Passengers stranded on parked JetBlue planes for 10 1/2 hours

[kurth]

JetBlue Apologizes for Stranding Fliers
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: February 15, 2007
Filed at 10:17 p.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) -- Hundreds of passengers who were stranded on parked JetBlue planes for up to 10 1/2 hours could have been evacuated sooner if the airline had not waited to ask airport officials for help, the company founder said Thursday.

The airline acknowledged that it hesitated nearly five hours before calling in shuttle buses to unload 10 jets that spent the day sitting on runways at Kennedy Airport because of icy weather and gate congestion.

While they waited, exasperated passengers sat within sight of the terminal without food, adequate restrooms or a reasonable explanation as to why they were not moving...

Asked why the airline did not summon staircases and shuttle buses to unload the 10 planes with extraordinary delays sooner, Neeleman said, ''That's a very good question.''

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Weather-JetBlue.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------

American Airlines plane sits on Austin tarmac for 8 hours
The Associated Press
Jan 31, 2007 9:45 PM

DALLAS - An American Airlines flight that was stranded for eight hours on the tarmac of Austin's airport finally reached its destination in Dallas-Fort Worth on Saturday, a day later than planned.

American Flight 1348 left San Francisco at 9:10 a.m. CST Friday bound for Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, but storms sweeping across Texas forced the flight to be diverted to Austin, said airline spokesman Andy Backover. The plane landed at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at 12:54 p.m., but most passengers didn't get off until it taxied to a gate around 9 p.m...

Backover said he wasn't sure why the plane stayed on the tarmac so long...

http://www.examiner.com/a-540476~American_Airlines_plane_sits_on_Austin_tarmac_for_8_hours.html

[napi21]

1. I gotta tell ya, if I would have been on either of those flights, I'd

be messaging DU from a Federal prison now! I am a fairly patient person, but I lose ALL patience when an easy solution is within sight and nobody does anything!

I know there areFed. regulations restricting violence on aircraft, but in a case like that, Ican guarantee you I'd be guilty!!!! I'd be a raving maniac on there after3-4 hours,after 6-7,I guess I'd have been in restraints!

[dysfunctional press]

4. same here...although i'd probably start with a faked heart attack/seizure.

but if that didn't work, things would escalate VERY quickly.

arrest me.
then put me in front of a jury of my peers...i'd take my chances.

[kurth]

5. Nah, gotta keep your seatbelt fastened and your seat and table tray in the upright position

and all personal electronic devices turned off, including laptops and cell phones. Enjoy your flight.

[kestrel91316]

21. I would have got on my cell phone, called 911, and told them

TRUTHFULLY that I was being held against my will.

The crew would have been glad to be rid of me by the time I got off.

If the cops didn't get the passengers off, I would have called the media and had the plane surrounded by camera crews, and breathless news bimbos asking repeatedly WHY the passengers were not allowed to deplane.

[napi21]

23. You may have the best solution to this mess!

We all know how muchany business or politician HATES bad press! I doubt the police could do anything because they ahve no jurisdiction there. HOWEVER,CNN, MSNBC, etc could make majoc happen!!!!!

[barb162]

This was way past inexcusable

That airline was crapping on its customers. The problem is a lot of airlines do it. Most of the time these stories don't make the news.

[Radio_Lady]

14. People sued an airline a few years ago for doing this. I don't remember the outcome of their legal

action.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

2. Delta did it to me,

Delta kept me on a plane for HOURS in Salt Lake City a few years ago, we left the gate then sat for about an hour and sat, then we were de-iced and went to sit at the end of the runway where we sat a few more hours, then we had to be de-iced again so back to the terminal we went where we were de-iced again, which really stunk up the plane because the pilot said some of it got into the engine and into the AC system. We sit there for another hour atleast before finally leaving for LAX. When we arrived at LAX we also had to wait because there wasn't a gate for us!

They gave me some skymiles, thanks...

[barb162]

3. I was on a plane where they deiced twice and then had to get to the

back of the takeoff line each time. Yeah, they should just let people sit in the terminal.

[napi21]

9. I sympathize with you for what you had to go throughin that event,

but i realize at THAT TIME they were trying to work around the weather.

Believe me, you wouldn't want that plane to try to take off without de-icing. It's avery rare instance when a commercial plan goes down because of ice on the wings. In fact, I can't recall when I've even heard of one, bu tprivate planes make that mistake all the time, and the stats show it!

I can understandplanesbeing in line for take-off and having to return to the terminal for de-icing and then go back to wait in line. What I cannot accept is a pushback with no apparent schedule for departure. The planes referenced in the OPwere pushed back to open a gate, but the airline already knew they couldn't takeoff for their destination because of weather. THAT is inexcuseable! Deplane the passengers, and get the plane out of the way...YES! But to put the passengers and the crew in a static situation like that should NEVER happen!

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

15. I have no objection to de-icing

My objection was the day long 2mph tour of the grounds of the SLC airport, when it had to be obvious to the crew and dispatchers that the plane was not going to LAX or anywhere else in the forseeable future. Most of the time I could see the gate we had "departed" from and it was empty for most of the afternoon.

[napi21]

20. I know. It doesn't make sense to me either, unless the

controllers are really being told the weather in your destination is about to clear. All they can depend on is the info they get too.

The recent episodes of planes sitting on the tarmac formany hourswhen it was well known that plane would never be able to leave in the foreseeable future is inexcuseable!

I heard there is a bill in Congress now that is going to deal with this.

I'm not sure who is to blame. The airline, the FAA, the airport admin, or the controllers, or maybe all of the above! I sure don't remember this happening 10-20 years ago when I was a very frequent flyer!

[A HERETIC I AM]

17. The major accident that reinforced de-icing was the Air Florida crash in DC...

Flight 90 that crashed into the Potomac after hitting the 14th street Bridge shortly after take-off in 1982. The FAA determined that ice on the wings which built up AFTER it had already been de-iced contributed to the crash. The time from de-ice to take off was 49 minutes in a heavy snowstorm.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Florida_Flight_90
A fiance' of an acquaintance of mine was a flight attendant on that aircraft. She did not survive.

[napi21]

19. I'm sorry. I didn't mean tosy it never happened, and I'm very sorry

for the passenger & crew on that flight. I have to assume THAT crash caused the FAA to make or enforce the current rules for de-icing.

I realize it's real PIA for the passengers & the crew to have to go through that procedure when they think they are close to the front of the waiting line for takeoff, butit really IS your life at stake!

[Radio_Lady]

13. I got stuck on the tarmac in Chicago during a snowstorm... 11 hours locked up in the plane.

It was Christmas Eve, 1998, and I was flying to Portland, Oregon from Boston, Massachusetts. Took off in beautiful weather, cold and clear.

The flight from Boston to Chicago was uneventful. But the weather had closed in badly in Chicago -- very unexpectedly -- and they were de-icing the wings every half hour. We were all happy go lucky -- opened our presents and passed around the wine and chocolates. (Those gifts never got to their destination.)

Some of the ground crew had left because it was Christmas Eve (duh!). They did taxi back to the gate and let off people who had children when they ran out of food and diapers. However, they were clearly not going to pay for food or rooms because it was a weather event.

I called my husband twice on the EXPENSIVE air phone and he told me to just stay with the plane... they would take off eventually. (Each telephone call cost more than $50.00.)

I was sitting next to a sweet little 12-year-old girl all dressed up and going to visit her aunt in Portland. This was her FIRST FLIGHT. I had to appear calm and collected for her... wonder if she ever flew again? The plane finally took off after 11 hours. It was already late morning in Portland when I finally arrived.

The airline eventually gave us two free round trip tickets for my trouble.

One thing I learned -- once a plane is boarded, they cannot easily accommodate the passengers back into the terminal, as others start flowing in. It's as simple as that. Planes are another kind of waiting room.

[napi21]

22. 11 HOURS! Naw, I don't buy the "just another waiting room" story!

NOPE! Let me off the damn tin cigar. At least inside the terminal it's unlikely the restaurants will run out of food, drink, and bathrooms, and if I decide I really can't stand it, I have the option of leaving the airport alltogether!

Login has to enter this picture somewhere!!!!

[Initech]

6. American almost did it to me.

I was on a flight to Dallas a couple years ago when the entire airport was shut down due to a thunderstorm. My flight got delayed to Abeliene, Texas for nearly six fucking hours. I missed my connection to Nashville. That will really test your sanity.

[IDemo]

7. Good material for a "Wanna get away?" commercial... n/t

[SheilaT]

8. I guess it's going to take a passenger

who actually dies because of this bull crap. Maybe a diabetic who is forced to check his insulin because of the current restrictions on carry-on who goes into a diabetic coma. Or maybe it will just take a willing attorney to take this on.

Personally, I cannot sit for very long in most coach seats because my particular height and leg length means that after about 45 minutes or so of sitting in a typical airplane seat my knees start aching. Normally, I can get up and move around a little to relieve this problem. But on flights of three hours or longer I'm usually in a lot of pain by the end of the flight. I'd be in agony after 10 plus hours, and I don't really have major health or other issues, just this little thing with my knees.

This really is a law suit waiting to happen, and as a paralegal I'd love to be in on this one.

[Mz Pip]

10. How hard can it be

to get a shuttle bus to the plane and get the people off?

10 hours? Don't bother to pacifiy me with a first class up grade on my next flight. Maybe letting me fly first class for freefor the rest of my life would be a more appropriate compensation.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[Moby Grape]

18. they could get clearance at any time

in a narrow window of time.

they have to be ready.

give the animals a few free drinks

[Richard Steele]

25. "Give the animals a few free drinks"?

[NoAmericanTaliban]

11. That is one of my versions of hell

Letterman just joked about it. Said that Jetblue will give them tickets for miami so they can sit there for 10 hours.

[sakabatou]

12. -_-

:banghead:

[sproutster]

16. I went to Canada a couple years ago and I gotta say our pilot kicked ass

We were actually coming back to the US and for some reason there was a wait to leave. We were sitting for about 45 minutes and the Captain told us to get off and the stewerdess said no stay. :) Well we all decided to listen to the Captain who was standing there arguing with her saying he was the Captain and his call was to let us off.

They have a little bar there with a glass window to the entry so we were all watching as he argued with her and then she called the airport manager.

A stewardess was in there. She smiled at us and said don't worry about it pilots are gods. He wins.

I dunno who he was but he has a bunch of admirers.

[leeman67]

24. I cannot believe there wasn't a mutiny..

I would sue the be-jeezus out of them...