I often travel for work.
Now, that sounds glamorous, but about as often as I travel, I’m hit with a delay or a cancellation to the point I am completely zen about it all. I mean why stress about something that is out of your control? Why also complain to plane crew as if they can stop hurricanes, flooding, or perhaps what really is a small gust of wind/sprinkling of rain/missing air traffic controllers in New Jersey/New York.
Perhaps one day it’ll serve as inspiration for a LinkedIn post “What regular delays and cancellations taught me about effective management — My Top 5 Tips”. That’s unlikely, though — I wince every time I see a clickbait-filled headline like that even if, whilst doing so, I’m psychologically drawn to it.
Forgive me a second, though, to contradict myself. I’m British — I will complain.
It’s just, I’m an Engineer and whilst, every now and then, I let chaos reign, I tend to think logically, computationally and really — the software/synergy behind those airline systems has some way to go. The communication is just so poor. Between the app notifications, sms notifications, the announcement board, the gate crew, and the pilot - I’ve rarely seen a consistent understanding of the current situation, certainly not all in sync at the same time.
That, for me, has to be better. I shouldn’t have to stare at a board that used to say it was going from Chicago to Newark, that now has a new flight number and a new destination (it was Texas), to realise that my plane has been cancelled. For those of us who have not reached my state of zen (aka despondent apathy), that can lead to frustration that boils over.
Mind you, when a pilot does speak they definitely have a way with words that helps to manage frustrations. They speak logically, with the right level of detail, earnestness and empathy. That can’t be a coincidence. Perhaps they should do ALL the announcements! I mean, I guess you have to have a way with words when you’re kicking folks off the plane they thought they were finally going to leave on after they had long mentally prepared for takeoff.
Quote
”Claude, create a system diagram for a system which completely solves this problem.”
Concord - System Design Artifact
Anyone listening? You can have the idea for free! Please fix this — I just want to get back home!
Claude Response: "The Voice"
”Bad news first: we’re holding for arrival flow into Newark — the wind there has slots backed up, and it’s not something we can push through. New best estimate for pushback is 21:15, and I rate that about 80% likely. If it slips past 21:40 we’ll release the aircraft and I’ll tell you that plainly rather than string you along. Thanks for your patience — I know you’d rather be moving.”
Just musing…