OT: GTR airport

[Bhamdawg1725]

First time flying out of GTR. Is it a train wreck regularly?
While TSA was short staffed, we still boarded fully by 5:45am for a 6am departure. Pilot comes on at 5:49am and says there’s a quick fix on the tail wing that requires less than 5 min of paperwork. The guy that has to do the paperwork is 15 min away. But we should still be on time for arrival.

At 6:21am he comes back on and says “the guy still hasn’t arrived yet, but he’s close”. At 6:35, says “he’s here and hustling”. (50 min after he said he’d be here in 15 min). At 6:40, he’s done. Cabin doors close.
Another 19 min before we push back at 6:59am. Finally in the air at 7:02. A full 77 minutes after we were fully boarded. Also, the AC was never turned on. People were starting to lose it.
Originally supposed to land in ATL at 8:15 eastern.
Let’s see if we can make this flight in 13 minutes to meet that promise for an on time arrival.

On the real, though, how is the guy that might have to do paperwork not on site? And apparently, he lived in Winona with how long it took him to arrive. 3 commercial flights a day out of here and we can’t get the first flight of the day out without an hour delay.

 

[paindonthurt]

First time flying out of GTR. Is it a train wreck regularly?
While TSA was short staffed, we still boarded fully by 5:45am for a 6am departure. Pilot comes on at 5:49am and says there’s a quick fix on the tail wing that requires less than 5 min of paperwork. The guy that has to do the paperwork is 15 min away. But we should still be on time for arrival.

At 6:21am he comes back on and says “the guy still hasn’t arrived yet, but he’s close”. At 6:35, says “he’s here and hustling”. (50 min after he said he’d be here in 15 min). At 6:40, he’s done. Cabin doors close.
Another 19 min before we push back at 6:59am. Finally in the air at 7:02. A full 77 minutes after we were fully boarded. Also, the AC was never turned on. People were starting to lose it.
Originally supposed to land in ATL at 8:15 eastern.
Let’s see if we can make this flight in 13 minutes to meet that promise for an on time arrival.

On the real, though, how is the guy that might have to do paperwork not on site? And apparently, he lived in Winona with how long it took him to arrive. 3 commercial flights a day out of here and we can’t get the first flight of the day out without an hour delay.

I've flown in and out of GTR quite a bit. Mostly good experiences but I have had a couple of delays.

One was a pretty legit excuse. Cold weather and icing which they don't deal with a lot.

I've never had a problem with TSA but i have never paid attention b/c i know i'm not missing my plane. They don't usually even open the TSA line until the plane is on the ground.

DELTA or American?

 

[Trazom]

The 6am is Delta. The problem in the OP occurs way too often. A simple fix to an item found during the pilot’s flight check requires more than an hour to fix because of the mechanic having to drive in.

 

[RocketDawg]

First time flying out of GTR. Is it a train wreck regularly?
While TSA was short staffed, we still boarded fully by 5:45am for a 6am departure. Pilot comes on at 5:49am and says there’s a quick fix on the tail wing that requires less than 5 min of paperwork. The guy that has to do the paperwork is 15 min away. But we should still be on time for arrival.

At 6:21am he comes back on and says “the guy still hasn’t arrived yet, but he’s close”. At 6:35, says “he’s here and hustling”. (50 min after he said he’d be here in 15 min). At 6:40, he’s done. Cabin doors close.
Another 19 min before we push back at 6:59am. Finally in the air at 7:02. A full 77 minutes after we were fully boarded. Also, the AC was never turned on. People were starting to lose it.
Originally supposed to land in ATL at 8:15 eastern.
Let’s see if we can make this flight in 13 minutes to meet that promise for an on time arrival.

On the real, though, how is the guy that might have to do paperwork not on site? And apparently, he lived in Winona with how long it took him to arrive. 3 commercial flights a day out of here and we can’t get the first flight of the day out without an hour delay.

3 flights a day is one every 5 or 6 daylight hours. The guy who signs off probably is just on-call and not a full-time employee.

 

[L4Dawg]

First time flying out of GTR. Is it a train wreck regularly?
While TSA was short staffed, we still boarded fully by 5:45am for a 6am departure. Pilot comes on at 5:49am and says there’s a quick fix on the tail wing that requires less than 5 min of paperwork. The guy that has to do the paperwork is 15 min away. But we should still be on time for arrival.

At 6:21am he comes back on and says “the guy still hasn’t arrived yet, but he’s close”. At 6:35, says “he’s here and hustling”. (50 min after he said he’d be here in 15 min). At 6:40, he’s done. Cabin doors close.
Another 19 min before we push back at 6:59am. Finally in the air at 7:02. A full 77 minutes after we were fully boarded. Also, the AC was never turned on. People were starting to lose it.
Originally supposed to land in ATL at 8:15 eastern.
Let’s see if we can make this flight in 13 minutes to meet that promise for an on time arrival.

On the real, though, how is the guy that might have to do paperwork not on site? And apparently, he lived in Winona with how long it took him to arrive. 3 commercial flights a day out of here and we can’t get the first flight of the day out without an hour delay.

GTR is usually very good.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Flying to ATL? WTF (Unless you're connecting)?

 

[Bhamdawg1725]

Flying to ATL? WTF (Unless you're connecting)?

Connecting. The flight attendant came on the line as we were getting ready to land in ATL and apologized “to the 51 of you that missed your connections. Please check your Delta app for your new flight information or see an agent in the terminal”.
There was, maybe, 60 on the flight. Rough.

 

[fedxdog]

I'll be honest with you, as a retired airline pilot, the entire aviation industry is a furball with inexperienced people making decisions behind the scenes. Gone are the days when the experts in "operations" called the shots. I won't book a flight now without a two-hour connection.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

I'll be honest with you, as a retired airline pilot, the entire aviation industry is a furball with inexperienced people making decisions behind the scenes. Gone are the days when the experts in "operations" called the shots. I won't book a flight now without a two-hour connection.

I also like a multi-hour connection

I hated it when Delta rebooked me on another flight with what turned out to be a 15 minute connection in ATL last year

 

[Dogpatrol]

Agree I won’t book now without knowing I have 2 hours as bad as I hate hanging around airports. Not worth the risk.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Flying to ATL? WTF (Unless you're connecting)?

You only have two options. ATL and DFW. What planet are you on?

 

[OG Goat Holder]

First time flying out of GTR. Is it a train wreck regularly?
While TSA was short staffed, we still boarded fully by 5:45am for a 6am departure. Pilot comes on at 5:49am and says there’s a quick fix on the tail wing that requires less than 5 min of paperwork. The guy that has to do the paperwork is 15 min away. But we should still be on time for arrival.

At 6:21am he comes back on and says “the guy still hasn’t arrived yet, but he’s close”. At 6:35, says “he’s here and hustling”. (50 min after he said he’d be here in 15 min). At 6:40, he’s done. Cabin doors close.
Another 19 min before we push back at 6:59am. Finally in the air at 7:02. A full 77 minutes after we were fully boarded. Also, the AC was never turned on. People were starting to lose it.
Originally supposed to land in ATL at 8:15 eastern.
Let’s see if we can make this flight in 13 minutes to meet that promise for an on time arrival.

On the real, though, how is the guy that might have to do paperwork not on site? And apparently, he lived in Winona with how long it took him to arrive. 3 commercial flights a day out of here and we can’t get the first flight of the day out without an hour delay.

Yeah let’s bash one of the best things Starkville has going for it, which is a direct flight to two of the biggest hubs in the world.

What world do some of you live in…

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

You only have two options. ATL and DFW. What planet are you on?

if OP's final destination was ATL or Dallas, that's a drive, not a flight. OP was connecting in ATL, so his destination was further on.

 

[Dawgbite]

if OP's final destination was ATL or Dallas, that's a drive, not a flight. OP was connecting in ATL, so his destination was further on.

Dallas is twice as far as Atlanta. I’ve driven to Atlanta several times because time wise it’s a wash when you factor in getting to the airport early and then getting from the Atlanta airport to you final destination but Dallas is twice as far of a drive. I’ve never flown from GTR to Dallas, I’ve always gone out of Tupelo.

 

[dudehead]

First time flying out of GTR. Is it a train wreck regularly?
While TSA was short staffed, we still boarded fully by 5:45am for a 6am departure. Pilot comes on at 5:49am and says there’s a quick fix on the tail wing that requires less than 5 min of paperwork. The guy that has to do the paperwork is 15 min away. But we should still be on time for arrival.

At 6:21am he comes back on and says “the guy still hasn’t arrived yet, but he’s close”. At 6:35, says “he’s here and hustling”. (50 min after he said he’d be here in 15 min). At 6:40, he’s done. Cabin doors close.
Another 19 min before we push back at 6:59am. Finally in the air at 7:02. A full 77 minutes after we were fully boarded. Also, the AC was never turned on. People were starting to lose it.
Originally supposed to land in ATL at 8:15 eastern.
Let’s see if we can make this flight in 13 minutes to meet that promise for an on time arrival.

On the real, though, how is the guy that might have to do paperwork not on site? And apparently, he lived in Winona with how long it took him to arrive. 3 commercial flights a day out of here and we can’t get the first flight of the day out without an hour delay.

Maybe it was hard to find the gate.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

if OP's final destination was ATL or Dallas, that's a drive, not a flight. OP was connecting in ATL, so his destination was further on.

Still don’t see why you are criticizing connecting in ATL considering half the country connects through there daily

 

[jxndawg]

I also like a multi-hour connection

I hated it when Delta rebooked me on another flight with what turned out to be a 15 minute connection in ATL last year

Agree, esp. when I’m traveling with my kids … I want at least a 2-hour layover. I don’t even mind longer ones than that - I’ve got access to a cpl of lounge networks and we‘ll all go hang out, get something to eat, charge our phones, people watch, etc, and relax, instead of having to worry about running through a terminal like OJ to make a flight. Stresses me out.

 

[leeinator]

12 hour or less trip....I drive. Over 12, I think about it a little more.

 

[patdog]

if OP's final destination was ATL or Dallas, that's a drive, not a flight. OP was connecting in ATL, so his destination was further on.

Depends. You’ve got free parking & an easy flight, then can take train (or Uber) to hotel & everywhere you want to go in city & never have to deal with traffic or parking, then train or uber back to airport for an easy flight home. I’ve only flown to ATL once & it was pretty sweet. Don’t do it because I’m a good half hour from JAN & parking is outrageous.

 

[o_Hot Rock]

if OP's final destination was ATL or Dallas, that's a drive, not a flight. OP was connecting in ATL, so his destination was further on.

This depends on the individual. I have said for years, less than 5 hours, I drive. That number was 10 hours when younger and before that, any flight was not even an option for my pocket book no matter the distance. If it got to costly to drive, didn't go. Circumstance matters

You also don't know of any particular handicaps a person may possess. Bad back, eyesight or some people just don't like to drive in cities or especially the Atlanta 285 speedway and that is becoming me as my eyesight, reflexes and hearing are deteriorating in my senior years. Heck they may even have a knee problem and are struggling with the gas pedal or possibly a Moultry knee. Lots of reasons for a person to chose to take short flights, including time and being fresh for a meeting that you prepared for while on the plane instead of driving.

If a person doesn't like to drive in Atlanta for whatever reason, then a flight can be better for that person. Imagine someone else doing something right for themselves an not you.

 

[randystewart]

I fly out of GTR 3 to 4 times per month. Are there delays sometimes, absolutely. You'll find more delays elsewhere for sure, you just don't have any other options out of GTR when it becomes a long delay. Overall, GTR is a great experience and very convenient

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Depends. You’ve got free parking & an easy flight, then can take train (or Uber) to hotel & everywhere you want to go in city & never have to deal with traffic or parking, then train or uber back to airport for an easy flight home. I’ve only flown to ATL once & it was pretty sweet. Don’t do it because I’m a good half hour from JAN & parking is outrageous.

When I fly, my employer pays, so I’ve never paid attention to parking.

The two times we’ve flown on vacation, we live near enough for family to pick us up/drop off.