13 Apr

Tip Tuesday Tiempo

The call is coming from inside the plane

Ask any of your flight attendants, and they’ll tell you that boarding is one of the most chaotic times of the flight.

Also, not speaking from personal experience, but more than likely (seeing as it’s their main job) gate agents will say the same.

Chaotic and critical if on-time departures with content passengers are your jam (and they should be).

Not speaking for all airlines here, but I am speaking from my experience when I tell you that surprisingly enough, during this critical period of mayhem, oftentimes there was ZERO way for gate agents and flight attendants to communicate.

“Hey, flight crew? I found your gate phone…”

Oh sure, at hubs we had gate-phones, and half the time they actually worked. But if you or the agent forgot to actually put said phone on the plane, well, oops. Flight attendants aren’t allowed to get off the plane once boarding has begun, so that phone might as well be on the moon.

The pilots have a way of communicating in a roundabout way; they call the tower who then calls the gate. But, in this literal game of “telephone,” things are often lost in translation; also, the pilots (mostly) never displayed actual annoyance at being a go-between, but they were arguably busy, ya know, preparing the plane for ascendance into the sky.

All the while, bins are filling up, the catering is off, a surprise blind passenger is on their way down anticipating help from a clueless flight attendant, you see where I’m going with this…

Developing an easy and efficient means for your two critical teams to communicate during boarding is key to timely departures and well-cared for passengers.

Most flight attendants these days have some sort of tablet or iPhone with their manual and flight information…enabling texting or developing a company sponsored app for your agents and crews to touch base in real time could truly transform your boarding processes…dare we mention the CrewChat function in our CrewPortal tool which helps crews and any departments stay in contact?

It’d also enable you to have a paper trail of sorts if/when conflicts between teams arise in terms of at-fault delays, etc.

We’ve said it before and we’ll keep saying it because, unlike a gate-phone, it’ll always ring true: communication is key throughout your operation, and that is never more evident than during your boarding process.

Posted by | Posted at April 13, 2023 9:38 pm |
About us

Airlines depend on ELP Aviation because our software improves operational efficiencies, eases crew interactions, and increases profitability. We offer products that provide scalable and agile solutions based on the individual Carrier’s needs. We’re already thinking about how to solve the next problem.

Learn more
Locations

Headquarters:  103 W Spring Ave, Conway Springs, KS, USA

Branch Office: Narayana Enclave, Plot No 610, Road Number 33, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad-500033, Telangana, India.

Contact Us
+ 1 (316) 239-6080

info@elpaviation.com

 

Account
If you are an ELP CrewPortal App user please contact your Department for questions.

@ ELP Aviation, Inc. 2020

About us

Airlines depend on ELP Aviation because our software improves operational efficiencies, eases crew interactions, and increases profitability. We offer products that provide scalable and agile solutions based on the individual Carrier’s needs. We’re already thinking about how to solve the next problem.

Learn more
Locations

 

Headquarters:  103 W Spring Ave, Conway Springs, KS, USA

Branch Office: Narayana Enclave, Plot No 610, Road Number 33, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad-500033, Telangana, India.

Contact Us
+ 1 (316) 239-6080

info@elpaviation.com

 

Account
If you are an ELP CrewPortal App user please contact your Airline Department for questions.

@ ELP Aviation, Inc. 2020