Posted on 08/15/2007 5:36:05 PM PDT by Yaelle
On the Road Right There on the Tarmac, the Inmates Revolt
By JOE SHARKEY Published: August 14, 2007
ON July 29, Continental Flight 1669, a 737-700 with about 120 passengers aboard, was bound for Newark from Caracas, Venezuela, when bad weather caused the plane to be diverted to Baltimore. It sat there for about five hours with passengers on board as food and water ran low and toilets became filthy.
Since Dec. 29, there have been hundreds of reports of passengers unable to get off parked airplanes for 6, 8 and even 12 hours. Just last weekend, for example, a Customs computer breakdown at Los Angeles International Airport stranded more than 17,000 international passengers on planes, some for more than 10 hours.
But what made the Continental flight somewhat different was that passengers organized and protested by clapping in rhythm and drumming on overhead bins. Finally, the pilot, worried about mayhem, called the police.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I love heights and flying but I am starting to develop a fear of "flying" and being stuck on some tarmac for hours with 100 other thirsty, hungry, hot people who need to use a bathroom.
New airline slogan: We do Third World Conditions better than our competitors! Fly us!
Clapping?
Stomping?
I’d just pull the handle on the emergency door, slide down the shoot and take a p_ss.
Thanks for flying Trans-Bastard Airlines. Bub-bye!
I was stuck on the tarmac twice on July 27th. Total of 6 hours of FUN!
And how long do you reckon you would serve in jail, for that?
Welcome to the land of the free.
Why the heck are people always getting stranded in aircraft on the ground?? What’s the big deal about deplaning them onto a bus and taking them back to the terminal where they can pee, eat, get some water, have AC, etc., then reboard them when the aircraft is ready?
Why can’t some lawyers, trapped on one of these aircraft, put together a class action suit and sue the airlines for “hostage taking”?
I hear that they actually got a pettition together - “Let us off of the plane!”
Because it hadn’t cleared customs.
In other words, your federal taxes at work.
Unlawful imprisonment?
Get on your cell phone, call 911, tell them you are having severe chest pains.
I bet she had some catchy slogans to chant.
“Why the heck are people always getting stranded in aircraft on the ground?? What’s the big deal about deplaning them onto a bus and taking them back to the terminal where they can pee, eat, get some water, have AC, etc., then reboard them when the aircraft is ready?”
They don’t care about sheep, or the fact that the sheep pay their salaries.
It’s all about control. Haven’t you been paying attention?
It was nice to know that I was in complete control and didn’t have to worry about having my family held hostage in a hot airplane without food, water, or toilet facilities.
Made some stops along the way, drove at our leisure, and really had a great time.
This is “legalized” kidnapping! Imagine the claustrophobia those passengers felt. We must demand the airlines return a plane to the terminal after one hour of delay for any cause!
This from their (Continental’s Website)
They list their phone number at the bottom. Maybe a call assault on their “CS” line might let them know that alot of people are looking at them and the way they handle their customers. Either way, their stated goal below is a freakin joke.
In addition to being chosen as the airline with the highest customer satisfaction for long flights in three of the last four years by Frequent Flyer magazine & JD Power and Associates, our domestic and international service has won numerous awards, including: “Freddies” for our OnePass frequent flyer program; “Airline of the Year” by OAG; “Best Managed” by Aviation Week & Space Technology; “Most Improved Airline” by the national Airline Quality Rating study; and “Airline of the Year” by Air Transport World. Our on-time arrival, baggage delivery, and denied boarding performance has historically been among the best of the major US airlines as measured by the US Department of Transportation. Most importantly, we were named one of the 100 best places to work by Fortune Magazine and our employees.
The plan, Customer First, contains specific, voluntary service commitments to continue this high level of performance and to improve wherever possible. While the plan does not intend to amend or replace the Contract of Carriage that defines our terms and conditions of carriage, the plan attempts to explain the applicable policies in a clear, consistent, and understandable fashion.
Customer First is the result of a joint effort of the airline industry, the U.S. Congress, and the U.S. Department of Transportation to address the key service elements that most affect our customers. To provide everyone access to this information, the plan may be downloaded in its entirety here or it may be requested at any Continental airport or Continental ticket office. We encourage all of our customers to read it carefully.
Our goal is to make every flight a safe and pleasant experience for our customers. These commitments are specifically designed to reduce the possibility that we might not reach that objective every time you fly with us and will allow us to deal promptly with any service failure. We are implementing and reinforcing company-wide training programs and systems enhancements to confirm that Continental employees are meeting these commitments, and we are measuring how well we perform. We want our customers to let us know how we’re doing by calling our Customer Care department toll-free at 1-800-WECARE2.
Plenty of instances of this crap when customs isn’t an excuse.
The airlines do a good job ninety percent of the time but when the system doesn’t work for them they no longer have a desire to plan methods to accomodate the customer.
I have been on a couple of these fiascos.
I will never give United a dime.
To me, driving is a lot more fun. See the country, etc.
Yah, but it is kinda fun to see how many Freepers don't care about customs or immigration laws when they get a chance to bellyache about an airline.
New era of double-speak where anyone in any kind of position of power says one thing and then does another.
_______________________________________________________
The government now strips us of our dignity before we even board and then most of the airlines make sure to be as rude and inefficient as possible. Oh yes, and there is always the joy of knowing someone might paw through our checked bags. And their tests are working - the sheep are going right along with it, though there was a slight mutiny in this particular case.
There needs to be a law. Seriously.
I’m against congress being in session as they only seem to spend our money.
The law needs to state, in specific terms that Airlines will be required to refund in full, the ticket price of any flight if the flight pulls from the gate and 120 minutes later does not have a takeoff window within the next 30 minutes. That means, that no one gets stranded on the ground for more than 150 minutes.
Airlines are so addicted to “on time departure” which is liberal speak for “we pushed away from the jetway” that they need to be held to account.
I think that the next time someone is on an airplane for 2.5 hours or more...someone should call 9/11 and claim they are being kidnapped on a continental plane.
I fly a whole bunch. Nothing irritates me more than them getting us on the plane and pushing off so we can sit and they get an “on time departure”.
I think in this case, it was an international flight so the passengers had to go through customs when they finally arrived in Baltimore. I guess it was a no-go to just release them to wander at will in a terminal.
It’s very unfortunate, but when you have a situation like this you have to keep the people “corraled” and inevitably that makes them feel like cattle.
CGGHM, I hope this doesn’t happen to you when you make that flight to Maryland.
Regards
LOL! That was sweet.
Customs, Baltimore, Customs Newark. Think there is a big difference? You go through Customs in the airport not on the runway. I’m not understanding this at all. There have been way too many of these instances, Customs is just the latest excuse.
150 minutes? Hell no! They shouldn't board passengers until the plane is in line to take off, not in line to wait for hours. I'd say 10 minutes on the ground after boarding, max.
But what do I know, I swore off flying in the early 90s when it turned sour. I will never fly anywhere again.
There have been many instances of "tarmac imprisonment" on domestic flights.
Yes - I always wondered, what if I call 911, and report a kidnapping.
“They shouldn’t board passengers until the plane is in line to take off”
Heh.
“May I have your attention, please? Welcome to American’s Jitliner. That’s “Jit”, for Just in Time! Your flight 86 is now in line to take off on cross-runway L, for takeoff on runway 2. Please exit the terminal onto the tarmac and run to cross-runway L as quickly as you can. Our high on-time departure ratings depend on you folks getting out there quickly. Now, let’s go, maggots!”
They hadn't cleared Immigration either.
You wouldn't want to let a bunch off illegal immigrants loose, would you?
I am an ex-Continental Airlines employee. I left when I realized that the guys at the top didn’t give a damn about their employees. That lack of care results in terrible customer service. Sad to see a once fine Airline go down the toilet.
Octar, I’m being ‘reasonable”.
I know there is a ton of logistics involved in getting folks onto a plane and getting them off. There is also the fact that many airports will shut down for 5-10 minutes if wind shear indicators are pinging. I really don’t have an issue with this. It takes 30 minutes to load or unload a 150+ seat airliner. That’s an hour, they get double than and half past that. There is also a takeoff queue, nothing wrong with that either.
Remember, I’ve flown ALOT. I have 250,000 miles under my belt. I get it. 3+ hours on the ground is INSANITY! Call the cops, you are kidnapped.
Nope - I would word it, after some period sitting on the ground, the passengers have an absolute right to pop the emergency exits and deplane as they see fit.
Given that this will take a hundred-million-dollar aircraft out of service for a week, what do you want to bet that it never happens twice?
Last time I flew to the US, I had to pass immigration checks three times BEFORE I got on the plane.
What Illegals?
Illegals walk accross the border, they don’t fly in.
Thanks for the response. Part of my post was tongue-in-cheek, about 8%. Since the massive leveraged buy-outs of the major airlines, management was deprived of the tools they needed to manage the businesses properly. Bad management was (is) the result. Skilled managers went elsewhere and the airlines are now being managed by Barack Obama, or people like him.
Way back in the stone age, I was on a flight Kaosiung, Taiwan back to Honolulu, Hawaii. The flight required me to take a 8 hour layover in Taipei. Once the flight left Kaosiung, I was considered an international traveler. So once the plane reached Taipei, I had to get off and go to the "Transit Lounge". That's where they kept folks who were continuing on an international flight. You had basic comforts, but you were forbidden from exiting it until it was flyin' time. There was a small bar where you could get drinks, soda, coffee, and snacks. It wasn't bad, and made the 8 hours at least tolerable.
So why can't our airports do up something like this? If the airline industry is screwed up across the board (Let's presume "Yes"), it might make sense for the airports to maintain such a facility, and pass the costs back to the individual airlines who use the facility. I'm not a big "laws for the sake of laws" guy, but if airlines were forced to use the facility, then it would be a fairer economic model: Bad airlines would have to use the transit lounge more, they would get charged per use, and be forced to pass that on to consumers. Consumers would (hopefully) decide they don't want to pay more for worse service, and would instead choose a more reliable airline.
I told her it was grape juice when we came aboard but we'd been sitting there so long, it fermented into some fairly decent wine.
“It gains Continental nothing to keep a plane out of service and have a bunch of angry fliers.”
Exactly. People on this thread are talking like Continental did this out of disregard for their passengers’ welfare, or a lust for power. I’m certain that if they COULD have let the passengers off to either go through Newark Customs or to wander in the terminal getting food and going to the bathroom, they WOULD.
LOL! That is hillarious. I always tell them, well, I didn’t have a beard, when I got on the plane...
The only problem with that, they’re gonna wanna hold someone responsible for popping the cherry. People need a witch hunt. Some poor bastard that needed to take a dump and the crappers were full will end up eating a a multi-thousand dollar judgment because he was in the wrong place when someone popped the door.
Frankly, I’m with you...I’d be REAL tempted to pop the wing emergency door after 3-4 hours. Eff ‘em. Put the plane in the hanger. Wanks don’t deserve and ontime departure
But that is the point, you see - if you have a right to get off the plane, they can’t charge you for the cost of the cherry.
(I am biased - former US paratrooper. 100 souls out the door, in about 9 seconds. Airlines piss me off)
As I said in my original post...I want a passenger bill of rights. I want 150 minutes to be the MAXIMUM possible time spent on the ground. If there is no expectation that the plane will take off...get it back to a gate and deplane the people!
You know, if you do it just right, you can read the tail numbers on the aircraft between your toes as it goes by.
I love doing that.
But you have to concentrate - no night water jumps (close your eyes and piss your pants.)
Hey, at aircraft speeds, it is all fun. ;)
Sitting on the tarmac pisses me off.
YOU said that right. Illegals come in across the desert. These passengers all got cleared by the airlines that have to guarantee their return flight if they are refused. So chances are 99.9% of them would have whized through immigration.
Yeah, you're in the same club as me. I bet I've spent more time on the tarmac than you have in my 250-500k airmiles. All of it sucked and most of it was unnecessary.
The US is, in fact, the only country that DOESN'T have transit lounges for international passengers. This means that passengers flying from, say, Australia to London with a stop in Los Angeles have to go through US customs during the refueling stop, then check back in to go on to London, even though they are not really entering the US. Air New Zealand has started diverting its flights to move the midway stopover to Vancouver to avoid this mess. America loses business once again.
You know, I have no idea how many miles I have flown.
You win.
But...before I take another comercial flight, I am just going to say the heck with it, and buy my own airplane.
Licensed pilot since I was 18. May be time to take advantage of that.
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