late ..... Airlines will not keep aircraft at the gate for misconnect passengers .

sankaps · Sat May 04, 2013 4:57 pm

Quoting vlad1971 (Reply 2):
Sorry to tell that but - Late is Late ..... Airlines will not keep aircraft at the gate for misconnect passengers .

Sure, but how does that justify the connecting flight leaving *early*?

CrimsonNL · Sat May 04, 2013 5:05 pm

I think the reaction of Mr. Wilson is quite childish. But I do think that this incident is a bad example of an airline-hub functioning. The gate agent should have checked where the inbound passengers were coming from and what time their inbound flight had arrived. If they had left on time without them that's something I would agree with, but 10 minutes seems way too early.

Martijn

spacecadet · Sat May 04, 2013 5:06 pm

Quoting vlad1971 (Reply 2):
Sorry to tell that but - Late is Late ..... Airlines will not keep aircraft at the gate for misconnect passengers .

First of all, that's not even true. Many airlines I have flown on do hold connections. Second of all, 10 minutes early is not "late". Third of all, they were not there yet because their flight was late. This is like blaming a passenger for the airline having lost his checked bag.

FlyASAGuy2005 · Sat May 04, 2013 5:51 pm

There is a difference between the flight being closed and actually gone. Having worked connection carrier flights in the past, it's standard practice for almost every airline I know to close (connection) flights 10 minutes prior just so that it can depart on time. The biggest reason being the manual load sheet. The gate has to get the final passenger count to the flight crew as does the ramp has to have the paperwork in including the checked bags, cargo and valet bags so that w&b can be completed before they push. On mainline flights this is all done electronically thus most of the time the flight will close 5 minutes prior. Passenger count is sent via computer as is the fuel and bin weights for a weight and data record.

sankaps · Sat May 04, 2013 5:54 pm

Quoting FlyASAGuy2005 (Reply 6):
There is a difference between the flight being closed and actually gone. Having worked connection carrier flights in the past, it's standard practice for almost every airline I know to close (connection) flights 10 minutes prior just so that it can depart on time.

That is true and fair, but I have personally witnessed on numerous occasions, flight actually pushing back early without necessarily waiting for connecting pax who might otherwise have just made it. I think leaving early is just as bad as leaving late!

FlyASAGuy2005 · Sat May 04, 2013 6:28 pm

Quoting sankaps (Reply 7):
That is true and fair, but I have personally witnessed on numerous occasions, flight actually pushing back early without necessarily waiting for connecting pax who might otherwise have just made it. I think leaving early is just as bad as leaving late!

It is, which is why if a flight gets in too early it isn't considered on time.

IMissPiedmont · Sat May 04, 2013 6:34 pm

Holding the flight in this case would not have made good business sense. The plane was scheduled to be on the ground at AVP for only about 20 minutes and there was a flight later that could accommodate these people. Think about how many others would miss connections and appointments if the flight was late leaving AVP?

Let him rant, US Airways agents made the correct choice.

sankaps · Sat May 04, 2013 6:42 pm

Quoting FlyASAGuy2005 (Reply 8):
It is, which is why if a flight gets in too early it isn't considered on time.

Is this new? AFAIK, the DOT does not measure "early" arrivals, only on-time and delayed.

Quoting iMissPiedmont (Reply 9):
Think about how many others would miss connections and appointments if the flight was late leaving AVP?

But that is if the flight left late. The question and unknown here is whether it pushed back early, and whether The Office cast would have made it if it hadn't pushed back early.

Maverick623 · Sat May 04, 2013 6:47 pm

Quoting FlyASAGuy2005 (Reply 8):
It is, which is why if a flight gets in too early it isn't considered on time.

Yes it is, at least according to the DOT stats.

Quoting vlad1971 (Reply 2):
Airlines will not keep aircraft at the gate for misconnect passengers .

Yes they will, although in my experience PHL seems to be a "no-hold" hub, probably due to congestion issues. Also, his flight left out of Terminal F. Anyone who has flown out of there knows what that's like.

IMissPiedmont · Sat May 04, 2013 6:59 pm

Quoting sankaps (Reply 10):
The question and unknown here is whether it pushed back early, and whether The Office cast would have made it if it hadn't pushed back early

But trusting the decision making of the ground staff I think they decided that the flight would have left late if they had waited.

LOWS · Sat May 04, 2013 7:05 pm

While I think the US agents made the right choice, waiting three hours would have made little sense considering the drive is only 2 hours or so:

http://goo.gl/maps/yEIUt

Flaps · Sat May 04, 2013 7:07 pm

I'm usually the first to leap on an opportunity to bash US, especially in PHL but not this time. They tell you be there 10 minutes prior for the exact reasons listed above. Just because one pompous ass has a public avenue for his hissy fit doesn't mean that the airline is wrong or that the details he gave are correct. Last summer I was enslaved at the Hotel Hell (Comfort Inn Romulus) several times by DL under the exact circumstances when my inbound flights to DTW were delayed by the runway construction in DTW. It is what it is. Deal with it and move on.

sankaps · Sat May 04, 2013 7:23 pm

Quoting Flaps (Reply 14):
I'm usually the first to leap on an opportunity to bash US, especially in PHL but not this time. They tell you be there 10 minutes prior for the exact reasons listed above.

But from Wilson's tweet ("“The plane was a 20 seater, missing 7 people who had obviously just landed & it leaves 10 minutes EARLY!"), it is not clear if whether it was just closed 10 minutes prior to departure, or whether it pushed back 10 minutes early. If the former, you point is valid. But if the latter, then US has some explaining to do.

I don't care for Wilson's later tweets either.

ASFlyer · Sat May 04, 2013 7:25 pm

Rainn Wilson had a similar tirade with Alaska Airlines a few years back because of a mechanical cancellation. He's a tool. Seriously. Maybe he should buy his own plane and then it will be ready to go whenever and wherever he wants without worry of any kind of mechanical failure causing inconvenience ever.

Gatorman96 · Sat May 04, 2013 7:39 pm

There has to be more to this story. I'm guessing the door was closed ten minutes before departure time (which is SOP). It didn't actually leave the gate 10 minutes early.

I can't stand when passenger rage about issues like this (or weather, etc) regarding a particular airline. This happens everyday, on every airline, all over the world. Suck it up, wait for the next plane or drive, like Wilson ended up doing. Rainn made an absolute fool of himself with his behavior...What a tool

usflyer msp · Sat May 04, 2013 7:44 pm

Episodes like this lead me to believe that the egotistical character Mr. Wilson plays on the office is not much of stretch for him...

LV · Sat May 04, 2013 8:07 pm

Considering this was for a huge publicity push to close out a popular show on a major TV network I am surprised that the booking wasn't done by either NBC or the production company and handled through VIP services. In that case I would think VIP services would have requested that the flight be held since it was 7 high profile guests.

cschleic · Sat May 04, 2013 10:08 pm

Without getting into personalities and plenty of examples of absurd passenger attitudes we've all experienced.... I'm wondering about timing here. They got to the gate to find it had left 10 minutes early. If so, then they were at the gate 10 minutes prior to departure time, which would be in time per some of the above posts. More to the story? Closed flight vs. departed flight?

cmf · Sat May 04, 2013 10:11 pm

Quoting Flaps (Reply 14):
doesn't mean that the airline is wrong

Doesn't mean the airline was right... Who is to blame for the flight arriving late to PHL?

Quoting gatorman96 (Reply 17):
I can't stand when passenger rage about issues like this (or weather, etc) regarding a particular airline. This happens everyday, on every airline, all over the world. Suck it up, wait for the next plane or drive, like Wilson ended up doing.

I can't stand when passengers are made responsible for airlines shortcomings. Did the airline sell the connection?

ASFlyer · Sat May 04, 2013 11:21 pm

Quoting cmf (Reply 21):
I can't stand when passengers are made responsible for airlines shortcomings. Did the airline sell the connection?

Remember you said that the next time you're sitting on an airplane at some hub in the country waiting on 7 people to get there. What makes the 7 people's plans anymore important that the plane full of other people that would have to sit there and wait? It's public transportation, it's not perfect but what are the airlines supposed to do? They have to be concerned with the rest of the passengers too and they can't just whip a plane out for the 7 people that were late arriving. Sounds like US Airways handled it well. Rainn Wilson seems to think his needs trump the needs of everyone else. Because he's delayed, everyone else should be?

Polot · Sat May 04, 2013 11:30 pm

Quoting ASFlyer (Reply 22):
Remember you said that the next time you're sitting on an airplane at some hub in the country waiting on 7 people to get there. What makes the 7 people's plans anymore important that the plane full of other people that would have to sit there and wait? It's public transportation, it's not perfect but what are the airlines supposed to do? They have to be concerned with the rest of the passengers too and they can't just whip a plane out for the 7 people that were late arriving. Sounds like US Airways handled it well. Rainn Wilson seems to think his needs trump the needs of everyone else. Because he's delayed, everyone else should be?

I by no means fly a lot (maybe 4 or 5 trips a year max) but even I can think of times where the flight I have been on has been slightly delayed at times to allow connecting passengers to make the flight. I can also think of a time where the flight I was on was late and they let connecting passengers off the plane first because they were holding other flights for them.

strandedinbgm · Sat May 04, 2013 11:37 pm

That has NEVER happened to me when I have flown US through PHL. Especially when we were told that they would be holding the flight for those whose connections were late. I have never had to talk to a police officer after getting into a heated discussion with a gate agent.

DLD9S · Sun May 05, 2013 12:46 am

When I first read the title I thought this thread was about the employees of the US HQ in Arizona.

802flyguy · Sun May 05, 2013 12:59 am

[/quote]

Quoting FlyASAGuy2005 (Reply 6):
There is a difference between the flight being closed and actually gone. Having worked connection carrier flights in the past, it's standard practice for almost every airline I know to close (connection) flights 10 minutes prior just so that it can depart on time. The biggest reason being the manual load sheet. The gate has to get the final passenger count to the flight crew as does the ramp has to have the paperwork in including the checked bags, cargo and valet bags so that w&b can be completed before they push. On mainline flights this is all done electronically thus most of the time the flight will close 5 minutes prior. Passenger count is sent via computer as is the fuel and bin weights for a weight and data record.

Great points indeed, something that most passengers do not know. Oddly enough, there is more manual paperwork for the ramp and gate agents, as well as the crew, for a 19 seat Express flight than for an A321! Once the door is closed, it will not reopen, or the load sheet and W/B would have to be done over, resulting in a delay.

Also keep mind that a gate agent or supervisor (or even a manager) has no authority to hold a flight.

zippyjet · Sun May 05, 2013 1:15 am

Quoting vlad1971 (Reply 2):

To the cast, TS! Sorry to sound callous but if you hold for them, you could be delaying the rest of the operation, your crew could time out. Heck, I'm being a Rabbi to the congregation. Most of us know this. BTW, good riddins to the Office. I felt it was not that funny. Never was a fan of British TV shows adopted to this side of the pond. And yes, there are times I've felt we should have held a flight for connecting passengers but the folks responsible for our operations felt otherwise. They are the professionals in this situation. Hopefully the Hollywood hacks were able to rent cars and have a safe drive to Scranton. If that's the worst thing that happens to them in their lives they should consider themselve's blessed. And I'm sure Raine whatever his last name is will whine, cry and have kittens on all the so called entertainment trashy news shows and when he makes his Leno or Fallon appearance. These prima donnas should have bit the bullet and chartered a private bird to take them to beautiful booming Scranton. But, I guess they'd rather save their coins for their habits.

cmf · Sun May 05, 2013 2:00 am

Quoting ASFlyer (Reply 22):
Remember you said that the next time you're sitting on an airplane at some hub in the country waiting on 7 people to get there. What makes the 7 people's plans anymore important that the plane full of other people that would have to sit there and wait? It's public transportation, it's not perfect but what are the airlines supposed to do? They have to be concerned with the rest of the passengers too and they can't just whip a plane out for the 7 people that were late arriving. Sounds like US Airways handled it well. Rainn Wilson seems to think his needs trump the needs of everyone else. Because he's delayed, everyone else should be?

I've been there often enough. I do not care one bit about how much the departure is delayed. I do care about when we arrive but the airlines frequently remind me that I should expect to be delayed . I have no problem waiting a few minutes so that others are not delayed hours.

But none of that is the issue I commented on. My comment was in regards to that passengers should not complain about airlines failure to deliver . That passengers should always bend over and take whatever the airlines manage to provide.

freakyrat · Sun May 05, 2013 2:35 am

The airlines do hold international flights for their connecting passengers. Northwest held an airlink flight in MSP to Edmonton for me and others because it was their only flight for the day and their were ground delays at that time in MSP due to a runway closure and low ceilings and rain.

usflyer msp · Sun May 05, 2013 2:49 am

Quoting freakyrat (Reply 29):
The airlines do hold international flights for their connecting passengers.

Not true, I have seen travellers miss many an international connection. It all depends on the circumstances and what the plane/crew have going on downline...

swacle · Sun May 05, 2013 3:01 am

Not saying this problem is isolated to US or to PHL, but the shuttle to the express gates is absolutely terrible at Philly. Just a couple weeks ago it took me almost an hour to get from my arrival on B to my departure gate on F. We were in the gate at 12:35 and I got to F as they were clearing standbys 15 before departure. Several passengers from our flight were connecting to Toronto, I think, at the gate across the hall and they all missed, 5-6 passengers. The plane pushed 10 early leaving 10% of the passengers behind.

There is -no- excuse the leave early when passengers are enroute, ESPECIALLY when your own transportation is to blame.

kgaiflyer · Sun May 05, 2013 1:34 pm

Quoting skywaymanaz (Thread starter):
They choose to rent cars instead and drive up to the wrap party for the series there.

Quoting swacle (Reply 31):
Not saying this problem is isolated to US or to PHL, but the shuttle to the express gates is absolutely terrible at Philly.

You're all being way too kind -- PHL is one of the world's most dysfunctional airports. As a matter of fact, this is a replay of a USAirways flight I had -- LAX-PHL-DCA. Our LAX-PHL leg arrived late -- understandably due to thunderstorm activity, but they docked us A-13, at the very tip of A-East Concourse. The shuttle to F Concourse, which left A-East Gate 1, departed with people coming down the escalator (utterly inexplicable). When we arrived at F Concourse, our gate agent informed us the door had been closed and would not be reopened. Several of the elites were given boarding passes for the next morning and a cheery "Make yourselves comfortable." I took a shuttle bus over to the rental car center and stood in a line for a car. This scenario apparently happens so often at PHL that Avis has one-way cars with built-in EZ-Pass boxes for the trip down the Delaware Turnpike.

PHL can justifiably be termed as one of the world's hellhole airports.

[Edited 2013-05-05 06:39:14]

[Edited 2013-05-05 06:40:55]

MSJYOP28Apilot · Sun May 05, 2013 2:17 pm

There are many different groups that need to agree normally for a flight to be held for connections. If its a regional partner airline, their SOC needs to be contacted and sign off on holding it. This is because the mainline or contract company that does the ground handling and passenger care doesn't have access to the tail routings and crew legalities or potential weather issues at the outstation.

Flights don't get held for no reason. The flights that do get held for connections are normally the last flight of the day and flights where there wont be any downline delays and missed connections and where crew scheduling and weather aren't a factor. On many flights, if you hold it for connections it can be the difference between a crew or destination airport weather going illegal.

At some airlines that do outstation maintenance, the plane needs to get there on time in order for maintenance to do scheduled work on the aircraft overnight. If its late arriving, maintenance gets to the plane late and thus the morning flight out and downline legs are also likely delayed.

If there are multiple flights on a route per day, an airline will not likely hold the connection.

Remember, when a plane leaves late it often has an effect on the operation the rest of the day. A plane may fly 5-8 legs or more per day.

Some flights are given priority for being on time just for this reason. Most are the first flights of the day that aircraft flies, often to a hub airport. If the kickoff goes out late, the schedule for the whole day will be messed up.

A gate agent and the direct supervisor for them have little authority in holding the plane. A gate agent gets in serious trouble if the plane goes out late on account of passenger service or if they get the passenger and bag count wrong in doing the weight and balance paperwork.

widget1580 · Sun May 05, 2013 3:17 pm

Quoting LV (Reply 19):
In that case I would think VIP services would have requested that the flight be held since it was 7 high profile guests.

VIP, whatever. They are C-list celebrities with some washed up sense of entitlement. Too much has to be done within that ten minutes to get the flight out. I completely agree that US made the right choice.

sankaps · Sun May 05, 2013 3:26 pm

Quoting widget1580 (Reply 34):

VIP, whatever. They are C-list celebrities with some washed up sense of entitlement. Too much has to be done within that ten minutes to get the flight out. I completely agree that US made the right choice.

So you know for a fact the flight did not actually push back early?

Gatorman96 · Sun May 05, 2013 3:30 pm

Quoting cmf (Reply 28):
But none of that is the issue I commented on. My comment was in regards to that passengers should not complain about airlines failure to deliver . That passengers should always bend over and take whatever the airlines manage to provide.

I agree with you 100% that passengers have every right to complain. I'll admit my previous statement was too broad, but my point was that this happens at every airline, which is why it drives me nuts when people single out the specific airline they are flying that day, especially when they go to social media.

On another note, if the plane was held up to accommodate the Office cast members, that plane would in turn be late and would piss off the 21 other passengers that made it to the plane when they were supposed to. I'm sure Rainn would've tweeted the same drivel about his bags not making it to his Scranton connection if they held the plane for them. Lose-lose for the airlines...

sankaps · Sun May 05, 2013 3:35 pm

Quoting gatorman96 (Reply 36):

On another note, if the plane was held up to accommodate the Office cast members, that plane would in turn be late and would piss off the 21 other passengers that made it to the plane when they were supposed to.

So you too know for a fact the aircraft did not push back early? And these 7 were late **because** their incoming US flight was late. Given that the flight to Scranton was a terminating flight, would it really have been such a big deal to wait 5-7 minutes? Those other pax did not have connections to catch in Scranton, did they?

NW747-400 · Sun May 05, 2013 3:48 pm

Quoting FlyASAGuy2005 (Reply 6):
The biggest reason being the manual load sheet.

Just a quick side bar, I don't know of many regionals in the US doing manual weight and balance anymore. Maybe RP and some of the turboprop operators, but I believe all of US Express jet operators have ACARS weight and balance programs. We can close the main cabin door at exactly departure time and then enter the W&B numbers into ACARS.

Flighty · Sun May 05, 2013 3:57 pm

Quoting FlyASAGuy2005 (Reply 6):
I know to close (connection) flights 10 minutes prior just so that it can depart on time.

What if I told you, "depart on time" means nothing if the passengers aren't allowed onboard?

This is just taking govt statistics - chasing. The most flagrant example is when you arrive on a connection -- say 5 people -- and the airline fails to hold a flight, even for 2 minutes for 5-10 customers.

It is a training fail and a customer service fail. Chasing the statistic while totally screwing lots of real people.

widget1580 · Sun May 05, 2013 3:59 pm

Quoting sankaps (Reply 35):
So you know for a fact the flight did not actually push back early?

If the flight was closed ten minutes prior and the flight left early, yes, I still agree with US. I was not completely clear - if it left more than 10 minutes early then US is at fault. Do you know when the flight left? Do not come at me like that. It is clearly stated in its contract of carriage (chapter 6) "It is US Airways’ policy to close the boarding doors ten minutes prior and the aircraft doors five minutes prior to scheduled departure." If they do not agree with it, they can rent a car and drive, which is what they did.

Source: http://www.usairways.com/en-US/about...omersfirst/contractofcarriage.html

Gatorman96 · Sun May 05, 2013 4:00 pm

Quoting sankaps (Reply 37):
So you too know for a fact the aircraft did not push back early? And these 7 were late **because** their incoming US flight was late. Given that the flight to Scranton was a terminating flight, would it really have been such a big deal to wait 5-7 minutes? Those other pax did not have connections to catch in Scranton, did they?

Do you know how late their flight from LAX was? Waiting 5-7 minutes would turn into a much bigger delay. The crew and ground staff would most likely have to redo their weight and balance paperwork and possibly wait for bags. There is nothing in an airline's Conditions of Carriage that says a plane will be held if a passenger may miss their connection.

With the limited info we have and this point you brought up: " Those other pax did not have connections to catch in Scranton, did they?," I'm going to assume the door shut 10 minutes prior to departure, which is SOP. This could very easily be interpreted as a plane leaving 10 minutes early.

deltairlines · Sun May 05, 2013 4:02 pm

Quoting NW747-400 (Reply 38):
Just a quick side bar, I don't know of many regionals in the US doing manual weight and balance anymore. Maybe RP and some of the turboprop operators, but I believe all of US Express jet operators have ACARS weight and balance programs. We can close the main cabin door at exactly departure time and then enter the W&B numbers into ACARS.

With the exception of a Chautauqua ERJ RON, PHL-AVP is the domain of Piedmont Dash 8-100s, which I would guess are manual W&B.

Flighty · Sun May 05, 2013 4:04 pm

Quoting gatorman96 (Reply 41):
There is nothing in an airline's Conditions of Carriage that says a plane will be held if a passenger may miss their connection.

The airline should be measured on passenger delays, not flight delays. Here they delayed people by 8 hours, let's say. (Sometimes over 12 hours). That's what should be measured. Holding a flight 15 minutes to save 100 hours of passenger delay is a good call.

widget1580 · Sun May 05, 2013 4:11 pm

Quoting Flighty (Reply 43):
That's what should be measured. Holding a flight 15 minutes to save 100 hours of passenger delay is a good call.

With a 20 minute scheduled turn in the outstation? Are you serious? No logic to that. Turn is now five minutes and you are going to back up that aircraft routing for the rest of the day. That is inconveniencing hundreds more.

Gatorman96 · Sun May 05, 2013 4:15 pm

That's fine, but holding a flight, especially at a hub, can have a huge trickle effect. The gate agents most likely had other flights to work after this one. From this point on, all other flights that this crew worked may be late, assuming that everything goes smoothly. This would affect many more passenger than just these 7.

I can't believe a flight, missing 50% of it's passengers, would leave EARLY! It just doesn't add up. They were booked on the next flight out, 3 hrs later. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things...

[Edited 2013-05-05 09:22:22]

[Edited 2013-05-05 09:30:28]

MSJYOP28Apilot · Sun May 05, 2013 4:24 pm

Quoting NW747-400 (Reply 38):

Every airline that utilizes ACARS needs a backup to ACARS for weight and balance. ACARS isnt a no dispatch item. Its a fairly common deferral item. Each airline has a way of backing up the ACARS. Some allow dispatch or the load planner to input the passenger and bag/cargo count into a takeoff performance program and read back the V speeds, stab trim and max takeoff weights for the planned departure runway. Others require paper weight and balance be done by the crews.

[Edited 2013-05-05 09:26:20]

sankaps · Sun May 05, 2013 4:30 pm

Quoting gatorman96 (Reply 45):
I can't believe a flight, missing 50% of it's passengers, would leave EARLY! It just doesn't add up.

The flight was US 4302 on May 3. Can someone here who has access to flight data just look it up and let us know whether it pushed back early or not? The Us website is not showing May 3 flights anymore.

cmf · Sun May 05, 2013 4:48 pm

Quoting gatorman96 (Reply 36):
I agree with you 100% that passengers have every right to complain

Quoting gatorman96 (Reply 36):
I'll admit my previous statement was too broad, but my point was that this happens at every airline, which is why it drives me nuts when people single out the specific airline they are flying that day, especially when they go to social media.

This is a forest and the tree issue. People are complaining about the airline where it happens to them. As it happens to all airlines it really becomes an industry issue where each individual case is about someone specific.

Quoting gatorman96 (Reply 36):
On another note, if the plane was held up to accommodate the Office cast members, that plane would in turn be late and would piss off the 21 other passengers that made it to the plane when they were supposed to.

I think you make some big assumptions here.

We don't know it would be late on the other side. From what we know the time needed was minimal and it is very likely that time could have been made up. Even more so if we consider the statement that it was because the flight took of early.

Let's not forget the other peace of information we have, the arriving flight was delayed. As far as I am concerned that is an airline issue. As passenger it is my responsibility to arrive in time at the first airport. After that it is the airlines responsibility to make sure I arrive each connection so that (within reason) I have time to get to the right gate for the next flight.

Did the airline do the right thing by moving them to the next flight in this situation, I don't know. I know the airline failed miserably at explaining the situation to the affected passengers, or had no ground to stand on.

sankaps · Sun May 05, 2013 4:51 pm

Wouldn't it be great if The Office made an episode out of this? Too bad their very last episode has already been shot!

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