Let's see where the bill currently stands:

`Sec. 42301. Emergency contingency plans

`(a) Submission of Air Carrier and Airport Plans- Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this section, each air carrier providing covered air transportation at a large hub airport or medium hub airport and each operator of a large hub airport or medium hub airport shall submit to the Secretary of Transportation for review and approval an emergency contingency plan in accordance with the requirements of this section.

`(b) Covered Air Transportation Defined- In this section, the term `covered air transportation' means scheduled passenger air transportation provided by an air carrier using aircraft with more than 60 seats.

`(c) Air Carrier Plans-

`(1) PLANS FOR INDIVIDUAL AIRPORTS- An air carrier shall submit an emergency contingency plan under subsection (a) for—

`(A) each large hub airport and medium hub airport at which the carrier provides covered air transportation; and

`(B) each large hub airport and medium hub airport at which the carrier has flights for which it has primary responsibility for inventory control.

`(2) CONTENTS- An emergency contingency plan submitted by an air carrier for an airport under subsection (a) shall contain a description of how the air carrier will—

`(A) provide food, water that meets the standards of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.), restroom facilities, cabin ventilation, and access to medical treatment for passengers onboard an aircraft at the airport that is on the ground for an extended period of time without access to the terminal;

`(B) allow passengers to deplane following excessive delays; and

`(C) share facilities and make gates available at the airport in an emergency.

`(d) Airport Plans- An emergency contingency plan submitted by an airport operator under subsection (a) shall contain a description of how the airport operator, to the maximum extent practicable, will provide for the deplanement of passengers following excessive delays and will provide for the sharing of facilities and make gates available at the airport in an emergency.

The Senate could strengthen the bill by looking to an earlier House version. "Extended period of time" should be strictly defined as three hours, and once that extended period of time expires, airlines should be forced to deplane passengers. Failing to provide a strict time frame gives airlines too much undeserved responsibility to regulate themselves, a failing strategy that made a Passenger's Bill of Rights necessary in the first place.

Work on the bill starts tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. We'll be keeping our eye on the Senate to see what happens.

FAA Reauthorization Act Of 2007—Motion To Proceed [GovTrack]
H.R. 2881: FAA Reauthorization Act of 2007 [GovTrack]
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PREVIOUSLY: How To Write To Congress
Weak Passengers Bill Of Rights Moves Through Congress
(Photo: miamabanta)

Now it looks like the weather might be something of a repeat from last year, but will the current weather delays turn into the same sort of fiasco as last year? Maybe not.

In fact, we've already received a compliment from a JetBlue passenger who, despite being delayed, was pleased with the way the airline handled it.

Here's her letter:

Yesterday there was quite the snow storm in the NYC area, so of course that was the day I chose to fly home on flight 354 from Burbank into JFK. I was a little nervous about taking Jet Blue given the fiasco this time last year (and the year before), but figured if anything did go down, they would compensate the passengers fairly (unlike my experience with Virgin Atlantic, which required a letter from my attorney to get anything).

They rushed us on to the plane at 1:00 pm in Burbank, telling us that if we were not off the ground by 1:30 pm, we could be indefinitely delayed as a result of the bad weather back east. A little before the cut off time, they said that Air Traffic Control was holding us until at least 2:30, so we could sit tight. A passenger near me called over a flight attendant and asked if we had to stay on the plane. The flight attendant said very nicely that we could leave any time and either hang out in the terminal or re-book the flight. A little later on, though, the captain stated that our bags would not be able to be removed if we did that so the whole plane of people wouldn't get delayed by one person wanting to get off.

We fortunately got off the ground a little after 2:00 pm and only hit a little bit of turbulence along the way. As we prepared to descend into JFK, the captain told us that Air Traffic Control at JFK was making us and 2 planes in front of us circle the area as there were delays at the airport. When we finally landed a little after 11:00 pm (only about an hour late), the flight attendants very nicely allowed all the passengers with connecting flights to rush off the plane (after having them move to the empty seats at the front).

Though it was unfortunate that the flight came in so late and the weather was bad, they handled the situation very nicely, and couldn't have been more accommodating. That being said, I did notice a lot of bundled up people sleeping in the terminal at JFK — I guess they weren't so lucky.

Sadly, the incipient passenger rights movement born after the ice storm is now on life support. The most credible of the passenger rights advocates, Kate Hanni, is expected to say a few words on the one-year anniversary of the storm. But I'm not sure it will be enough.

I covered the troubles of the passenger rights movement in a recent MSNBC column and concluded that unless passengers get behind the movement now, it's over. (Anyone who thinks a handful of "passenger rights" bills in state legislatures won't be killed on the federal level is smoking something very illegal, and I want some.)

There's a lesson not learned. When you have the momentum, make the changes you can now. I think passenger rights advocates spent too much time talking and squandered two seasons of free publicity. Now it's all but too late to do anything.

Happy Valentines Day — here's your ice storm [Christopher Elliott]
(Photo:meghannmarco)

Bush also proposed penalizing airlines for scheduling flights that are more than 15 minutes late 70% or more of the time, calling the practice "unfair and deceptive." Another rule would increase the compensation airlines are required to provide to passengers who are bumped due to overbooking.

Tarmac delays got addressed as well, with Bush suggesting a rule requiring airlines to "incorporate legally binding contingency plans for tarmac delays." The plans would include steps like guaranteeing food, water, bathrooms and medical attention, says the NYT.

Bush Sets Plan to Ease Holiday Air Delays [NYT]
Military air space to be holiday 'express lane' [CNN]
(Photo:AP)

Flight 17 from John F. Kennedy International Airport was due to leave at 6 p.m. Tuesday, but didn't actually take off until about 1 a.m., airline spokesman Phil Gee said.

Dozens of other aircraft were delayed because of a storm passing through the area, which closed the airport for about 90 minutes.

Gee said the plane pushed back from the gate at 6:30 p.m. ET and spent hours sitting on the tarmac so it wouldn't lose its takeoff slot.

The plane finally went back to the gate to refuel, but then resumed its wait for a takeoff slot. Several passengers decided to get off the plane while it was being refueled.

US Airways Flight Stuck on Tarmac for 7 Hours[USAToday]
(Photo:caseywest)

Too funny.

Pictures from an (airline strand-in) exhibition [US PIRG]
(1st Photo:US PIRG)
(2nd Photo:AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivai / September 19, 2007)

The protest's organizers are planning to build a mock commercial aircraft that has seen its passengers' patience and infrastructure wear thin after hours of idling. The 28-foot aircraft, really a long grey tent made to look like a plane, will be adorned by sounds of crying babies, sneezing customers and overflowing toilets.

Don't worry. Everything will be a replica, says Coalition for Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights organizer Kate Hanni, who worries some congressional representatives who have promised to attend the Wednesday protest won't stick around if the staging is too real.

TRAVEL: Airline Passengers To Stage Protest Over Lengthy Tarmac Delays [CNNMoney]
(Photo:Meghann Marco)

For some reason, JFK stayed open even though no planes could take off in the ice storm. The back up got so bad that the controllers were literally yelling at the JetBlue pilots because the pilots had nowhere to park and were just sitting in the way of incoming planes.

ABC 7 also reports that in June JFK airport had 150 flights where passengers sat on the tarmac for at least 3 hours.

Crazy.

Inside JFK Airport's ice storm meltdown [ABC 7]

Burt Cole spent six hours on a plane on the tarmac to find out hours after that his flight was canceled. "On the runway for six hours, with only one engine going, so the air conditioner was only half working," said Burt. "The toilet started overflowing. They were out of drinks on the airplane. This was U.S. Air. I hope they're watching."

But US Airways insists bad weather coming from the west was the culprit. According to the airline, the weather created a backlog keeping some passengers stranded on the tarmac for up to 6 hours.

Frustration for Travelers at PHL [ABC 6] (Thanks, Dariush!)
(Photo:Meghann Marco)

Starting in 2008, food, water, fresh air, power, and working restrooms must be made available to any passenger stranded for more than three hours. Passengers who wish to complain about their service will be directed to the brand new Office of Airline Consumer Advocate within the Consumer Protection Board. Airlines that ignore the new passengers bill of rights may incur the wrath of the Attorney General, who can punish violators with civil penalties of up to $1,000 per passenger.

The national passengers bill of rights remains stuck on the tarmac in committee. With Congress about to adjourn for the Summer District Work Period, don't expect its passage anytime soon.

N.Y. is first state to OK a 'fliers' bill of rights' [USA Today]
(Photo: nffcnnr)

They've made a cute little propaganda video in the hopes of encouraging you to contact your representatives.

The video is fun. It's fun to watch Rachel Ray agree with Bill O'Reilly.

Sec. 41781. AIRLINE CONTINGENCY SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.
(1) PROVISION OF FOOD AND WATER- In any case in which departure of a flight of an air carrier is substantially delayed, such air carrier shall provide—
(A) adequate food and potable water to passengers on such flight during such delay; and
(B) adequate restroom facilities to passengers on such flight during such delay.
(2) Right to deplane-
(A) IN GENERAL- An air carrier shall develop a plan, that incorporates medical considerations, to ensure that passengers are provided a clear timeframe under which they will be permitted to deplane a delayed aircraft. The air carrier shall provide a copy of the plan to the Secretary of Transportation, who shall make the plan available to the public. In the absence of such a plan, except as provided in subparagraph (B), if more than 3 hours after passengers have boarded an air carrier and the air carrier doors are closed, the air carrier has not departed, the air carrier shall provide passengers with the option to deplane safely before the departure of such air carrier. Such option shall be provided to passengers not less often than once during each 3-hour period that the plane remains on the ground.

Sec. 42301. Emergency contingency plans
(c) Air Carrier Plans-
(2) CONTENTS- An emergency contingency plan submitted by an air carrier for an airport under subsection (a) shall contain a description of how the air carrier will—
(A) provide food, water, restroom facilities, cabin ventilation, and access to medical treatment for passengers onboard an aircraft at the airport that is on the ground for an extended period of time without access to the terminal; and
(B) share facilities and make gates available at the airport in an emergency.

Fliers' bill of rights moves ahead [USA Today]
S. 1300 - Aviation Investment and Modernization Act of 2007 [THOMAS]
H.R. 2881 - FAA Reauthorization Act of 2007 [THOMAS]
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First, Flight 62's takeoff was delayed by 3 hours, then rather than land in stormy New York, the plane was diverted to Atlantic City, NJ. There the passengers sat in the plane, on the tarmac, for 4 more hours.

Passengers were allowed to leave the plane, (which they'd boarded at 2:30 pm) at 12:30 am. Four hours after that they were given hotel rooms, and by 3:21 pm the following afternoon, nearly 25 hours since they boarded the first plane, the passengers landed at JFK.

Flight 62 passengers said an already bad situation was made worse by the lack of customer service in Atlantic City.

Azim Khan, of Fort Lauderdale, said he felt abandoned by JetBlue's representatives there. Kahn said that upon landing around 8:30 p.m. passengers were told that buses would soon arrive to transfer them to JFK. The promised buses never came.

Passengers ultimately took taxis at their own expense to a nearby hotel where JetBlue had secured rooms for the night, he said. The taxi fares will be reimbursed.

For the remainder of the night, Khan and others went without food because nearby restaurants already had closed. Les Raye, 60, of Davie, said JetBlue should have made better provisions.

"I don't think I've ever gone through anything like this in my many years of flying," Raye said.

JetBlue passengers endure 25-hour trek from Fort Lauderdale to N.Y. [Chicago Tribune]
(Photo: dailydose)

The bus was trying to exit the southbound lanes of I-81 in northeastern Pennsylvania when it crashed through several barriers, crossed the ramp and landed with part of the vehicle hanging off the roadway, according to state police. ... The passengers had been among about 170 people on a flight from Salt Lake City to Newark, N.J., that was diverted to Syracuse, N.Y., because of bad weather Thursday night, said Brian Drake, a spokesman for Delta Air Lines Inc. in Syracuse.

After the plane landed, mechanics discovered a hydraulic leak that could not immediately be fixed, Drake said. The airline was unable to find hotel rooms for the passengers, so it called in seven tour buses, which left for Newark around 2:30 a.m.

Bus With Diverted Air Passengers Crashes [Forbes]

PREVIOUSLY: Delta Can't Land In Newark, Abandons Passengers
(Photo: Maulleigh)

Eric writes:

Delta told them initially that they had run low on fuel (odd considering they were flying from Salt Lake City to Newark, so they went 200 miles farther to get fuel). Then, at 5pm, they told passengers that there were having mechanical problems, which they repeated every hour until 10pm, when they were told that weather and heavy air traffic disallowed them to land in Newark.

USA Today reports that Delta canceled 200 flights all over the northeast last night due to rainy weather and an FAA decision to slow air traffic. Joe Kolshak, Delta's executive vice president for operations, gave an interview to USA Today, but didn't mention a planeload of people abandoned in NY:
"While it does inconvenience some people, the goal is to minimize the impact to as few people as possible," he said.
USA Today claimed that Delta canceled the flights early to "in hopes of giving at least 12-hours notice to affected passengers via automated e-mail and cellphone messages or calls from reservations staff. Passengers could ask for refunds or switch to other flights for no additional fees."

Google maps says the ride from Syracuse Airport to Newark International Airport is 251 miles. After six hours sitting on the tarmac, would you take the bus or wait?

Eric writes:

Hey Guys,

Last night at about 6pm my girlfriend got a call from her aunt. Apparently my girlfriend's cousin was stranded on a tarmac in Syracuse, NY. She had been waiting there since 4pm, which is when she was supposed to land in Newark, NJ.

Delta told them initially that they had run low on fuel (odd considering they were flying from Salt Lake City to Newark, so they went 200 miles farther to get fuel). Then, at 5pm, they told passengers that there were having mechanical problems, which they repeated every hour until 10pm, when they were told that weather and heavy air traffic disallowed them to land in Newark.

At 10pm, they let everybody off the plane. Unfortunately, the Syracuse Airport closes all of its shops and restaurants at about 7 or 8. Passengers were told they had two options: Take a bus leaving Syracuse at 1am to Newark (a 5 hour trip), or stay until Sunday (2 days!) and hop another plane.

Luckily, we live in Ithaca, NY, so my girlfriend and I went and picked her up. In a strike of very lucky coincidence, we were going to leave today to go to New Jersey to see them, anyway. For the rest of the people on that flight, they're either spending 5 hours on a crappy bus to get to Newark at 6am today, or waiting in Syracuse until Sunday. Not exactly an ideal weekend for somebody not from the area.

Cheers,

Eric

UPDATE: Bus carrying passengers from this flight has crashed, killing the driver and sending 12 passengers to the hospital.

With storms firing, Delta cancels 200 flights to curb delays [USA Today]
(Photo: drewski2112)

The report claims that standings such as the JetBlue Valentine's Day fiasco are not reported to the DOT because the flights were "canceled." They further claim that diversions such as the ones United passengers suffered when they were left to fend for themselves in Wyoming are also not reported to the DOT.

Though the CAPBOR had strong words for most of the major airlines, three in particular were the focus of their outrage:

American Airlines was the big winner (loser?) as the recipient of the "When You're On The Ground They Treat You Like Dirt" Award for: "providing no food, having the most known strandings, most known crisis mismanagement, high "Time-on-the-Tarmac statistics and the most negative report card score."

United Airlines was the proud winner of the "Flying Fickle Finger of Fate Award," after a crew reportedly left passengers sitting in Syndey, Australia on a plane.

And finally, "Take The Money And Run Awards," to United Express for abandoning diverted passengers in Cheyenne, Wyoming and to both United Express and American Connection for similarly abandoning diverted passengers in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

The report itself is pretty interesting, and makes a good case for more accurate reporting of these types of strandings to the Department of Transportation.

In addition to the awards given out at the press conference, three airlines received failing report card grades. These airlines were, unsurprisingly, United Airlines, American Airlines and US Airways.

The highest rated airlines were AirTran and Southwest, who both scored a "B."

In the interest of gathering more useful statistics, the group also announced the creation of a toll-free number stranded passengers can use to report their experiences. (1-877-flyers6 or 1-877-359-3776). As always, consumers can also send letters describing their airline experiences to us at tips [at] consumerist [dot] com. —MEGHANN MARCO

CAPBOR AIRLINE STRANDING REPORT CARD (PDF) [CAPBOR]
(Photo: US PIRG)

According to Time, the Senate has added a loophole for the airlines that will allow airlines to keep passengers on planes more than 4 hours.

If the airlines file "contingency plans" to the DOT that explain how they will handle future delays, the airlines would not be required to deplane passengers after four hours on the tarmac (though they would still have to ensure sanitary conditions on the planes)."This new wording does seem to negate the original purpose of the Bill of Rights, [which was] to make sure passengers aren't stranded on tarmacs," says John Gentzel, press secretary for Senator Snowe.

Will airlines toe the line just because Time and CNN will write mean things about them if they screw up? Time seems to think so. We're less sure. —MEGHANN MARCO

Is a Passenger's Bill of Rights Wrong? [Time]
(Photo: mojojornjorn)

Under United's plan, flights grounded for more than 4 hours before take-off or held waiting for 90 minutes after landing will be declared "flights of note" and passengers will receive 20% coupons and a $10 meal voucher.

"Flights of note? Who are they trying to kid? Trust us when we say flight attendants won't be whistling while they work on hot, minimally staffed, dirty airplanes full of understandably disgruntled passengers," said Greg Davidowitch, president of AFA-CWA at United Airlines. "All United workers will be doing their best this summer. But no matter how hard flight attendants, pilots and other employees work we will never be able to make up for the operation management built like a house of cards."

"Flight attendants know first hand the frustrations of United's customers. We encourage Congress to take action for passenger rights. It's clear that United management either refuses or has no ability to provide even the most basic service; getting from point A to point B," Davidowitch stated.

Flight Attendants Advocate for Passenger Rights (Press Release) [PR Newswire]
(Photo: Drewski2112)

United said that 324 of its flights had ground delays of more than 3 hours in 2006.

Forgive us for being cynical but if this happened to us, we'd tell them to take their 20% off coupon and shove it in their tail rudder. —MEGHANN MARCO

United pledges time limits on ground delays [Denver Post]
(Photo: Atwater Village Newbie)

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee included a "bi-partisan airline passengers' bill of rights in the comprehensive FAA Reauthorization." Our little bill is on its way! Oh how we hope and pray...—MEGHANN MARCO

Senate Commerce approves Passenger Bill of Rights [US PIRG]

From USA Today:

An isolated incident such as the one in Midland should not be used to justify broad new regulations about delayed flights, says David Castelvetter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, which represents large airlines. "By all accounts, American handled it well, given the severe weather conditions," Castelvetter says.

The legislation was proposed after American jets were delayed up to eight hours in Austin on Dec. 29 and JetBlue Airlines suffered similar problems on Feb. 14 in New York.

Passengers aboard Flight 556 say they were never told why they couldn't get off. As the hours passed, they say they were offered few updates about the flight's status.

"I'm a pretty easy person," says Mike Cunningham, 30, of Scottsdale, Ariz. "I don't really get too worked up about stuff. But after sitting there for awhile, it got pretty annoying. I think the biggest issue was it wasn't really communicated to us what was going on."

8-hour ordeal left fliers hungry, angry [USAToday]
(Photo: Chril1024)