I think I see what you’re saying but it seemed to me that the issue was the counters could not check them in fast enough (each scout had a bag to check in, and the leaders had multiple bags). But they had to be triaged in the order of their flights and so on, but that was nearly impossible due to giant wave of passengers/scouts arriving at the counter at the same time. The main issue was the limited bandwidth at the counters and the check-in area.
So there was a huge danger of people missing their flights which indeed came true as they could not clear the queue before that day’s worth of flights had to depart. They delayed flights to help mitigate, but they couldn’t delay them indefinitely. (I can’t recall the reasons for the flight cancellations so I assume they were weather related more than anything else. But that certainly did not help either). Anyway, my son’s group was delayed 10hrs and the report from the group leaders was that they were lucky to make it on that plane.
Ultimately, CLT appears (based on this incident and the other posters’ accounts) to be like a smallish stream/river that overflows when the downpour comes too fast
Checking in at the counter is always slow from what I have seen. Generally, the time needed per passenger is: web check-in (no bags) < kiosk check-in (no bags) < web check-in with bag drop < kiosk check-in with bag drop << counter check-in.
AA may have staffed its check-in counters assuming a typical ratio of each type of check-in. But if the scouts mostly tried to do counter check-in, that is another way that AA’s system and staffing could become overloaded. If they were required to do counter check-in due to the type of ticket (group bookings or some such), then AA should have realized how many passengers would be converging on the counters at that time.
I will say that during our disastrous American flight out of CLT - also in 2019, though it was June… the bag kiosks did not work for us. It kept trying to make us pay even though my Dad had checked in and purchased the bags the night before. After several attempts, they had to get staff and it took them another 30-45 min to figure it out.
I also don’t recall them having a bag drop off spot, though I could be wrong since everything there seemed to be a cluster (blank).
Well, to defend the CLT airport slightly, the Charlotte area has grown exponentially in a relatively short period of time (and continues to do so) with many individuals, families and entire corporations relocating here on a daily basis. The airport in particular was never built to handle the volume of people that now flows through it. Add to that, the fact that it’s also an AA hub (used to be RDU) as well as the addition of other airline brands, there’s bound to be problems (especially on days when 1000’s of boy scouts descend). Some of the current construction involves the check in area, so hopefully it will be bigger and more efficient (I’ve never experienced problems checking in or going through security). I don’t know why it’s taking so long to be completed (although growing up just outside of NYC, I remember LGA being under construction my whole childhood and betond).
(CNN) — One person has died on board a Singapore Airlines plane that encountered severe turbulence on a flight from London to Singapore, the airline said Tuesday.
All you’re saying is true. However, all the pathways you’re describing break down when too many people come at once. (I was recently stuck in a 25 min line during a “web-checkin then drop off” line due to the way the airline was handling the lines… a lot depends on execution)
Most if not all the scouts would have been in group checkins like sports teams would do. According to a Flyertalk discussion on the topic a ways back, AA apparently requires in-person check-in for groups. With weeks of prep, all this could have been worked out. In any case, I mentioned this 5 year old incident only as color and as a possibly humorous submission given my son’s strong distaste of the airport. Since I haven’t flown in or out of the airport myself, I shall now bow out of critiquing CLT.
Have some upcoming travel and it will be the first time since Delta recently changed its boarding grouping. Will see how it goes. They say it’s supposed to reduce gate lice.
I need your wisdom! I’m on a flight to Hawaii and my favorite noise canceling headphones are suddenly just pinching my ears terribly - I have a small head and do prefer over the ear type.
Luckily my flight has free Wi-Fi because I’ve got to replace these before I’m on a much longer flight.
I just made reservations on Southwest for my husband, daughter, and myself to fly to Austin in December for Christmas. The fares weren’t too bad. It helped that I could be flexible with dates.
We will. After we deliver her tomorrow morning we’re doing the Napali coast raft at sunset. A few other things too. This is my 3rd time to Kauai. Ask questions and I’ll provide feedback.
I got my son Sennheiser corded over the ear headphones when he was 16 (or maybe 18, but I think 16). They were @300 bucks, but he’s now 28 and they are still going strong. We have replaced the cord along the way.
