Today was my first flight on a major in several years... As a corporate pilot, I fly the airlines very often as a full fare commuter, but it is almost always on the LCCs like Frontier, Jetblue, etc. I've had a very positive experience with these guys.
This past week I finally had no other choice but to take a major. It was a complete disaster, and it almost caused me some grief with my job. The airline employees were extremely rude, the flights were late, and frustrations were common. For example, on 2 legs we pulled up next to the gate and sat while we waited (20+ mins) for ground crews or the bridge operator to show up (I guess?) before we could unload. Is there no logistical planning at these places? On my final outbound leg today, the flight changed gates three times, two of which were not communicated clearly at all. During the final gate change, nobody knew what was going on, including me and I'm in airports once/wk! Can you imagine how confused Aunt Milly that only flys once every 5 yrs was?
On this same final leg today, the flight appeared on the departure board as on time, up to 20 mins before sched departure time. It then went 10 min late, then 15, 25, 35, 40, 50, 1 hr, 1 hr +05, 1hr +15, then 1 hr +30. Huh?? How does a 10 min delay become 1hr +30?? Just tell us the truth from the start so we can make plans!! Finally we get on the damn RJ (with inop lav), and after everyone is seated nothing was happening. No explanations, yet the cabin door remained open while the F/As milled about. We are now over 1.5 hrs late, no explanations, and nobody at this airline appears to be doing anything about it. Let me tell you, this is a little frustrating. 15 mins later, we finally push from the gate, so we're almost 2 hrs late now. Keep in mind there is no significant wx at this airport (ORD) or our destination (DTW).
During this whole time, my chief pilot is emailing on my BB saying where are you? You're delayed again? When are you going to be here?? Luckily I didn't sched this cluster of a flight, so I wasn't on the hook. But it was still EXTREMELY stressful. If the airline had just been honest about the delays from the beginning, I could've sched something else (like driving a car instead!!). After literally running through the DTW terminal for over 1/2 mi, I found my driver and BARELY made it to PTK before my boss showed up for his ride home. You'd think 2+ hrs of flex time would be enough, but amazingly enough it wasn't.
Now I can't trust this airline for my business travel at all. The employees clearly don't give a ####, which is not compatible with my work schedule. I must now take LCCs at all times (e.g. Frontier, Jetblue, or Southwest) as they actually seem to care about my business. If I absolutely must take a major again, I will make sure it's a non-stop or will simply overnight it.