Posted on 01/25/2007 8:31:24 AM PST by skyman
Angry passengers pitch airline changes
By TREBOR BANSTETTER STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
Passengers on an American Airlines flight that was stuck on the tarmac in Austin for nearly 10 hours last month are pushing for a national Passengers Bill of Rights to protect traveling consumers.
The proposal would require airlines to return passengers to terminal gates after three hours on the tarmac. It would also impose penalties on airlines for losing baggage and bumping passengers, and create a consumer committee to review and investigate complaints.
The measure doesn't yet have a backer in Congress. But it comes as lawmakers are increasing their scrutiny of the industry, with a hearing scheduled for today before the Senate Commerce Committee on the impact of airline mergers and consolidation.
Heavy passenger loads during the past year have accompanied increased delays and complaints, according to the U.S. Transportation Department.
"Enough is enough," said Kate Hanni, a Napa, Calif., resident who was stuck with her husband on American Flight 1348 in Austin for nearly 10 hours Dec. 29 during a trip from San Francisco to Mobile, Ala. Her flight was supposed to land at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport for a connection, but heavy thunderstorms diverted the plane to Austin.
"Never again should anyone be left in a plane without information, without food, with toxic air, overflowing toilets, no remuneration and no explanation," she said.
Officials with Fort Worth-based American have apologized to passengers for the long delays and issued vouchers worth up to $500. But they also point out that the events that day were because of an unusual storm in North Texas coupled with the fact that airplanes were flying with full loads on a holiday weekend.
"The thunderstorm event of Dec. 29, 2006, that spread almost the entire length of Texas was one of the most unusual weather circumstances we've seen in 20 years," said Tim Wagner, a spokesman. More than 80 flights were diverted from D/FW that day.
Hanni and her husband recruited 13 other passengers to sign onto the effort. They've written to Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, with a draft proposal for the law and have launched an Internet blog at www.strandedpassengers.blogspot.com.
Hanni hasn't ruled out filing a lawsuit against American but said it would be a last resort.
"If the only way to send a message to the airlines is to pursue it from that angle, then absolutely," she said during a conference call with reporters Tuesday.
Stories of the long delays have been featured in national news media, including The Wall Street Journal and NBC Nightly News, in recent weeks. Passengers say they ran out of food, toilets overflowed and some lacked access to medication while stranded on the tarmac.
Hanni called the conditions "subhuman."
"I was fighting off a panic attack the entire time," said Mark Vail of Madera, Calif. "I was counting raindrops in the window, doing anything to try to distract myself."
All the while, he said, "I kept seeing Southwest Airlines flights taking off and landing."
American officials say they were doing their best to cope with an extraordinary spate of bad weather at the carrier's largest hub.
Unlike most storms that quickly sweep over D/FW Airport from the west, the Dec. 29 tempest moved north from the southwest and hung over the airport for hours, Wagner said. Airline officials were hoping that the storm would lift so diverted planes could fly to D/FW and passengers could get to connecting flights.
If the airline had brought the plane into a gate in Austin early, it would have immediately been a canceled flight, he said. It then would have been nearly impossible to get the passengers onto later flights because most airplanes were already full.
"People would have been stranded in Austin for two or three days, maybe in a hotel room or maybe there at the airport, waiting for a flight," he said. "That's what we were trying to avoid."
Still, Wagner said that "the extremity of their experience was a mistake, and we've apologized for that." He said the airline has tweaked some policies and re-emphasized others in an attempt to avoid repeating the situation.
Some of the affected passengers said the airline responded only after the story was featured in the national press. And they say they haven't seen any indication that American is working to prevent future problems.
"There hasn't been any attempt to contact us; they haven't said anything," said Andy Welch of Lynn Creek, Mo., who was also on Flight 1348. "It infuriates me. How can anyone think they can run a business this way?"
An attempt was made in 2000 to pass a similar slate of protections for traveling consumers, and the idea was revived in 2002. Neither attempt resulted in a law being passed.
This time, however, Hanni is hopeful that the issue will have traction in Washington, D.C., particularly as lawmakers consider the impact that mergers could have on the industry.
"I believe we're reached the tipping point," she said. "The only thing that will change this is action from our elected officials."
PASSENGERS BILL OF RIGHTS
A group of travelers who were stranded on the tarmac for up to 10 hours last month have proposed a slate of protections for travelers. Their recommendations include:
Establishing procedures for airlines to return passengers to a terminal gate after three hours on the tarmac.
Requiring airlines to respond to complaints within 24 hours and resolve them within two weeks.
Forcing airlines to publish a list of chronically delayed flights online.
Compensation for bumped passengers or passengers whose flights are delayed by more than 12 hours at 150 percent of the ticket price.
Compensation for passengers whose baggage is lost or mishandled.
Creation of a Passenger Review Committee made up of nonairline consumers to review and investigate complaints.
Does keeping them on a plane without the opportunity to get off amount to false imprisonment?
Incredible!
How, exactly, does that require sitting on the tarmac instead of being at the gate?
I agree. The airlines should welcome such a regulation anyway, because if the delay is beyond their control I assume it will give them an excuse to cancel the flight without further explanation than "the law requires it".
They should sue the airline for hostage taking.
Not.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
"All the while, he said, "I kept seeing Southwest Airlines flights taking off and landing."
LOL...immediately after SWA canceled their flights out of OK in last week's ice storm, all the other airlines followed suit, because if the SW pilots can't fly, NOBODY can fly. They are terrific!
I agree with the 3-hour limit. After reading the "bill of rights" more, however, I see that it will add OTHER, unrelated and more technical requirements, too. Now I think these people are taking a sensible idea too far.
Passengers often have cell phones.
There are multiple exits.
Use them.
Having had my share of issues with airplanes.....Rerouted, diverted, and stuck on the tarmac for hours at a time...I am sympathetic.
But, if anyone thinks that MORE government regulation will improve things, they're kidding themselves. At best, things will stay the same and prices will go up. Its more likely that things will be more expensive AND worse, IMHO.
I would have been on the phone to the FBI reporting a kidnapping long before the 10 hours was up.
Good grief, people!
Why do so many still look to the government as the solution to their problems? It could very well be that existing federal regulations are at least partly to blame for them being stuck on the tarmac to begin with!
Look for every other possible solution to a problem before thinking about more laws! Then, look some more.
Didja ever think about simply flying with a different carrier next time!? Publicizing what they did is a pretty effective punishment too, I'd guess.
LOL. I can see the headline now. "Passengers Break Out Of Prison Plane -- Run Headlong Into Path Of Landing 737!"
At American Airlines, passengers are the enemy. They treat their clients with less respect than Armour gives to pigs.
At some point a situation like this will result in violence against the crew. The airlines should negate the need for gov't intervention by exercising more common sense and less "passengers as cattle" mentality.
That canceled flight nonsense from the airline won't stand up under cross. The pilot should have announced "we are pulling into gate 17 for one hour, The fees for this will cost the airline a bundle but you, our passengers, are worth it. However, if you chose to deplane, be advised that we will depart upon 15 minutes notice should a slot open and we will pull away from the gate in one hour. If you have not re-boarded the aircraft, you are on your own. Meanwhile, frequent fliers have earned an additional leg and please do not leave the concourse area."
That canceled flight nonsense from the airline won't stand up under cross. The pilot should have announced "we are pulling into gate 17 for one hour, The fees for this will cost the airline a bundle but you, our passengers, are worth it. However, if you chose to deplane, be advised that we will depart upon 15 minutes notice should a slot open and we will pull away from the gate in one hour. If you have not re-boarded the aircraft, you are on your own. Meanwhile, frequent fliers have earned an additional leg and please do not leave the concourse area."
A very reasonable solution.
This is nothing new with American. They treat folks like dirt.
If I can help it, I will not fly on them.
Probably a stupid question, but what happens if the flight doesn't have gate access? Gates are a scarce resource, you have to pay to get to one and sometimes, I understand, they are all full.
I was pondering this scenario. After ten (10) hours, or probably less, I would go to the emergency exit, yank the door off, inflate the stairs and walk to the terminal. I would NOT stay anywhere for 10 hours against my will.
Question: What would happen to someone that did this?
Personally, I would take my chances with a sympathetic jury and plead temporary insanity...or just tell the judge/jury that if I did not get of that plane, I would end up killing someone, if not myself, so it is just better for me to "jump off" ;)
Heck yeah. Now wouldn't that encourage airlines to gate or take off?
I believe there is an FAA rule about how long an air crew can be on duty. I believe the crew could have walked, or may have been legally prevented from working, as soon as the airplane hit the gate. I don't know how difficult it would have been to call out a new crew in the Austin area. If it is not a hub they would have had to fly them in. Difficult in a storm situation.
The plane is sitting somewhere. Roll a stairway up to it, bring up a bus, proceed accordingly.
The Airline industry is the only industry that actually punishes your patronage.
Stuck in a small metal tube with 200 freaked-out strangers, bad air, no food, and overflowing toilets? So long as I can leave safely, I will. Methinks the jury would understand.
Yeah, but then you run afoul of the federal regulations about people being on the tarmac of an airport. They'd all be detained by the TSA as soon as they deplaned.
Reagan was absolutely right: More government isn't the solution to the problem; it is the problem!
Does AA still have AARP flight attendants?
Better solution - tell the stewardess you're having chest pains and shortness of breath. Ask fellow passengers to call 911 on their cell phones. As they're getting you off the plane say you're feeling much better - "Must of been an anxiety attack" - and refuse treatment.
It has long ago ceased to be an entity which is trying to provide for the comfort and benefit of it's passengers and is now just an organization which operates exclusively for the benefit of it's unionized workers.
And since decision making like that rarely leads to profitability, they usually require the tax payer to make up the difference.
If it were southwest or some other non-union carrier, they would have done what you suggest... but not a union run airline.
with massive attitude problems. The gate attendants are even worse:
Your plane will be three hours late.
Can you help me make a new connection?
No. I am very busy fiddling with these slips of paper on the desk here. Go away. Its your own fault. You're screwed now. What do we care? Jim Wright fixed it so we don't have to give a crap about anything.
The Captain should be brought up.
Agreed... 3 hours is the point I start singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall at the top of my lungs! ;-) /joke
I agree that this is an extreme example. I'd be a drooling floppy mess after sitting that long going nowhere.
But NO WAY should there be more stupid regulations. American rightfully got tons of bad press about this story, and they can be punished or not by their customers.
If it wasn't enough of an insult for their customers to exert corrective force on American Airlines, then it's not enough to make congress act either. Leave it up to the customers.
A few years ago, I was on a SW flight into Las Vegas. Ax the plane his the runway, the flight attendant came on the intercom to say, "Folks, because the Captain flies this plane better than he drives it, stay in your seat with your seatbelt on until he's pulled up to the gate and come to a complete stop, and turned the seatbelt light off."
Big laugh.
Its government regulation, fostered by the airline industry, which permits airlines to treat passengers so poorly.
By the time this gets through the Clowns and Criminals in Congress, it will not be recognizable. End up being more rights for the Sand-Maggots, less for American fliers.
A very reasonable solution.
Indeed, a very reasonable solution. However, I would also think that, since the airport was effectively shutdown due to weather, that additional gate fee's charged to the airline (if that is indeed why they didn't return to the gate) should also have been waved.
10 hours?
Oh I don't think so... long before that I'm opening a door and deploying the slide.
the name of the brave pilot is ...?
I had friends who were on that flight. They are all considering lawsuit. They said that people were almost going to go force the hatch to be opened but they were told they would be arrested if they attempted such actions. This reason here is why I do NOT FLY!
They just needed one passenger willing to sacrifice themselves for the others. That passenger could have stood up and shouted "Bomb".
True.. in a true competitive free market situation, no business would think of doing such a thing to their customers.
I was desperate enough to try to exchange my ticket for a Southwest ticket, but they wouldn't do it. So I sat around in the deserted terminal waiting...the food places had already closed...nobody could tell me anything other than "mechanical problems" had caused the delay. I never did get a real explanation, an apology, an offer to buy me a sandwich...nothing.
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