Cargo Man

That can work for cargo....if you have all day, or night.

syd111

Since you mentioned ord I thought I would mention. A number of years ago both ual and amr did cut back many flights during a couple of peak times so the entire operations would work better for everyone at ord. They did this while working with the faa to improve operations at ord. Just so you know that same faa had all those slots(I know probably not the rght word) filled in less than 30 days by all the other airlines. Yes every last one. As far as weather I think atc tries to control it way too much. Many times having airliners sitting waiting when they could be leaving, yes even when we are asking them to let us go you get the same response from local control yes we agree with you but the flow control people still have the ground stop in effect. Hapens at iad all the time

indapit

I saw that passenger rights lady on CNN the other day. She was complaining about the airlines canceling so many flights due to weather. The anchor did not have much sympathy for her.

Herkulesdrvr

Love it! They sure showed us didnt they?

indapit

They did show us. I'm sure they will go after the airlines next because all the flights are full for a week as well as the hotels in the area. All I can say is have fun sleeping on the floor of airports......thats way better than sitting on a plane for 3 hours.

HIFLYR

Lets not forget how we got here. Flight after flight sitting for 6 or more hours on the tarmac and in a recent event overnight in Rochester with no food. Captains need to step up and be Captains and go back to the gate. I for one would not have stayed all night in a RJ stuck on the tarmac in Rochester.

rdneckpilot

The problem is much bigger than crew. It is all related to deregulation. The Government used to strictly control routes to ensure the demand on infrastructure was not greater than capacity.

Also all this B.S. about modernizing ATC would help a little but would not solve the root cause, more operations than runway/gate space. The market pressure on airlines to cut cost while at the same time increase frequency to meet customer demand has caused the massive delay problems. To many small airplanes moving people around.

The article quoted is correct in the assertion the airlines could prevent cancelations by shifting operations to prevent high frequency operations, having more pilots and aircraft in reserve, however there is too much economic pressure to have the cheapest fair for these solutions to be viable.

I believe some price fixing by the government would be nice. A minimum CASM built into fairs would stabilize the industry. We would no longer be a greyhound with wings. It would also shrink the industry substantially. The idea that everyone should be able to afford airline travel is absurd. The traveling public are trying to have their cake and eat it too. If you want safe quality service without controllable delays it costs money. If you want affordable air travel you should remember to pack a pillow so that bench at the airport is more comfortable.

BlueMoon

It sure does, the policy sounds specifically designed to circumvent the rules. It refers to it numerous times as upholding the "Customer Commitment". I guess that means the customers will need to be committed after they go crazy and riot when held at the gate for 2 hours.

Yes, unpaid babysitting.

DAL4EVER

I was at JFK when the Valentine's Day debacle happened in '07. A large part of the reason that people were stranded was the ramp areas were covered in ice and the jetways were unable to move. The ramps were so slick tugs were braking tow bars trying to push back airplanes to open up gates. The media blamed the airlines and there was some accountability but it wasn't a dereliction on the airline's part. Life happens. People forget that in our instant gratification life. This stupid rule just proves that the "law of unintended consequences" is alive and well.

MD11HOG

No, they complained because they were locked up in a crowded, nasty( full toilets) tube without food or water for hours on end. The airlines had years and years to do something about it and they chose not to even address the issue.