Hey if they had let me off at the 3 hour point I could have walked to memphis. But at the 5 hour point my 27 hour trip was canceled with an all expense paid trip to the acp to follow (actually just a phone call).

Dug out of the snow yet?

Do the pax see any of this fined money..other than (I'm assuming) a travel voucher?

That's a valid question, however I think the reality of it is that, just like taxes, the gov't is using this to influence/control behavior.

The airlines behavior or the pax on how much bravo sierra they can take ?
If I had told people that ths industry would be the way it is today 20 years ago they would have called up the nearest loonie farm.:)

If in a situation similar to that of the RJ stuck overnight, why cant the captain pull to the gate and tell whoever was inside open the airport or I am going to EVAC? and if they refuse, then evac the plane. The media and public opinion would strongly be on your side.

That's easy, there are 100 airplanes on 100 gates, and you taxi in looking for
a gate. This has happened on numerous occasions and a couple have set a precedent, like the people vs NWA, Thanksgiving 1998 I think, eight hours and no gate. Northwest paid dearly for that one, and there was a B6 incident in recent memory where a passenger bill of rights was issued to everyone.

If you blow the slides you are leaving yourself wide open to a lot of liability and criticism, Steve Slater style, although I never understood the trespass charge. I simple solution would be to call the duty manager, recommend towing ship 406 off of gate 31, and let us deplane our passengers. Most ops people can work a solution recommended to them, others cannot create a mental picture.

Moreover, the aircraft/event in question was an ERJ which is not equipped with slides or an airstair door. It's a 5 foot drop. The liability would have been through the roof if they had evacuated.