Airlines - Stuck on Tarmac what would yu do

[THE KOD]

JetBlue has begun refunding the passengers of five flights who were stranded on the tarmac of a Connecticut airport for as long as eight hours on Saturday, a spokeswoman for the airline told CNN on Thursday.

Alison Croyle, spokeswoman for the airline, said refunds are currently being issued to passengers on all five planes that remained on the tarmac of Bradley International Airport near Hartford, amid the severe snowstorm that hit the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

"Yes, we started issuing refunds, but it will take us a while to get everyone," she said. She said the passengers were given a letter on Saturday notifying them of full refund for their trip and a roundtrip voucher for future trips, customer service was also told to call each customer and apologize.

CNN Senior U.N. Correspondent Richard Roth, who was stuck for eight hours on the tarmac aboard JetBlue Flight 504, said he had received a ticket price refund of $161.86.

JetBlue: 'We let some of you down' That flight was bound for Newark, New Jersey, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but was diverted due to the weather.

In a video posed Tuesday on the airline's blog and YouTube channel, Chief Operating Officer Rob Maruster apologized for a "confluence of events" that led to the incident, which he explained as "various runway, congestion and other operational issues at Newark and JFK Airports."

However, Maruster said, "at no point in this weekend was safety ever compromised."

"But let's face it, you count on us at JetBlue for a lot more -- and we promise a lot more -- and we know we let some of you down over the course of this weekend and for that we are truly sorry."

Maruster said the airline intends to "fully participate with the Department of Transportation and cooperating with their investigation into events over the weekend, and we're also going to conduct an internal evaluation so that we can learn from this event because at the end of the day, you deserve better -- and we expect better from our crew members and our operation."

During the eight-hour ordeal aboard Flight 504, there was little food or water, passengers were fighting, and some had medical issues .

"I got a problem here on the airplane. I'm going to need to have the cops onboard," a flight crew member told the tower in a conversation posted on LiveATC.net, a website that monitors air traffic control conversations. "I need some air stairs brought over here and the cops brought onboard the airplane."

Passenger Roseann Kozma explained

"A couple passengers are fighting and there's a baby on here that's been crying the whole time," she said.

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I dont see anyone in their right mind would tolerate being cooped up on a airplane for 8 hours due to a snowstorm.

Pull the plane to a gate, lower the stairs, and let them the fawk off.

If the cops got on the plane then why not let the passengers off.

So they give the equivilent of 20 dollars per hour for the inconvenience.

wtf .......... seriously

I read that they would be fined 27 k a passenger but I have not heard anything more about it.

what is a passengers rights ?

what would you do if your family and small children were in this situation ?

 

[Trench]

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I dont see anyone in their right mind would tolerate being cooped up on a airplane for 8 hours due to a snowstorm.

Pull the plane to a gate, lower the stairs, and let them the fawk off.

If the cops got on the plane then why not let the passengers off.

So they give the equivilent of 20 dollars per hour for the inconvenience.

wtf .......... seriously

I read that they would be fined 27 k a passenger but I have not heard anything more about it.

what is a passengers rights ?

what would you do if your family and small children were in this situation ?

It's time for Congress to draft an Airline Passengers Bill of Rights. :0074

It sounds like JetBlue's doing the right thing though.

Still, I don't understand why airlines hold passengers hostage on the tarmac in those situations. :shrug:

 

[THE KOD]

It's time for Congress to draft an Airline Passengers Bill of Rights. :0074

It sounds like JetBlue's doing the right thing though.

Still, I don't understand why airlines hold passengers hostage on the tarmac in those situations. :shrug:

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there has to be a good reason.

Maybe someone in the airline industry will happen by .

The bags would be a issue. Maybe they couldnt reboard them on the same plane as rules would require maint checks ?

I guess you could grab a budweiser and pull the rip cord on the emergency shoot exit .

:shrug: :shrug:

 

[marine]

It's time for Congress to draft an Airline Passengers Bill of Rights. :0074

It sounds like JetBlue's doing the right thing though.

Still, I don't understand why airlines hold passengers hostage on the tarmac in those situations. :shrug:

JetBlue wasn't willfully holding them on the plane as hostages.

They were diverted to an alternate airport because of weather issues (snowstorm) and the new airport did not have room for the plane. No gate for them to pull into to offload.

It's easy for people to beat up the airline on this, but you need to be beating up the CT airport for this mess.

 

[Trench]

JetBlue wasn't willfully holding them on the plane as hostages.

They were diverted to an alternate airport because of weather issues (snowstorm) and the new airport did not have room for the plane. No gate for them to pull into to offload.

It's easy for people to beat up the airline on this, but you need to be beating up the CT airport for this mess.

Relax. I said they were doing the right thing.

And I wasn't beating up JetBlue at all. I agree that blaming the airlines is easy. I merely asked why airlines do this? It happens often. I'm just curious why?

I'm not so sure I believe it's as simple as there were no gates available to offload the passengers. As Scott suggested, I believe in many cases, yes -- they hold the passengers hostage -- because it would cost them money to offload the passengers and have to redo all the flight-prep and safety checks.

 

[THE KOD]

fatdaddycool would know


but he dont come around much


pity really

 

[marine]

I believe in many cases, yes -- they hold the passengers hostage -- because it would cost them money to offload the passengers and have to redo all the flight-prep and safety checks.

wrong.

you think the flight attendants and pilots want to be stuck there too?

 

[THE KOD]

JetBlue may face fine over passengers stranded on snow-covered tarmac


The Transportation Department is investigating reports that JetBlue and American Airlines passengers sat for hours in jets stranded at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Conn. If the airlines are charged with breaking a tarmac-delay rule, they face fines of $27,000 for each stranded passenger.

JetBlue Airways Corp. could face huge U.S. fines after their passengers sat for hours in jets stranded on a snow-covered tarmac near Hartford, Conn., this weekend.

The U.S. Transportation Department is investigating the JetBlue reports and "several other possible delays" but couldn't comment immediately on American Airlines.

Under rules in place since April 2010, most tarmac delays at U.S. airports are limited to three hours for domestic flights and four hours for international flights, the agency said. Exceptions are allowed only for safety and security, or if air-traffic control advises pilots that returning to the terminal would disrupt airport operations.

If the airlines are charged with breaking the tarmac-delay rule, they face fines of $27,000 for each stranded passenger.

Heavy snow on Saturday disrupted thousands of flights over the weekend and led to 1,261 cancellations, according to FlightAware.com, which monitors air traffic. The storm also knocked out power lines, leaving millions of people without power, and may have been responsible for at least three deaths.

The severe weather also may have caused malfunctions in equipment used to land planes during periods of low visibility at New York City's John F. Kennedy and Newark, N.J.'s, Liberty airports.

Flights to the area were waved off until the equipment was fixed, with 23 flights diverted to Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Conn., a relatively small airport. That number included six JetBlue flights carrying some 700 passengers and one American Airlines international flight that potentially carried nearly 200 people.

After landing, the planes reportedly sat on the tarmac for up to seven hours as snow piled up around them and the airport struggled with intermittent power outages, according to JetBlue.

Supplies of food and fresh water quickly ran out, and there were reports of bathrooms backing up on at least one plane.

Bradley International said it did everything it could to accommodate the additional 1,000 to 1,500 fliers, but its resources were "stretched to the limit."

American Airlines said its diverted flight from Paris waited on the tarmac for seven hours before U.S. Customs officers arrived and allowed the passengers to depart.

"We've not been contacted yet by DOT, but I am sure we will have the opportunity to explain what happened, just as we always do in such situations," American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said.

The Transportation Department has not charged or fined any airline for exceeding tarmac-waiting times so far under the latest rules, an agency representative said. There have been some excessive waiting times because of problems with customs, but this would be the first delay because of a power outage.

"Obviously, we would have preferred deplaning much sooner than we did," JetBlue said in a statement. "We apologize to the customers impacted by this confluence of events, as it remains JetBlue's responsibly to not simply provide safe and secure travel, but a comfortable experience as well."

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sheds more light on the situation.

I doubt they get fined

 

[Duff Miver]

Nothing you can do if stuck on an airplane for seven hours. Food and water will run out, the toilets will overflow, it will get hot, loud and smelly.

Just take a dump in the aisle and try to get some sleep.

 

[Trench]

wrong.

you think the flight attendants and pilots want to be stuck there too?

The pilots and flight attendants don't have any say in the matter. They're hostages too.

 

[THE KOD]

There's real demand in the market for people wanting to know where their food is coming from, that it's going through local channels."

On his 1,800 acres near Friesland, Wis., Larry Alsum, 58, grows several varieties of potatoes that he sells mostly to grocers in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. He also handles wholesale distribution for farmers who grow everything from cabbage to sweet corn, squash, cucumbers and peppers.

He says his operation has blossomed into a $50 million business ? roughly double what it was a decade or so ago ? with a focus on locally grown food. Perhaps only one in five consumers actually cares what that means, he said, but it's more than did just a few years ago.

"As the cost of oil and gasoline continue to rise, there are going to me more opportunities for locally grown," he predicted. "And that just gives us a built-in advantage in marketing."

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farming is 50 million >


I had no idea

 

[marine]

The pilots and flight attendants don't have any say in the matter. They're hostages too.

So who is holding the passengers (and crew) hostage then?
Some rep from the airline at the gate checking his calculator?

 

[Duff Miver]

So who is holding the passengers (and crew) hostage then?
Some rep from the airline at the gate checking his calculator?

Stop being a dumbass jarhead. Ground Control was in command.


*I cried a little tear of happiness when I put a .357 through the head of a moron with a knife.

 

[THE KOD]

Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Newt Gingrich made between $1.6 million and $1.8 million in consulting fees from two contracts with mortgage company Freddie Mac, according to two people familiar with the arrangement.

The total amount is significantly larger than the $300,000 payment from Freddie Mac that Gingrich was asked about during a Republican presidential debate on Nov. 9 sponsored by CNBC, and more than was disclosed in the middle of congressional investigations into the housing industry collapse.

Gingrich?s business relationship with Freddie Mac spanned a period of eight years. When asked at the debate what he did to earn a $300,000 payment in 2006, the former speaker said he ?offered them advice on precisely what they didn?t do,? and warned the company that its lending practices were ?insane.? Former Freddie Mac executives who worked with Gingrich dispute that account.

Gingrich said this morning the payments were for ?strategic advice over a long period of time.? His fees were sent to his consulting firm, The Gingrich Group, not to him personally, he said in an interview after making a campaign appearance in Des Moines, Iowa.

He said he couldn?t recall details of the contracts with Freddie Mac. ?You are asking me about 12 years ago,? he said.

?Small Part?

This afternoon, the Gingrich campaign issued a set of talking points in response to the coverage by Bloomberg News of his contract with Freddie Mac.

In the e-mailed memo, the campaign said Gingrich welcomed scrutiny of his record. ?Freddie Mac was a small part of the client and revenue base of The Gingrich Group and Newt?s various small businesses,? the memo said.

Gingrich?s first contract with the mortgage company was in 1999, five months after he resigned from Congress and as House speaker, according to a Freddie Mac press release.

His primary contact inside the organization was Mitchell Delk, Freddie Mac?s chief lobbyist, and he was paid a self- renewing, monthly retainer of $25,000 to $30,000 between May 1999 until 2002, according to three people familiar with aspects of the business agreement.

During that period, Gingrich consulted with Freddie Mac executives on a program to expand home ownership, an idea Delk said he pitched to President George W. Bush?s White House.

?Really Got It?

?I spent about three hours with him talking about the substance of the issues and the politics of the issues, and he really got it,? said Delk, adding that the two discussed ?what the benefits are to communities, what the benefits could be for Republicans and particularly their relationship with Hispanics.?

One idea that the former Georgia congressman proposed that Freddie Mac didn?t pursue was initiating a program with the Boy Scouts of America to teach youngsters the importance of saving money and maintaining good credit so they would qualify to buy a home later in life.

In 2001, according to one person familiar with the work Gingrich performed, company officials asked him for feedback on their plan to publicly embrace ?six voluntary commitments.?

The six items included a pledge to periodically issue subordinated debt, manage liquidity, undergo capital stress tests and expand various types of risk disclosures. Gingrich applauded the ideas, saying they would enable Freddie Mac to demonstrate benefits to the taxpayer, the person said.

Not a Lobbyist

 

[Trench]

American Eagle Airlines was fined and JetBlue's next.

From ABC News:

Nov 14, 2011 5:59am

U.S. Department of Transportation Issues First Ever Fine For Tarmac Delay

The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced that American Eagle Airlines became the first airline to be slapped with fines for violating the Department?s three-hour limit for tarmac delays.

On May 29, 2011, 15 different American Eagle Airlines flights left 608 passengers sitting on the Chicago O?Hare International Airport tarmac for a total of 225 minutes ? 45 minutes beyond the limit.

For the violation, American Eagle Airlines has received a fine of $900,000 ? the largest fine to date in a consumer case not involving civil rights violation. $650,000 must be paid within 30 days, and up to $250,000 can be credited for refunds, vouchers, and frequent flyer mile awards provided to the May 29th passengers, as well as to passengers on future flights that experience lengthy tarmac delays.

The rule, which was put in place in April 2010, states that any U.S. airlines operating with 30 or more passenger seats are prohibited from allowing their flights to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours without giving passengers an opportunity to deplane.

But tarmac delays persist, and JetBlue may be the next airline to incur heavy fines from the Department. On October 29, 2011 a JetBlue Airways Airbus A320 left passengers stranded on the tarmac for over 7 hours at a Connecticut airport after the plane was diverted when severe weather struck the northeast. More than 100 passengers on that JetBlue flight were left onboard without food, water or functioning bathrooms. If the government determines that the airline violated the tarmac delay rule, JetBlue could be fined as much as $27,500 per passenger.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlin...tion-issues-first-ever-fine-for-tarmac-delay/

 

[THE KOD]

American Eagle Airlines was fined and JetBlue's next.

From ABC News:

Nov 14, 2011 5:59am

U.S. Department of Transportation Issues First Ever Fine For Tarmac Delay

The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced that American Eagle Airlines became the first airline to be slapped with fines for violating the Department?s three-hour limit for tarmac delays.

On May 29, 2011, 15 different American Eagle Airlines flights left 608 passengers sitting on the Chicago O?Hare International Airport tarmac for a total of 225 minutes ? 45 minutes beyond the limit.

For the violation, American Eagle Airlines has received a fine of $900,000 ? the largest fine to date in a consumer case not involving civil rights violation. $650,000 must be paid within 30 days, and up to $250,000 can be credited for refunds, vouchers, and frequent flyer mile awards provided to the May 29th passengers, as well as to passengers on future flights that experience lengthy tarmac delays.

The rule, which was put in place in April 2010, states that any U.S. airlines operating with 30 or more passenger seats are prohibited from allowing their flights to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours without giving passengers an opportunity to deplane.

But tarmac delays persist, and JetBlue may be the next airline to incur heavy fines from the Department. On October 29, 2011 a JetBlue Airways Airbus A320 left passengers stranded on the tarmac for over 7 hours at a Connecticut airport after the plane was diverted when severe weather struck the northeast. More than 100 passengers on that JetBlue flight were left onboard without food, water or functioning bathrooms. If the government determines that the airline violated the tarmac delay rule, JetBlue could be fined as much as $27,500 per passenger.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlin...tion-issues-first-ever-fine-for-tarmac-delay/

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glad they fined them ,. Maybe this will stop now on the tarmac for 8 hrs.

its ridiculous.

 

[THE KOD]

Back to Newt for a minute.

So he gets 25 K a month for 5 years for what he says is consulting.

When in fact the mort co was looking for support from Republicans for their shenanigans.

why cant the GOP trot out a candidate , any candidate that dont have mud marks on them.

Especially the top ones. I guess the press dont really start digging until they have some kinda of chance to win.

 

[THE KOD]

 

[THE KOD]

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich spent a second day trying to campaign in Iowa but fending off questions about his relationship with mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

The former House Speaker has surged to the top of Republican presidential polls over the last month but is now forced to play defense against reports of his relationship with Freddie Mac. Gingrich Group was paid between $1.6 million and $1.8 million to lobby Republicans in Congress on behalf of the government-backed mortgage lender, CNN has confirmed.

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:SIB

lobbying is such fun and sucn easy money talking to people you know about getting on board the money train.

wtf

is there no integrity in America

Its all about the benjamins