Do major airline disruptions ever affect Amtrak?

[Willbridge]

In transit service/operations circles it's a subject of discussion that airline crews and customers put up with far tighter interlines (linking of trips between routes) than do transit crews and passengers. Ditto with the time it takes to recover from a breakdown or disruption.

 

[west point]

Wonder how the semi failure of SW air and also the regional carrier has stranded many persons without any service with only one or no Amtrak service ?

 

[cirdan]

I do recall that in 2008 or thereabouts when we had huge fuel price hikes that Amtrak was getting a lot of first time riders. I remember sitting next to people who didn't have a clue what to expect or what was about to happen, asking if there were seatbelts and such things, or not knowing the train had bathrooms. Maybe in overall numbers new riders were not as many as there could have been, but it still shows that people are aware Amtrak exists or that word gets around somehow, and that people are willing to try it.

 

[saxman]

I use to operate the MKE-ORD flights all the time. We taxied out of MKE one day and ATC put us on a ground delay because of fog so we went back to the gate. Sometimes I wouldn't go back to the gate and wait it out, but on such a short flight I figured a few people might want to make alternate arrangements. Even though 99% of my passengers were making ORD connections, I'm probably the only captain that suggested the Amtrak Hiawatha at 1 PM to downtown Chicago . I mentioned the bus and driving as well.

 

[Seaboard92]

I use to operate the MKE-ORD flights all the time. We taxied out of MKE one day and ATC put us on a ground delay because of fog so we went back to the gate. Sometimes I wouldn't go back to the gate and wait it out, but on such a short flight I figured a few people might want to make alternate arrangements. Even though 99% of my passengers were making ORD connections, I'm probably the only captain that suggested the Amtrak Hiawatha at 1 PM to downtown Chicago . I mentioned the bus and driving as well.

I want to work with you. I have a feeling we would get along really well. I'm one of the few FA's I know that going into a hub reads the connection list and if it's an airport I know I give directions too.

 

[Seaboard92]

Here is an update. Yesterday and well probably today too American had another systemwide meltdown that I could rant about but I'm not going to because I love my job too much. But the last CLT-RDU flight canceled while I was working the lines trying to help people find ways home. After I flew in off my last flight I had a few hours between my commute home and when I arrived. So I walk up and down the line using my tablet that has the current flight loads, and can build some crazy routings using puddle jumpers like CLT-HSV-DFW-TUL-LAX that most people wouldn't even look up but usually has space. Most of my fellow FA's they either pass these lines and go straight home without thinking about these people, or go hole up in the crew room above the chaos to avoid the problems.

Then there is me who is working the line that is roughly 700 people long waiting on five customer service agents who are all being overworked and having to deal with irritated people. I figure if I'm walking the line telling people which flights have a chance of getting them home I'm greatly assisting the five people because someone has already done the legwork finding alternatives. So back to the main topic about Amtrak. When I started working the line Piedmont Train No. 78 the 7:00 PM Departure from Charlotte, NC to Raleigh, NC was only ten percent sold out. When I finished the Raleigh flight in the line the train was 60 percent sold out. So yes Amtrak can benefit from our meltdowns but most people don't know the train is even an option. So Amtrak definitely needs to do a better job marketing itself. Maybe even some adds that air in airports only during meltdowns that advertise the services. This is also another reason why I say we need to have an Amtrak station at the airport. Make it easier then getting an Uber to the other side of town.

On one of the flights the passengers all pooled their money and rented a 15 passenger van to drive to Arizona with the resolve to each share the driving for six hour shifts. That's a 2,031 mile road trip with complete strangers. We need to have a more robust train system so people have better options than just flying, or renting large passenger vans.

 

[Shortline]

Airline issues have affected my travel. A couple weeks ago, I had meetings in Orlando Monday, New York Wednesday, and Chicago Friday. Southwest melted down, and I wasn’t going to make any of them. Ended up booking a ticket BHM-CHI, and back, to at least salvage the Chicago meeting. Got in Wed AM. Had my meeting, and left same day. 4 nights, for a 4 hour meeting…l..but better than nothing, I guess.

Also had a cancellation a few times when flying through Charlotte a few times, so Uber’d to Amtrak and had dinner and beers, until train time, and caught the Crescent home.

But it goes both ways. For every trip I took Amtrak, after an airline issue, I probably have 5 last minute airline tickets following Amtrak issues.

 

[Exvalley]

Somehow I was able to thread the needle. I flew American when Southwest had their meltdown and I flew Delta when American had their meltdown.

One thing that I really noticed for my recent business trip on Amtrak was just how much more relaxed I was taking the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago rather than flying. I arrived showered, fed and happy - and only had to go a few blocks from the train station to my meeting location. People seemed to enjoy being on the train. Not many people are enjoying flying right now.

 

[Cal]

On one of the flights the passengers all pooled their money and rented a 15 passenger van to drive to Arizona with the resolve to each share the driving for six hour shifts. That's a 2,031 mile road trip with complete strangers. We need to have a more robust train system so people have better options than just flying, or renting large passenger vans.

Faith in humanity is, temporarily, restored. That is amazing and I hope they can still stand each other when they arrive in Arizona, if they arrive.

 

[Seaboard92]

Faith in humanity is, temporarily, restored. That is amazing and I hope they can still stand each other when they arrive in Arizona, if they arrive.

Honestly I would have loved to have joined them. It would have been an adventure.

 

[Seaboard92]

So here is an illustration of how close my airport is to the mainline. You can see beyond the nose of our CRJ900 bound for Birmingham Amtrak's Crescent passing by. Now it was something like 8 hours late but it's a low hanging fruit to tie into the airport. Literally it is just a hundred yards to the end of the E Concourse.

 

[saxman]

So here is an illustration of how close my airport is to the mainline. You can see beyond the nose of our CRJ900 bound for Birmingham Amtrak's Crescent passing by. Now it was something like 8 hours late but it's a low hanging fruit to tie into the airport. Literally it is just a hundred yards to the end of the E Concourse.

I always forget those are Crescent tracks when I pass through CLT. Its usually dark or I’m asleep when we pass by.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I always forget those are Crescent tracks when I pass through CLT. Its usually dark or I’m asleep when we pass by.

Hopefully on the Train and not @ the Controls Chris! LoL

 

[Willbridge]

The "air or stranded" psychology has been around for ages.

In the mid-60's Spokane was socked in for a stretch. United flew our Wall Street Journal shipment from SFO into Portland and also dumped off the Spokane distributor's bundles. Given the backlog of baggage and express and weather, they weren't going any further. My dad asked if we could pick them up out of the overwhelming heap and it was like "Please! Help!" My dad re-marked the Spokane bundles with a grease pencil for SP&S Train 4 and dropped them off at Portland Union Station, then alerted his Spokane colleague.

It worked perfectly. The day late delivery still beat the next day's air-delayed paper and all the single copies delivered by the Post Office and it didn't cost anything (the SP&S missed a couple of dollars of revenue). BUT, Dow Jones in Princeton, NJ was unhappy.

"The Wall Street Journal always goes by air!" he was told. He never mentioned doing that for them again.

 

[BCL]

I suppose it's possible that an Amtrak worker coming back from vacation might not be available if stuck due to an air travel disruption. Especially if it's a station agent at a low traffic station with only two employees working staggered schedules. Maybe a possibility if they need to reposition conductors quickly and can't do it?