Why do employees at the airport counter by the gate just stand there and type the entire time and act busy?

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CopyThat

When I first started this job, I told my Mom, you know how you walk up to a gate agent and they look really busy....That's because they are!
So my answer to you is we look busy because we are busy. Especially on bad travel days. We have to find reroutes for people on the plane in conditions where most other planes are already oversold. We are trying our hardest to get you to your destination as soon as possible, believe me it is scary to look at an angry passenger and tell them they can't get out for the next couple of days.
On a normal day we are busy pulling up flight releases, making sure all passengers are seated, assigning tail numbers, checking our outbounds, filling out paper work. All this while still smiling and answering for the 3rd time, that "yes you are in the right area" and thinking if you'd just give me a crystal ball I could tell you if "this plane is on time".
As for John W :)
I know some gate agents do have an obnoxious air about them, but most of us are good people who love our jobs. And I've never been upset because you were flying into the sunset while I stand there working. Because I know on my days off I can fly into the sunset for free :)

jimi

They actually are VERY busy. The reasons are top secret tho. If I told you....

keagkid101

The airport counter employees are actually busy. They have to check passengers and their luggage in, and make sure everything is correct in their reservation. The employees also look at flights to see if standby passengers can make it on board, and make sure that everyone has paid their ticket in full, and checking flight delays...etc. They are busy.

jennefur_hp

Cause they are busy. That's what having a job is, doing work and being busy.

John W

Much of it is seat allocation too. Simplistically, if there are two rows of two seats (4 seats in total) and you and a stranger check in one after the other - should they put you two together side by side? Or give you 1 seat with nobody beside you, and the stranger behind you? If they do that, what happens if a couple then checks in? They can't sit beside each other.

Plus their computer will tell them they have overbooked (sold more tickets than there are seats - illegal, but they all do it), and again the busy people have to sort that out and wonder "what if EVERYONE turns up - where do I put them??".

All that aside, they are some of the grumpiest, least friendly and arrogant people you will come across in your entire trip. Grin and bear it, they're only pissed they're stuck there working while you're flying off in to the sunset.

Dani G

If you are an gate agent that knows what your doing, then the operation runs smooth, but it takes a lot of organization, they only have 30 min. to board pax, pull up paperwork, make sure everybody is on board, etc. The agents have to be focused and concentrate, and the codes they use are long, so if you ask them to change a seat, it's not just a push of a button, it's a lot of entries. That's why you see them type a lot. In this job you wont see agents do jumping jacks while at the gate, it's all about knowledge.

Tim

Well, we don't want to look like "Meet the Parents" when that lady just kept pounding the keyboard, however, sometimes you have to. Okay, here's the process that I would have to type for you if you were checking in, and then you had to pay for an overweight bag, and then you decided that you wanted to change your seat. It's a lot of code, but it's a lot of typing:

First I'd have to load the correct flight number that you are on:
-LLXXX
Then I'd have to find you:
-FLASTNAME/FIRST
Then I'd have to isolate you to make sure you're not traveling with a party of two or more:
-.P1
Now I'd have to take your payment:
-RZ1, FEE, BAG, 01, F-CA0000-20.00, R-TIM, ER, BYE
Now I'd have to actually check you in, but you want to know if there is a different seat available
-SM, C1/21A-21B, C1-2

Now that sequence of code is much shorter than some airlnes that use SABRE. In that program there are more codes to learn and the process of checking in someone takes forever! It's not just an agent pounding the keyboards, it's really that much stuff we have to check. Also, if you're traveling internationally, it's even more typing as now your passport has to be verifyed. Finally if you're a Selectee "SSSS" on your boarding pass, or if you're reservation is locked, that is another set of long typing codes.

Jean

Not always. I was in Tokyo Narita airport and was 30mins before the departure. Everyone had checked in and we were super late. The employees there looked bored when we rushed to the counter.

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