mercedeslove
Lead Service Attendant
I think I heard about the BC coupon on the Cascades here, so I made sure to get mine from the ticket agent at SEA. It came in handy.
For Coach Passengers - What's the boarding stress level?
- Thread starter Everydaymatters
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We have a name for these people on FlyerTalk: "gate lice." They cling so tightly to the boarding area that it's impossible for the people who should board first--First Class and elites--to even make their way up to the podium to board.
On a train, though, without pre-assigned seats, I'm gladly a leading member of the platform lice crowd...I want my window seat with a power plug!!
Everydaymatters
Engineer
Unless you are traveling with someone you know, a window seat is just about an absolute necessity on an overnight trip. The aisle seat doesn't give you any place to rest your head.
If you are with someone you know, you could ask them to recline their seat in the second to last recling position. That gives you a place to rest your head and gives you a much better position to sleep.
Actually, I like the view better in an aisle seat as it's easier to see out both windows.
If you are with someone you know, you could ask them to recline their seat in the second to last recling position. That gives you a place to rest your head and gives you a much better position to sleep.
Actually, I like the view better in an aisle seat as it's easier to see out both windows.
ALC Rail Writer
Engineer
Personal preference my dear. I have overnighted in aisle seats and found them in no way superior or inferior to window seats.
Everydaymatters
Engineer
I'm more comfortable leaning into something with my head. What do you do? Sit up straight all night long? Just curious.
RailFanLNK
Conductor
My NYP experience was just that....an experience! :lol: We arrived around 6:15am for a 7:05 departure. NYP was like a ghost town. Within about 25 minutes the place was bustling and by 6:55 packed! I remember this about boarding the Carolinian, we were in line, we moved quickly, we got onboard and I had hardly sat down in my seat after stowing my luggage and the train was moving. I was like.........GEEESH that was close! :blink: They didn't monkey around at all which is fine by me!
ALC Rail Writer
Engineer
No, I recline and go to sleep. Why would I sit up straight all night? The coach seats do recline... window seat or not. You just recline and go to sleep, with your head in a pillow (not an Amtrak pillow, I'll grant you that) just keep my body in a straight line as I relax. That's how those seats were designed, and thats how they should be used. I find that curling up or bending in odd shapes to lay against a window seat will only bend the back and give you kinks in your neck.
lrdc9_metroplitan_sub
Train Attendant
Ha. Thats funny b/c when traveling w/ two people I take the exact opposite tack. I make sure to be at or near the front so we get two seats we are happy with. Now if something is assigned seats, like on an Airline (save southwest) then we are always the LAST ppl to board and I still get a chance to talk to the pilot
. So rushing isn't necessary, but if your with more than 1 person sometimes it IS helpful in getting seats together.Regards, Logan
Not me. I'm with Betty. I HAVE to lean against something to sleep comfortably. The optimal solution are the little bendy headrests found on many airlines today, since sometimes the window is too far away to lean on comfortably. And actually, I don't like leaning on the window, because that's too far and isn't comfortable. I try to pick a seat where the chair itself is next to a section of the wall, not the window, since leaning on the wall (with a pillow) is much more comfortable than leaning on the further-away window (since the windows are recessed slightly).
Crescent ATN & TCL
OBS Chief
In Washington DC, its relatively simple to find your boarding gate. The departure boards are kept up-to-date with information about all of the arriving and departing trains and what gates they are arriving and departing from.
I will tell you that the priority boarding system is a good idea that almost always goes horribly wrong, I have never had a good experience with multiple calls for the same train.
Either the gate attendant will completely ignore the priority boarding system, or they will become the priority boarding ****s.
The worst example of the **** gate attendants happened a few weeks back when I was boarding Regional #99 to Williamsburg, VA.........
The train arrived slightly early and unloaded.
The gate attendant called for BC, elderly, families with young children, and everyone else that might need assistance.
The attendant verified tickets for the first group, then he turned and locked the boarding gate and escorted the priority boarders to the train and assisted them.
The rest of us waited and after a quite a bit wondered if we had be forgotten knowing there was nothing we could do to get through the locked door to the platform.
No less than one minute until departure the gate attendant returned to check the 70 or so remaining passengers tickets and escort them to the platform.
By the time we got to the escalator our train had started to pull out of the platform.
The gate attendant frantically called over the radio to stop the train that it was leaving passengers behind.
Luckily the right people heard and the train returned to the platform and loaded the rest of us.
After the last of the second set of passengers had boarded and found a seat, the train had lost 30 mins from the confusion and from negotiating a back-up move.
When the conductor came around to collect tickets he apologized for leaving us, he had thought everyone had come down with the first group and didn't realize anyone was being left, and was complaining to the AC that the priority boarding policy was becoming more trouble than its worth. Giving us the impression that this had happened before.
The the other end of the spectrum was boarding for the SB Crescent where the gate attendant just let everyone loose at once and didn't seem to want to help those who needed help.
In my opinion priority boarding should be done away with, in favor of getting gate attendants to assist passenger to the platform in one group just as the train arrives ensuring everyone is offered assistance and ensuring everyone has boarded by the scheduled departure time. I understand priority boarding is supposed to be a perk for BC and FC/SC but they could be escorted to their separate boarding location along with everyone else and it would make little or no difference.
I will tell you that the priority boarding system is a good idea that almost always goes horribly wrong, I have never had a good experience with multiple calls for the same train.
Either the gate attendant will completely ignore the priority boarding system, or they will become the priority boarding ****s.
The worst example of the **** gate attendants happened a few weeks back when I was boarding Regional #99 to Williamsburg, VA.........
The train arrived slightly early and unloaded.
The gate attendant called for BC, elderly, families with young children, and everyone else that might need assistance.
The attendant verified tickets for the first group, then he turned and locked the boarding gate and escorted the priority boarders to the train and assisted them.
The rest of us waited and after a quite a bit wondered if we had be forgotten knowing there was nothing we could do to get through the locked door to the platform.
No less than one minute until departure the gate attendant returned to check the 70 or so remaining passengers tickets and escort them to the platform.
By the time we got to the escalator our train had started to pull out of the platform.
The gate attendant frantically called over the radio to stop the train that it was leaving passengers behind.
Luckily the right people heard and the train returned to the platform and loaded the rest of us.
After the last of the second set of passengers had boarded and found a seat, the train had lost 30 mins from the confusion and from negotiating a back-up move.
When the conductor came around to collect tickets he apologized for leaving us, he had thought everyone had come down with the first group and didn't realize anyone was being left, and was complaining to the AC that the priority boarding policy was becoming more trouble than its worth. Giving us the impression that this had happened before.
The the other end of the spectrum was boarding for the SB Crescent where the gate attendant just let everyone loose at once and didn't seem to want to help those who needed help.
In my opinion priority boarding should be done away with, in favor of getting gate attendants to assist passenger to the platform in one group just as the train arrives ensuring everyone is offered assistance and ensuring everyone has boarded by the scheduled departure time. I understand priority boarding is supposed to be a perk for BC and FC/SC but they could be escorted to their separate boarding location along with everyone else and it would make little or no difference.
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Well there aren't enough details here to know precisely who made a mistake, but someone did. If the conductor left after seeing that first group of passengers, then he was wrong. He needs a radio call from the gate stating that the gate is closed, before he can allow the train to pull away. If he got that radio call, then it was the gate attendant who screwed up by forgetting that he hadn't let everyone down to the plat.
But either way, it has nothing to do with priority boarding. Someone screwed up plain and simple.
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