Bee Travel
Air drama continued
CHRISTINE HICKS- USTA Travel
Ihave been accosted (in the nicest possible way) by several people regarding the issue of the Passenger Bill of Rights. I wrote on this topic a couple of weeks ago, referring specifically to the JetBlue incident, whereby passengers were kept on the plane so long (11 hours) that ice fused it to the ground. One such report was from a dear friend, a former airline airport manager. He's been following the story, and as one who travels with relative frequency, though retired, he is equipped to comment on the issue.

There's no question, he says, that lengthy delays are inexcusable. That said, weather is uncontrollable. What is controllable, and is at the heart of such stories, is communication.

Weather forecasting is a dicey business. Bad weather in Chicago can mess up flights where no bad weather exists or is anticipated. It's a domino effect: a perfectly dovetailed schedule of planes and people dissolves when bad weather checks in. The only sure way to avoid these delays is to cancel flights.

In most cases, planes leave the gate only with full expectation they will be allowed to take off in an acceptable amount of time. (No definition of acceptable has yet been determined, definitively, but three hours would be reasonable.) Once an aircraft vacates the gate (in the busier airports - Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Washington, for example) another will take its place. Because there are more planes than gates at these airports, communication becomes critical. Keep in mind, too, that we're not talking about swapping Band Aids here. Depending on who's moving it, it can take 30 to 60 minutes to get one aircraft off the gate to park (but, where?) and allow another to enter the gate.

Like you, I have often wondered why airport managers or airline airport managers don't call planes back to the vicinity of the terminal and off-load passengers, to either walk or be shuttled to the building.

"..a tug pushing a 777 at a speed estimated to be two miles per hour on an icy ramp lost control of the aircraft, and jackknifed into the aircraft's belly. The plane was out of service for seven days. Two days later, a catering truck moving at a snail's pace slid into a 757, putting that aircraft out of service for two days." Er, OK, not sure putting errant vehicles in such perilous spots is a good idea, come to think of it... Interestingly, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters has asked the Department of Transportation to review recent incidents. The DOT does periodically review the consumer commitments it asked airlines to provide (in lieu of legislation at the time) in this regard. The Northwest incident in 1999 led to that initiative, and it was ultimately determined that communication, a decision to fly when other airlines had cancelled, and delays in decision making contributed to that incident. Communication is mentioned more often than any other as a contributing factor in more recent such incidents. My friend is skeptical any legislative resolution is possible. Maybe. But it's clear something more than promises is needed.

(Christine Hicks-Usta has enjoyed more than 30 years of globe-trotting as a member of the travel industry in various capacities. Direct questions to her at Bee Group Newspapers, P.O. Box 150, Buffalo, NY 14231-0150.)