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Post by anotherfed on Nov 16, 2014 20:09:21 GMT -5
Don't stress about the luggage. They understand that some people have to travel to the interview. Take it in with you, and leave it by the door. Have your interview. Take luggage with you on the way out. No sweat. You'll be fine. Unless . . . . you finish your interview, relievedly take your leave, stumble halfway out of the building headed for the nearest bar but then, realizing you forgot your bag, you sneak back into the room to retrieve it during the next candidate's interview. Yeah, don't do that...
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Post by chessparent on Nov 16, 2014 20:39:52 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure that will be me. I'm going to spring for the extra taxi to pick up my luggage before hitting the airport.
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Post by Who Me? on Nov 20, 2014 19:30:10 GMT -5
Any comments on airlines to/from FC?
I flew out on United. Service was just OK, cabin crew meeting the minimum. Their food offerings were not very good and high priced.
Returned on Alaska. Great cabin crew. Always smiling and they seemed truly concerned for the passengers' comfort and needs. The food selection was much better and less expensive, as well.
I know that booking through SATO does not give us many choices. But, it would be nice to be able to choose the airline based upon our past experiences.
Many years ago, I had a roommate who was a pilot for Continental (now United). He said the preferred airline for airline folks was Delta. In the past, I've had good experiences with Delta and NW (now merged into Delta). American Airlines has been good as well.
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Post by 71stretch on Nov 20, 2014 20:02:18 GMT -5
I ended up leaving my luggage at the hotel, but they would have kept it for me there in the office and I would not have had to take into the interview room. So, depending on your schedule you can decide what you want to do.
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Post by Loopstok on Nov 20, 2014 23:11:56 GMT -5
I ended up leaving my luggage at the hotel, but they would have kept it for me there in the office and I would not have had to take into the interview room. So, depending on your schedule you can decide what you want to do. Same here. After all the talk about bringing my fluorescent duffel bag (redolent of cheap aftershave and rumpled sweaters) into the panel interview room, I decided to just leave it at the hotel. I doubled back to the hotel in my cab after the interview, en route to my mass transit connection home, to retrieve the bag. Not the most efficient use of time or money, that extra trip, but I felt much more comfortable showing up empty-handed to the interview (to say nothing of empty-headed, LOL). None of the other applicants in the waiting area with me brought anything bigger than a briefcase; they all left their bags at their respective hotels too. Think of it as peace of mind. I don't think any one of us wants to be That Guy (or That Gal) who has to be chased down the hall by a kindly interview panelist, reminding us that we just left all of our worldly possessions behind us.
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Post by hopefalj on Nov 20, 2014 23:20:00 GMT -5
People in my interview brought everything with them. They'll have a spot for your stuff in the waiting area or you can take your bags in with you with any problems. Of course, I didn't have to have my bags scanned since I have a cool ID, so that might be a big enough pain to warrant leaving the bags at home. I'll scho the others' sentiments and say do what makes you comfortable.
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Post by 71stretch on Nov 20, 2014 23:25:41 GMT -5
I ended up leaving my luggage at the hotel, but they would have kept it for me there in the office and I would not have had to take into the interview room. So, depending on your schedule you can decide what you want to do. Same here. After all the talk about bringing my fluorescent duffel bag (redolent of cheap aftershave and rumpled sweaters) into the panel interview room, I decided to just leave it at the hotel. I doubled back to the hotel in my cab after the interview, en route to my mass transit connection home, to retrieve the bag. Not the most efficient use of time or money, that extra trip, but I felt much more comfortable showing up empty-handed to the interview (to say nothing of empty-headed, LOL). None of the other applicants in the waiting area with me brought anything bigger than a briefcase; they all left their bags at their respective hotels too. Think of it as peace of mind. I don't think any one of us wants to be That Guy (or That Gal) who has to be chased down the hall by a kindly interview panelist, reminding us that we just left all of our worldly possessions behind us. I, too, just decided I didn't want to mess with it, or give more "extras" on my cab fare because the driver touched my suitcase. The biggest motivator was that I wanted to have lunch at the same restaurant I'd had dinner at the night before. It all worked out.
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Post by mamaru on Nov 20, 2014 23:53:46 GMT -5
Any comments on airlines to/from FC? I flew out on United. Service was just OK, cabin crew meeting the minimum. Their food offerings were not very good and high priced. Returned on Alaska. Great cabin crew. Always smiling and they seemed truly concerned for the passengers' comfort and needs. The food selection was much better and less expensive, as well. I know that booking through SATO does not give us many choices. But, it would be nice to be able to choose the airline based upon our past experiences. Many years ago, I had a roommate who was a pilot for Continental (now United). He said the preferred airline for airline folks was Delta. In the past, I've had good experiences with Delta and NW (now merged into Delta). American Airlines has been good as well. Before SSA I was a labor arbitrator and flew at least once a week on a regular basis. I avoided flying American because I did short hops and found their smaller jets were often late typically due to mechanical problems. This trip my office booked me on American Eagle. The flight out was fine. The return flight was awful. By the time I got to the "gate" the flight was already late by 10 minutes. When it was ready to board we were directed to go downstairs to board the shuttle that would take us to the plane, only they were still cleaning the plane and we got to stay on the shuttle, packed like sardines, for 20 minutes watching the cleaners fool around and take their time throwing out the trash and joking with the ground crew. When we were allowed to exit, we lined up to board on an outdoor jetway in a freezing wind. We sat another ten minutes after we boarded waiting to be cleared to depart. We waited on the runway at the destination because there was no gate because we were late. At the gate, we waited another ten minutes while they found a jetway. Evidently the one that had been used for the plane that was in our gate was removed after it pulled away. As we deplaned, the flight attendant made a crack that it was "the best flight ever." The flight itself was unremarkable, but the whole experience was not "best ever." Landing over an hour late is not a good flying experience, even if you don't have to make a connection. Thanks for letting me vent! I needed to get it off my chest. Others in my office have had the same experience flying American/American Eagle for SSA. I have had similar experiences with US Airways, Delta, and United on their smaller planes. I have also learned to avoid, if possible, flying airlines that have only one gate at a particular airport - seems like they lack the flexibility to get their planes parked and unloaded if there's a change in schedule. I found that, in my part of the world back when I flew a lot, both Frontier and SW got high marks for reliability and good customer service, not only timely departures and arrivals but pleasant ground crews and flight attendants. Between the two, I typically flew SW because I was allowed to cancel tickets and reuse them without a rebooking fee (I did have to pay the difference if the new ticket was more expensive, of course) and I did not have to pay to check baggage if I didn't want to drag my suitcase. They also happen to fly bigger planes to destinations many airlines service with only small planes. The downside is that they hopscotch planes all over the USA. The weather can be fine at your destination and departure locations in the midwest, but you can be delayed if there's a storm on the East coast where the flight originated. Frontier, on the other hand, will fly the same plane between Denver and Chi or SLC all day. The bottom line is that the best airline for your travel will depend somewhat on the cities you need to fly to and from, not just for your interview but also if you are hired away from home, need to leave family behind, and want to fly back and forth to see them. My main advice is something you already know, which is to pick one airline early and stick with it so that you can accumulate frequent flier miles. A good strategy is to take out a new credit card for the airline which will typically get you a flight or two for free (and sometimes a gift like a t-shirt) and use it to pay for your plane tickets, at least, which buys you more travel credit. You can comparison shop the frequent flier programs fairly easily also. Within months of frequent travel you can begin to get some free flights. If your chosen carrier has a first class cabin, you can begin to get some nifty upgrades to first or business class also, which is something to consider if your flights are longer. I have found that the strategies for frequent fliers differ significantly from those people who travel occasionally for vacations. Maybe this will be helpful for some of you who will be entering the brave new world of airplane commuting. You will soon learn where to find the *$'s at the airport, how to get the coupon for airport parking, and which restaurants are best at the airports you visit.
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