Transportation Department Backs Deplaning

The best practices we identified during our review are not all inclusive, and the airlines or airports should consider incorporating them into their ongoing operations, especially the best practice of setting the maximum amount of time that passengers will remain on-board aircraft before deplaning.

Airlines Renege On Stranded Passenger Plan Promise

Airlines have broken their promise to make sure passengers are taken care of during long delays, the Transportation Department announced in a report yesterday. Here's how they didn't measure up:

• No plans for supplying emergency food and drink
• No time limit for how long passengers are kept on plane
• No plan of how to get passengers off

Will a Passenger's Bill of Rights force the issue?

US watchdog says airlines fall short on service [Reuters via Rick Seany]
(Photo: FlyGuy92586)

Continental Passengers Revolt After Sitting On Tarmac For 5 Hours

Will July 29, go down in history as airline traveler's Stonewall? 120 passengers staged a protest aboard Continental Flight 1669 after waiting on the runway for over five hours.

So passengers began drumming in unison on the overhead bins. The crew freaked out, one steward admonished them "for destroying airline property," and eventually the police were called, who boarded the plane and disembarked the passengers Continental had said were "becoming violent."

JetBlue Pilot Refuses To Return To Gate, Fights To Keep Flight From Cancellation

"Hello, I've been seeing all these negative stories about airlines on your site, and I just thought I would share 1 positive one. Well, I have been flying jetblue since 2001, even before they had the TV's installed in their planes For years, I have taken jetblue only, but recently they have been pretty hit or miss, really disappointing.

On June 21st, I was on flight 6 from JFK to Buffalo departing at 5:20 and arriving in Buffalo at 7:12. We pushed back from the gate at exactly 5:20, and started our journey to the runway, as number 20 or so in line. At this point, the weather just got worse and worse, and eventually all flights north were suspended, with us being 2nd in line for take off, bummer."

Jet Blue Blues Continue, Even When You're On Continental

A passenger, talking loudly into his cellphone, says, "I went out of my way to fly JetBlue," he said, "and instead I'm on some Express Jet. It's a bait and switch."

We're Sick of These &%*#! Passengers Getting Stuck On These $#!@* Planes!

Last Saturday, a United Airlines flight sat at O'Hare International Airport for more than eight hours during an icy snowstorm. For entertainment, the passengers got to watch the plane get de-iced several times.

Point/Counterpoint: JetBlue's Apology Isn't Enough