Flights from Hell - Flight Wisdom

We don’t appreciate the media reporting airline delays as Flights from Hell. It seems too much hype as opposed to more useful reporting.

Reuters comments that if airlines “want to ensure long-term survival, they say they have no choice but to restrain capacity, fill as many seats as possible and cut costs wherever they can.”

It is a common misconception among air travelers that they can be insulated from the many hassles that can arise in an unpredictable business like air transport, he said. Airline consultant Michael Boyd commented, “But no matter how wronged a passenger feels by an airline, travelers care more about price than customer service once the annoyance of a protracted delay wears off…It doesn’t change the fact that consumers have the attention span of a monkey, the next time they go to Fort Lauderdale, they’re going to book whatever seat is the cheapest.”

On March 31st, passengers boarded United Flight 1073 from Montego Bay, Jamaica to Chicago O’Hare. The flight was delayed, and after they boarded, a hydraulics problem was discovered. Unfortunately, United was having trouble finding a common part needed to fix the Airbus 320. About 5 p.m., three hours after scheduled departure, the flight was canceled. United had decided to ship in its own mechanics and the missing part on the next day’s flight from Chicago. At airports with a small United presence, they have outsourced staff, and fly in mechanics for more serious problems…Many airlines do this. Passengers were, due to security restrictions, forced to exit through the arrivals area and cross a parking lot…a walk of about half-a-mile. The customer service subcontractors, AJAS, were completely overwhelmed and unable to help. When passengers arrived early in the morning for a noon departure, they discovered that the plane had been delayed till 5…and there was no guarantee it would not leave earlier…preventing them from leaving and returning…At 7:45PM, the mechanics, who had been delayed arriving on the inbound flight, found another problem…and passengers were sent back to hotels. United decided to send a rescue plane Monday morning. When passengers arrived, they noticed fifty or sixty people were missing. United has subsequently created a special team to take care of passengers in these situation. In this case, they were waiting with apologies, vouchers, and assistance. But it was not good enough for many of the passengers.
A pilot told passengers traveling on Vueling Airlines from Lisbon to Madrid that nearly half the seats on their plane were out of use due to a safety problem. The problem was due to a broken slide on an emergency exit door. Aviation guidelines allow the door to be used but oblige a reduction in passenger numbers because it cannot fulfill its emergency function. Passengers, uniformed of this became nervous including one passenger who asked whether the plane could tip over in mid-air by flying with a heavier load on one side.
Check out this great video made by someone delayed on Delta. Credits to the Consumerist for posting it.
The wing of a United Airlines 777 struck the tail of a stationary American Airlines MD80. The United plane appeared undamaged, but the American plane suffered damaged to its rudder. No injuries or fuel spills were reported, and passengers are being reprotected.
As of 8PM Wednesday, Northwest had canceled 204 flights, the most of any so far in June. As of yesterday, they had cancelled more than 1000 flights since last Friday. Northwest has blamed the weather, pilot absenteeism and traffic control as reasons for cancellations. They began canceling flights last week as pilots reached flight-time maximums, something the pilots’ union has been warning of. Northwest pissed off many air traffic controllers when the airline blamed them for the disaster. Northwest is experiencing, ironically, less fallout than Jetblue did during their disaster of last year…when this is something they should have been aware of long before. Northwest has asked ticket agents to accommodate passengers by booking them on different airlines, relaxing travel restrictions.
Wednesday night, a Jetblue flight took off from Ft. Lauderdale, bound for JFK after a three hour delay. It was then forced to circle before being diverted to Atlantic City due to the storm at 9PM. The crew had exceeded their maximum work hours. Passengers waited on the plane for three and a half hours before waiting in the airport for three more hours for buses, before checking into hotels at 4AM. Jetblue claims they called 45 bus companies as well as local casinos in search of buses to take the passengers to New York…but could not locate any. The passengers found this behavior unacceptable…but what could Jetblue have done differently?
A bus carrying diverted airline passengers crashed on Interstate 81 early Friday outside of New Milford, PA, 30 miles from Scranton. The passengers were among 170 on a Delta flight from Salt Lake City to Newark that was diverted to Syracuse due to bad weather(For more on that see below). After the plane landed, mechanics discovered a hydraulic leak that could not immediately be fixed, Drake said. The airline was unable to find hotel rooms for the passengers, so it called in seven tour buses, which left for Newark around 2:30 a.m. The bus crashed into an exit ramp, killing the driver and injuring a dozen passengers.
The Consumerist received a letter about the issue…Noting that the choice was either the bus, or waiting till Sunday for an available flight. Delta canceled 200 flights as a preemptive strike to reduce the overall delays…but things still happened.

Now…why is this sort of disaster becoming more and more common? Bad weather happens…

As Today in the Sky reports…in anticipation of the thunderstorms, the FAA lowered the number of landings per hour at Newark to 38…later 30. Under ideal conditions, it can be as many as 52.
Further coverage from them shows the results and pitfalls…
- Cancellation rebookings get fliers labeled as ‘high flight risks’ which means additional delays and luggage checks.
- Because the airlines attribute this to weather…airlines don’t consider themselves responsible for hotel rooms…leaving people scrambling to get rooms and incurring costs…Perhaps it is time for people to jump on the insurance bandwagon…
- Because aircraft loads are so high this summer, passengers bumped must compete for just a few seats on later flights. American Airlines gives the elderly, disabled, and unaccompanied minors first priority…then frequent fliers, then ranked by how early passengers checked in.

Passengers suffering from moral and other forms of outrage may do well to remember some tips by the Associated Press Travel Editor.

Be discreet – Federal laws prohibit interference with the duties of flight crew. Misbehavior getting your plane diverted is bad enough…but if you disrespect them before the plane is in the air, they could opt to leave you behind…Don’t be disrespectful to your fellow passengers…
Prepare if you are traveling with small children – Bring snacks and games to keep them from making the flight a nightmare for others and for themselves.
Control symptoms for coughs, colds, and other illnesses – Bring tissues; bring extra water(bought after security)…No one likes to be next to the sick person…
Don’t make jokes about terrorism – Inappropriate comments will be taken seriously…
Know the rules and plan ahead – The TSA website has information on what is and is not permitted. It is not hard to avoid such problems.

Those rules aside….just remember….the squeaky wheel will either get the grease, or be rolled out the door…