Originally Posted by e6bpilot (Post 2240094)

Wow. You have the wrong attitude.
That captain got someone on a flight that was supposed to be on a flight. Last I checked we are in the business of moving people from A to B. If someone was there on time or even a little late, it is up to the on scene leader to make the decision to let them on or not based on the information that they have available to them.
I am a SWA pilot, but am following this thread because this was us two years ago. We were leaving behind people at the gate 15 minutes prior because ground ops took the power away from us to make decisions like this. Our union lobbied hard and educated members and now this is much, much less prevalent.
Take the power back, guys. You are the Captain/FO, and you get paid to make these decisions. What is the ultimate goal? I'll tell you, it's an on time arrival. Look at what the flight is blocked for vs the estimated flight time and see if you have a few minutes of wiggle room. If you are the last flight of the day, stand at the gate podium until 3 minutes prior to push and make sure you have everyone (including revenue pax who are often left standing there).
We have a new delay code HD20 that basically says the aircraft pushed late because the captain determined he can still accommodate late arriving pax or nonrevs and still make an on time arrival. SWAPA and our flight ops leadership came up with this idea and pushed it on to ground ops. When the ground ops folks know that the pressure is off of them, they will become much more cooperative. The other thing we can do at SWA is just say "put the delay on me" because there are literally zero consequences for pilots for pushing late if we are doing checklists, briefing, or using the bathroom.
I was once on a flight going to CUN that was told to push without connecting passengers from the west coast who got weather diverted and were going to be ten minutes late. The next flight was two days away and they were going to have their vacation plans totally screwed up. The captain was going to push and I stood up and said my stomach hurt and I had to use the bathroom. Ten minutes of sitting in a bathroom stall later, I got a huge hug from the gate agent and a teary eyed thank you from the passengers who thought they were screwed.
Take the power back. Do not let ground ops get the upper hand. Be the on scene leader.
Rant over. I'll go back to my corner. Please, please look out for each other out there, guys.

Originally Posted by e6bpilot (Post 2240094)

I am a SWA pilot.

Originally Posted by Packrat (Post 2240075)

Here's a couple ideas from someone who commuted for over 20 years:

1. Plan your commute as if you were a revenue passenger...a minimum of 45 minutes from your release time to your commuter flight push.

Oh, yeah. Late arrival and you're trying to catch the last flight home for the night but... your fault if you didn't have a 45 minute connection!

2. List for your flights on airlines that require it. The easier you make the CSA's job, the more likely you'll get on.
3. Be aware of commuter listing at the gate cutoff times. Usually it's the same time as the check in cutoff time for issuing non-rev seats (30 minutes prior to push at many airlines).

10 minutes at JetBlue is the official policy. So don't demonize your fellow pilots who run up at 15 prior and are miffed that they got stranded because some CSA decides they can trump SOP.

4. Recognize that on time departures are the critical metric by which CSAs are evaluated. These days that includes the ten minute prior to schedule door closing time.

Most importantly...

5. THE WORLD DOESN'T REVOLVE AROUND YOUR COMMUTE. If you miss a flight...Grow up, quit whining, put on your big boy pants and go to your next option.

Out of touch, much? No one is whining, rather complaining about CSAs violating SOP and stranding them at the gate.

Originally Posted by Packrat (Post 2240075)

Here's a couple ideas from someone who commuted for over 20 years:

1. Plan your commute as if you were a revenue passenger...a minimum of 45 minutes from your release time to your commuter flight push.
2. List for your flights on airlines that require it. The easier you make the CSA's job, the more likely you'll get on.
3. Be aware of commuter listing at the gate cutoff times. Usually it's the same time as the check in cutoff time for issuing non-rev seats (30 minutes prior to push at many airlines).
4. Recognize that on time departures are the critical metric by which CSAs are evaluated. These days that includes the ten minute prior to schedule door closing time.

Most importantly...

5. THE WORLD DOESN'T REVOLVE AROUND YOUR COMMUTE. If you miss a flight...Grow up, quit whining, put on your big boy pants and go to your next option.

So in other words, you made a scene and caused a fellow employee to get a 6 minute late push on his/her employment record. You're a real hero.

Originally Posted by Rabid Seagull (Post 2240980)

So we're now 10 days into this new "on-time" push, have we seen any numbers that indicate an improvement?
Or are the interns in Planning coming up with a new plan?

Originally Posted by Rabid Seagull (Post 2240980)

So we're now 10 days into this new "on-time" push, have we seen any numbers that indicate an improvement?
Or are the interns in Planning coming up with a new plan?

Originally Posted by avi8orco (Post 2242725)

I have to say that since it started, we've been out noticeably earlier than before, at least on the trips I've flown so something might be working....now granted these are 190s, Caribbean 190 trips with people bringing the kitchen sink from SJU to STI, but still 190s. How a high density 321 loaded to the teeth is fairing, I couldn't say.