Outrage on tarmac delays--you want to know, DOT wants to know

What does it mean that an article from over the weekend on a nightmare flight delay is yesterday's "Most Viewed" news item in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune? I think it means that reasonable people are outraged at the idea of being stuck on a small plane for seven hours. I think it means that flyers and those who are considering flying want to know that should a delay occur, they will be treated respectfully.

That is why we have sent a letter to Continental Airlines inquiring into the circumstances of its recent Continental/Express Jet flight 2816 extended delay.

When I was in Congress, I did a lot of traveling to and from my district in Illinois, so I'm not unfamiliar with the experience of sitting on the tarmac, waiting--whether for clearance from the tower, further instructions from the airline, or simply some information from the crew. I know being stuck on a plane is no fun.

But I also know that delays happen for many reasons, most of which are beyond the airline's control.

That's why the letter to Continental  simply seeks answers to a few questions. Basically, we want to know what I think all of us want to know:

1. Why the flight was diverted to Rochester, Minnesota, in particular;
2. Which carrier, Continental or Express Jet, was responsible for the well-being of the passengers and, in particular, which carrier’s contingency plan was implemented during the tarmac delay;
3. Whether Continental/ExpressJet had in place at Rochester procedures regarding the deplaning of passengers on diverted flights at diversion airports without TSA presence and if not, why not;
4. Whether such procedures were implemented with respect to flight 2816 and if not, why not;
5. Why flight 2816 was forced to stay on the ground at Rochester for as long as it did; and
6. An explanation of the passenger’s treatment during the delay, including once they were inside the airport terminal.

The letter also asks Continental for similar information about other recent delays.

What will we do with the answers Continental provides?

Well, last year at the recommendation of the DOT Office of Inspector General,  we  established the National Task Force to Develop Model Contingency Plans to Deal with Lengthy Airline On-Board Ground Delays. The model plans suggest what steps airlines and airports may take to alleviate passenger discomfort, but the Task Force could not require any action by airlines. 

However, DOT has a rulemaking in progress that proposes to require airlines to take certain steps to deal with lengthy tarmac delays, including establishing contingency plans that meet basic passenger needs during a lengthy tarmac delay.  Some have proposed that DOT go further and set a time limit for carriers to deplane passengers.  While I can't comment on the merits of the proposed rule yet, we will use the information Continental provides to help us reach a decision about what direction to go in that rulemaking.

Whatever shape any rule might take, I want readers to know that DOT is trying to help reduce the discomfort--and the resentment--that can turn a lengthy delay into a nightmare.

Comments

[Stephen]

If all companies, agencies, whatever, if you deal with the public, then remember the golden rule. (A refresher: Treat others as you would like to be treated). Another rule to think of: The 6 P's (or in polite society, 5 P's): Prior Planning Prevents Pxxx-Poor Performance.
I don't know that the crew was in any better shape than the passengers in this case, but still, did they really want to be stuck on the plane too?
Could they have opened the rear doors to get fresh air in? And block the doors with a food cart so no one falls out? Let's face it, once it became clear that nobody was coming for them, rules need to be bent so people don't die or get sick.

[Mary Hines]

As a frequent business traveler I frequently endure poor treatment by the travel industry. From long delays on the tarmac to long terminal delays. Sometimes there is no place to sit in a terminal holding area except the floor, which most are not very clean! I was on a flight from New Orleans 7:30pm to Dallas Love Field that didn't arrive until 2am. Yes there was weather involved but the worst of it was not sitting on the tarmac or the many hours of waiting to land, it was arriving at 2am and being kicked out of the secure area, no food or drink and being in an unsafe environment to wait for a 7am flight. What few chairs there were were taken. There were no hotel rooms available with shuttle. No-one from the airline to help. I saw very senior citizens in wheel chairs treated the same way. The old sarcastic saying "If you have time to spare, go by air" really rings true these days. No wonder the airlines are hurting. They have lost sight of who their bread and butter is.... the customer! I was on a flight in January and held on the tarmac in Atlanta for 4 hours. When I finally got to DFW I found out that friends who were on the tacmac in Atlanta at the same time as me were just shuttled back to the terminal and flight canceled. I understand mechanical, I understand God and weather, I don't understand non-communication and no customer service. Please make Airlines operate not only in a safe but communicative manner and give options to flyers to rebook at no penalty and such. The joke is now that soon we will be forced to pay to use the toilet on the plane.

[Larry Jorgenson]

I visited a couple of pilot blogs to see how pilots viewed this. The best blog (to my mind) came from the pilot who said airlines no longer reward service, only finger pointing. Continental points to ExpressJet, who points to TSA and airport. Congrats to Rochester airport mgt for calling the airlines on their (so it seems) false accusations. I imagine the Continental approach will be more of the same and yet another song and dance on how the industry can self-regulate. Truth is, they didn't and won't.

[Old Salt]

Another question is: Did the crew get relieved before the passengers were allowed to de-plane?

[John]

Mr. Secretary, I don't know if you read these comments, but I hope so. According to news reports, when the plane finally left Rochester, the toilets were still not working. According to someone I know who holds a commercial pilot's license, that is an FAA violation and the plane should not have left the ground. I hope your investigation will consider this issue.

[Chris Sypolt]

It is simply unconscionable that stuff like this is still happening. How many times does it have to happen before actual relief occurs, and I don't have to worry about sitting on a tarmac for 9 hours.

It does seem like you're Taking It Seriously. Please keep up the pressure on the airlines to fix this as soon as possible.

[miguel]

Will the letter be followed up with some type of public reprimand.

[John]

"Rulemaking in progress" or not, I expect you to make this right. And if you need to have someone explain to you what "make this right" means, ask your boss as he's packing up your office.

[Paul Deeming]

Dear Secretary LaHood,
The approach you blog about to the insanely ridiculous situation with Continental flight 2816 (Rochester, MN) - "we have sent a letter to Continental Airlines inquiring...", "simply seeks answers to a few questions..." and "model plans **suggest** what steps airlines and airports **may** take..." - is extremely weak and ineffective. As the head of the country's Dept. of Transportation, which oversees the airline industry, you should be DEMANDING/LEADING a formal inquiry into this insanity! There was absolutely no excuse for the situation. Contingency plan?? There was NO contingency plan, that's more than obvious!

I can tell you if I am ever on a flight that starts to delay, they will have no more than 3 hrs. to work it out or I'll be on my cell phone calling 911 to report being held against my will aka kidnapping! There's no damn way I'll ever be held overnight on a damned airplane!!

Why can't our gov't pass the Passenger Bill of Rights???

[Joe]

From what I was told, the plane had to land there because of the storm, and that nobody was at the airport. They couldn't let them off the plane because they would have gotten fined without letting them go thru the federal checkpoints withj TSA if they got off. They had to wait till someone showed up at 6 a.m. and that podunk airport. This is failture of the government's own rules, not Continental. That airport manager is lying to save his ass.

[Joe]

And by the way, whatever happens, please...please keep Nancy Pelosi's grubby, slimy little fingers out of this before she screws all the airlines up so bad we'll have to walk. Just tell her to shut up for once. Why would she care? She has her own damned jet.

[AM]

Please ensure that these airlines recognize that someone with a disability might not be able to sit on a plane like that! I am a paraplegic and use a wheelchair. I am functionally unable to use the restroom on airplanes, so had I been in this situation, I would have had to demand that they allow me off the plane just so I could use the restroom.

[Greg Davis]

Shouldn't we approach the security question (the passengers weren't released into the terminal because TSA staff were unavailable)from a more pragmatic perspective? What are the odds that passengers WHO HAVE ALREADY BEEN SCREENED will become security threats and obtain the means to do harm under these circumstances?

[Michael E. Bailey]

I am wondering if a part of the new requihrement on long fight delays on the tarmac should not include the airline paying the passengers for missed connections, missed ground transportation and ohther problems such a delay can cause. That could be a powerful incentive to prevent all but truly necessary long term delays. I hope you will write another letter and let us know what the airlines had to say. Thank you and best wishes, Michael E. Bailey.

[John R Willis]

Sirs:
I believe that the airlines should be required to deplane the passengers for any delay exceeding one hour. they should refund the full ticket price, not what was paid, including all fees and taxes, for any delay 2 hours or longer. In addition to this, they should then have to grant one free (fully paid, all fees and taxes included) round trip ticket to anywhere the airline, or partners, fly to each passenger or each additional hour or portion thereof for delay exceeding three or more hours. For any delay exceeding six hours the airline should be required to place passengers in individual rooms at the highest priced hotel within a 50 mile radius and furnish meal vouchers for meals that can be redeemed at any eating facility within 50 miles of the hotel. This will force the airlines to act.

I would also ask the ATA and the airlines what measures were implemented after the JetBlue incident. After JetBlue both the ATA and the airlines said that gov intervention was not needed and that the industry would fix the problem. What ever they did (nothing?) did not work so now it is time for gov to act and take money out of the carriers pockets.

John R Willis

[Tedd]

While the administration hasn't taken a position on the three-hour provision ... if the passengers where all black with an all white flight crew, I suspect there would be a position coming from the White House. This is an outrage and borders on kidnapping with unusual and cruel punishment! I can relate and sympathize with these passengers. Too bad our government officials do not travel commercially in coach.

[rose]

President Obama has no position on this "stranding of passengers"? Yet, had no trouble taking a stance on the the Gates, and police office situation that clearly was none of his business.

[nivekeef]

I might be in jail this morning if I had been on that flight. The only thing that kept passengers from storming the door was that the airline kept lying to the them to keep them pacified. Its obvious the airlines cant regulate themselves so unfortunately the government will have too.

[T Bjorkman]

Citizens who buy passage from a transportation companies does not give that company the right to kidnap them. That is what Continental did in this case. If there are any regulations enforced by DOT that exempts airlines from charges of false imprisonment or kidnapping in cases like this, they must be removed to preserve fundamental American freedoms.

[christa]

I flew with Continental last year and we were told it was bad weather in Newark and we had to take a plane to Paris instead of our connection in Newark. I am elderly and I am a diabetic we sat in Cleveland forever, my bloodsugar went very low and I started shaking, but had to stand in line and wait to reschedule my flight to the Parisflight, I asked Continental to call the people in Germany that I would be late, they said they would, but never did. There food made me violently ill, because the food had a very nasty smell to it. I fly every year to Germany, but never again Continental, they are rude, want your money and do not care for their clients. Airlines need to be regulated by the Goverment and if the client has problems airline related they do not react. They should write new laws for airlines and bad services.

[Lorick Fox]

Based on reports, it certainly sounds as if the AIRPORT refused to permit the aircraft to return to a gate. The questions I would be asking would include what was the AIRPORT's plan and what was TSA's plan for this eventuality. A pilot who moved the aircraft contrary to ATC direction would be exposed to regulatory certificate action.

[Jim Klipp]

There needs to be some kind of standardization for customer service within the airlines when the major airlines (United, Continental, American, etc.) farm out their flying to these regional jet operators (Express Jet, Colgan, Chautauqua, Trans States, etc.) In the case of the Express Jet debacle at Rochester, I'd be willing the bet the farm that the Express Jet dispatchers were not even communicating with the Continental dispatchers, and Continental subsequently forfeited management of their customers' experience to a 2nd-tier airline. Additionally, dispatchers are concerned with moving and positioning crews and metal. Passneger experience is NOT on their priority list.

[Dan Farrar]

I really want to know the answer to this. What would happen if I called 911 with a serious medical condition - heart attack, et al, while I was a passenger stranded on that plane. Would they respond? Would I be removed from the plane? Would they let me just die? If I were stranded for that long I think I would call 911 with such a medical condition as I am claustrophobic and being in an enclosed area that long is dangerous for me. So, what would happen?

Dan

[Maria Vila]

Last July 29 American Airlines had us waiting inside flight 2115 in Miami for almost 5 hours with almost no communication from the cockpit and when there was one there was no concrete information.
No inboard service was given, only some water right before take off. I understand there are reasons for delays, but we could have been taken back to the terminal and wait there.

[D ave]

http://discussions.flightaware.com/viewtopic.php?t=8981&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=cca0ef5160a937c88bcf054a9f95c798