3hr tarmac delay limit

[oddlycalm]

Airlines also are required to provide adequate food and water for passengers within two hours of their plane being delayed on the tarmac, the department said, maintain operable restrooms and provide medical attention if necessary.

In other words, they are forced to meet minimum jail standards. :gomer: The shame of this is that it took action by regulators to require companies to do what should have been common sense all along; treat their paying customers like actual human beings.

3hr tarmac delay ruling (http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/12/21/airline.delay.tarmac.ruling/index.html)

oc

[KLang]

2 hours too long. :thumdown:

I'm fortunate to never have been caught up in one of this hours long affairs. I suspect I would end up in jail. :eek:

[oddlycalm]

Yeah, my sentiments exactly.

Our director of investor relations was on a United flight from Chicago to Portland. Held on the ground in Chicago for 7hrs for a weather delay then a 4+hr flight to Portland with no food, no water and overflowing toilets. She is no delicate flows, and she'd been in the Peace Corps and lived in primitive situations, but she said nothing she had experienced compared to being held captive on that plane for 11hrs.:saywhat:

One holiday season when Seattle was fogged in all the planes were diverted to PDX. Planes full of people say for hours because there were no gates open. The reason no gates were open is that the flight crews were over their hour limits and the airlines didn't want to spend the extra money to pay ground crews overtime to tow the planes out of the way and park them. A judge trapped on one of the flights got through to a colleague by cell phone to get a judicial order compelling the airlines to get the passengers off.

oc

[Gnam]

FedEx and United are in the same business. Boxes should know their place and keep quiet. :p

[Tifosi24]

The two times I have flown in my life I had to endure long waits. The first time around, I had to sit on the tarmac at O'Hare for four hours before flying to Germany (On the brightside, I vaguely remember the Lufthansa flight crew actually giving us food and beverages, but I might be mistaken). Then less than a year later coming back from D.C. we had to sit on the tarmac at Washington National for 2.5-3 hours. Given my track record, I don't fly so as to spare any unsuspecting fliers the evil travel karma I carry around.

[JLMannin]

Socialism! Socialism! Socialism!

It's a government takeover! Uncle Sam is going to tell the airlines how to run their businesses! This is capitalism! If passengers are willing to pay money to sit on a tarmac with no functioning bathrooms, no food, and no water, they should have this right! After all, this is America!

[TrueBrit]

Worst occasion was for me the day I emigrated, Jan 9, 1982. Blizzard in southern england, motorway down to one lane, made it to the airport, onto the plane, they pushed us a way from the gate and then stopped. For 12 hours. We went back to the gate a few times to offload crew and bring new members on board as the hours dragged on, but because the passengers had cleared customs we were not allowed off the plane.

This was back in the day when you could still smoke on planes, so naturally the smokers started to get a little fractious as the delay increased. A compromise was finally reached between the passengers and the crew and we could all spark up for 10 minutes every hour.

Because we had cleared customs, but not taken off, they couldn't unlock the booze or the duty free, so we all sat there puffing on our fags like nicotine starved test-animals and bouncing around from all of the tea and biscuits that had been handed out.

Finally, at 11.30pm (this was a noon flight) we started to make our way to the runway, only to be held for another 30 minutes, and we only just made it out before the midnight deadline to close the airport.

Once in the air the beer flowed like wine and we all cheered, until someone reminded us all that we had another 11 1/2 hours on the plane until we reached LAX.

Upon arrival at LAX discovered that my electric guitar must have been used by the baggage handlers as a bat in an impromptu game of cricket and was shattered beyond belief.

After damn near 24 hours on the plane I then had to trudge to the customer service desk and file my claim.

Then, the airline went bankrupt.

But it wasn't snowing in LA when I arrived, so it wasn't all that bad...;)

[dando]

^^^^ Welcome to Amerika. :(

-Kevin

[TravelGal]

2 hours too long. :thumdown:

I'm fortunate to never have been caught up in one of this hours long affairs. I suspect I would end up in jail. :eek:

You're lucky you weren't on the Eurostar last week. 15 hours a dark tunnel. No idea why. If you're one of the lucky ones, you get to walk out.

They appear to be up and running today and only 2/3 full. Gee, wonder why? :D

edit: The company knows why the trains got stuck (too much snow). It's the passengers that didn't know.

[Ankf00]

I'm more amazed by the fact Tif is apparently Amish than being stuck in a tunnel for 15 hours :D

[TravelGal]

I'm more amazed by the fact Tif is apparently Amish than being stuck in a tunnel for 15 hours :D

To tell you the truth, Ank. So am I.

[JoeBob]

Just wait until there's a flight that has been sitting on the tarmac for 2 hours and 45 minutes, and is told, "We have a takeoff slot for you in 20 minutes."

[Gnam]

This one probably should have waited at the gate a little longer.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126154759895302625.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopSto ries

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/9400/obfd7011223aaf200912231.jpg






looks like a Christmas Cracker. :D
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/5863/christmascracker.jpg

[oddlycalm]

This one probably should have waited at the gate a little longer.
Right, or not attempted a landing at all.

Interesting that the article doesn't make direct mention of the fact that the one piece of information that the pilot has no way of knowing is if there is enough standing water on the runway to make effective use of the brakes impossible. We see the best racing drivers in the world spin off the track helplessly in such conditions and no advanced braking systems are going to have any effect of there is no mechanical traction to be had.

Simple standing water telemetry from the airport could prevent a lot of these accidents, but that won't be well received politically.

oc

[Tifosi24]

I'm more amazed by the fact Tif is apparently Amish than being stuck in a tunnel for 15 hours :D

I try to amaze whenever possible ;). I think of my decision not to fly as a service to other travelers. It might also have to do with the fact that after sitting on the runway in DC, we had the pilot cut off an announcement to everyone onto approach at O'Hare because of an alarm claxon and then having a terrible crab landing after that. Granted, any landing you can walk away from is good, but that last flight has admittedly spooked me.