The Chicago Tribune reports that on Saturday, a United flight, UA907, bound from Chicago to San Francisco, was left on the ground for seven hours before the pilots finally cancelled the flight. This comes after the Jetblue meltdown and in the midst of pressure and threat of federal action.
At the last minute, the plane was switched from a larger aircraft to a 757, which meant some passengers who had redeemed miles to get into first-class were downgraded to coach seating, which delayed boarding while dealing with some very irate individuals. That boarding delay is attributed to delaying the flight enough to prevent it from leaving before the storm hit.
As the Tribune puts it, “despite the airlines’ best efforts, this is turning into a winter of discontent for some air travelers. Consumers’ frustration with airline delays and cancellations is building as every snowstorm seemingly brings more stories of stranded planes and service breakdowns.”
United and American canceled hundreds of flights slated for Saturday night in anticipation of bad weather and Flight 907 was among the last flights scheduled to depart before the storm would hit. Ground crews started spraying the plane with de-icing fluid at around 5:20 p.m., then stopped. The stinging ice pellets were changing into freezing rain far earlier than predicted. In such conditions, trying to keep ice off the plane was useless. As the rain turned to snow more than an hour later, the plane once again readied for departure, finally pulling away from the gate at 7:39 p.m. But the weather rapidly deteriorated. By 8:10 p.m., visibility had dropped to about one-quarter of a mile due to heavy snow and fog. The pilots headed back to be deiced, joining a line of planes waiting. As the hours dragged on, the plane remained parked within hundreds of yards of United’s terminal, Simmons said. It ventured out to the runway once, only to turn back when ice was spotted on the wings.
Flight attendants served drinks, then all of the meals stowed on the flight, finally breaking out emergency food rations that United stows on all its aircraft for such delays. It is nice to know they have food rations though. As usual, the airline hoped to get its passengers out, but failed to make the decision to leave them in Chicago soon enough.