JetBlue, AA face fines over stranded planes

[marmar]

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — JetBlue Airways Corp. and AMR Corp.’s American Airlines are facing huge U.S. fines on Monday after their passengers sat for hours in jets stranded on a snow-covered tarmac near Hartford, Conn., this weekend.

The U.S. Transportation Department is investigating the JetBlue reports and “several other possible delays,” but couldn’t comment immediately on American Airlines.

Under rules in place since April, 2010, most tarmac delays at U.S. airports are limited to three hours for domestic flights and four hours for international flights, the DOT said. Exceptions are allowed only for safety and security, or if air-traffic control advises pilots that returning to the terminal would disrupt airport operations.

If the airlines are charged with breaking the so-called tarmac-delay rule, they face fines of $27,000 for each stranded passenger. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jetblue-aa-face-fines-over-stranded-planes-2011-10-31?link=MW_home_latest_news

[riderinthestorm]

1. Good. The only way this practice will stop is if they pay a heavy cost.

Jet Blue refused to help their own pilot, leaving him incommunicado the entire time.

The airport refused to back an empty plane away from a gate so this one could be towed into place and deplaned. (please spare me the epic snowstorm excuse - I'm talking about the airport crew removing enough snow to clear a path for one plane to back out and getting one plane to the gate - I KNOW they have enough ground crew for that)

[Name removed]

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[kestrel91316]

3. Prediction: DOT will find the airlines did nothing wrong, and fining them $27k per

passenger would be too onerous a burden for the poor dears.