Could anyone help me find how many continental airline planes were cancelled between Newark and boston on the 26 june
The Bureau of transportation statistics www.bts.gov will have that once June is posted in a few months.
Also, flights are canceled, not planes.
Here’s my favorite…
“Is the flight on schedule?”
“yes”
“so it will be here at 10:00a?”
“No”
“I thought it was on schedule”
“It is on schedule, it’s not on time”
one of the reasons that passengers get frustrated at the gate staff…give a straight answer that a regular person can understand…not airline talk. But, hey, that’s just my opinion…Of course if the customer is being rude and nasty that’s another story…sorry to be off topic a bit!
Just do the good ol’ “We’ll update everyone in 1/2 hour” Buys you a break lol 
That is why I don’t work pax service.
I always ask the flight number of the incoming plane, than look at FA on my phone to decide if I will wait, or find another flight/airline to work within my limitations. Definitely one reason I love Southwest.
Or you can you also check online or at the airport to see what flight is scheduled into the gate just before yours. However, if you are at SNA (Orange County) this doesn’t work because the gate information in the gates area show only departures, not arrivals. I think the arrivals are shown in the ticketing area.
If your flight is on Continental use pda.continental.com. It will show where your aircraft is coming from and what the flight number is.
Often the plane is on time but there’s no FA or no pilots. Is there any way to find out where your crew is coming from, and when? Is there any point asking the gate agent?
What is the point of a gate agent then? Why not just put a computer up there? It’s not that hard to run your tickets through the scanner… Sometimes you have to know when your plane is or isn’t gonna depart on the time you were given, perhaps you are going to need to make changes to your connecting flight, who is going to pick you up from the airport etc. Passengers don’t ask these questions just to be a hassle. There are valid reasons…
sorry if this is snotty…the coffee hasn’t circulated around…
Often the agent will not know where the crew is coming from. They would usually have to call down to their zone controller to find out.
The purpose of the gate agent is to assure that the people who get on the flight are the right people. You wouldn’t believe how often people try to board the wrong flight (almost always accidentally).
They also assign seats to standby’s, reseat people, reticket missed connections in the instance of delays, check documentation for international flights (airlines get a big fine if they drop someone off in a foreign country without a passport and visa if required), process upgrades, and streamline boarding procedures. They also watch unaccompanied minors until the FA arrives and check the SITA badges of the flightcrew to assure that they are the ones slated to work the flight.
Actually pay attention and watch one sometime.
I wasn’t saying that the agents don’t serve a purpose, but, having to answer questions from passengers is part of it…if you don’t like it or don’t want to, then that shouldn’t be your job. I personally prefer speaking with a human on most days, but there are some agents that are rude, nasty, flippant and mean. I am sorry if your job sucks sometimes, but that is not my fault, and I am a nice courteous customer and would like the same considerations. I’ve worked as a waitress and a clerk and I know there are rude mean people out in the world…it didn’t give me the right (or the need) to be rude back. I guess, it’s like this, not every person flies a lot, so folks ask questions and would like answers, not witty retorts or comebacks. Just give an honest answer even if it is “I don’t know”…what would be nice after that would be “I’ll let you know if I find out something.” For the most part I have had really great service from most agents…there have been a few pickles, and let me assure you a letter was sent and calls were made. I’ve also sent letters about great agents, and flight attendants as well.
Why not just put a computer up there?
SSShhhhh! PLEASE don’t give them any more ideas! 
Actually I think the computer is a great idea.
I know there’s no equivalent to FlightAware for tracking flight crews around the country, because that’s an internal issue for the airline. And there’s nothing you can deduce about crews from studying the arrival-departure monitors, until you know which flight your crew is arriving on.
So the only logical place to find out today is by asking the gate agent. So drdisque’s answer about the zone controller is pretty much what I was looking for. If the agent has a 3-minute hassle to answer that question, which is a natural one, then it’s too hard, and the airline should streamline it. It would give the agent another tidbit to make the customers feel fully informed, even though there’s still nothing you can do about it.
Everyone should keep in mind that CSR/Gate Agents/et al are also now part of our “Post 9/11” security system and are trained as such. A computer can’t detect “suspicious activity” quite yet. For example, a computer couldn’t effectively handle PAX that are on the “pull list” if a problem arises.
I’m not advocating replacing people with computers somehow, leaving the gates unattended. There are a hundred reasons you need a person there.
I’m saying airlines should make it easy for the agent to answer questions about where the aircraft, pilots, and FA are arriving from.
There are camera/computer systems, that can track faces, and expressions, and can detect repeated movements etc…Plus,if you consider Las Vegas and the casinos, and how they manage and track people, I sure think the airports, airlines, TSA could do better and with less people. I book my tickets with my computer, I check in with my computer and I print my tags out for my luggage, get my passport checked, all on a computer. Hmmm… But, personally, I do like having a person to talk to, and there are just some choices that are better for a person to make over a computer.