Real-Life Math -- Solution
Let's get a handle on this baggage problem:
Flight A
-- Paul Smith's Flight
| 07:30 | departure PST |
| +7:35 | travel time |
| 15:05 | arrival PST |
| +3:00 | time difference |
| 18:05 | arrival EST |
| so, |
| 18:35 | departure EST |
| -18:05 | arrival EST |
|
| 00:30 | minutes time difference |
Paul Smith's flight leaves the airline only half an hour to transfer
his baggage to the connecting flight. You feel this is cutting it too close.
Flight
B -- The flight flying from L.A. to Detroit via Seattle
| 07:00 | departure PST |
| +8:10 | travel time |
| 15:10 | arrival PST |
| +3:00 | time difference |
| 18:10 | arrival EST |
| so, |
| 18:35 | departure time |
| -18:10 | arrival time |
|
| 00:25 | minutes time difference |
Even though this plane leaves half an hour earlier than Mr. Smith's
flight, there's no advantage to putting his luggage on this flight.
Flight
C -- Flight flying direct from L.A. to Detroit
| 08:00 | departure PST |
| +6:20 | travel time |
| 14:20 | arrival PST |
| +3:00 | time difference |
| 17:20 | arrival EST |
| so, |
| 18:35 | departure time |
| -17:20 | arrival time |
|
| 01:15 | minutes time difference |
With one hour and 15 minutes, the airline would have ample time
to transfer Mr. Smith's luggage to his connecting flight to New York. You
put his bags on the direct flight. Mr. Smith never knows the difference;
he just appreciates seeing his bags when he arrives in New York. Good job!
When
you're handling thousands of bags every day, sometimes things get lost. "We
get most bags back within 24 hours," says Lisa Tedeschi.
Baggage handlers
must be able to do basic number operations. They need to be able to read airline
insignia easily, and work with numbers that describe numbers of items and
weights, and be able to read waybills.