One thing that bears mentionaing is that airlines largely created this gridlock by offering more flights with smaller planes and thus putting more pieces on the finite squares of the chessboard.

On the other hand, there needs to be more capacity, but even adding a runway at O'Hare has become a major battleground of NIMBYs versus commerce. One can only imagaine the the hullabaloo if Atlanta decided to build a new airport to supplement/replace Hartsfield.

Further, the air traffic control system needs to be upgraded to handle the capacity. Taxpayers and or airline passengers are going to have to pay for this system one way or the other, but neither group seems very interested in doing that at the present time.

Ausoleil

Sorry, had to say it. They all suck, but... this was bad, really bad.

V-effekt

obbie

on the other hand, this is 2007, and airlines have been flying people for nearly 50 years. they oughta be able to get their shit straight.

Fist-o™

synergy

synergy

Xerloq

samftla

nardo218

About the Delta thing: If Delta licenses their brand, Delta is accountable for the quality of the licensee.

ThinkAboutItPlease

ingridc

-Unless I heard something wrong, I think they were actually NOT at the gate and merely sitting on the tarmac, and plus they couldn't get to a gate because other planes had "priority". Surely in a span of 7 hours at least one person (and I suspect many) had asked to get off the plane and go back to the terminal. They didn't get dinner! Speaking just for myself, if I had no way of getting dinner I would have said something very early on. Me and food deprivation are not a pretty sight! ;)

ingridc

Dear Mr. XXXXX,

Thank you for your e-mail to Delta Air Lines.

Delta and several regional airlines are partners in the Delta
Connection. While each airline retains its own identity, the ticketing
codes and flight numbers are merged into our system. We work closely
with each of these airlines to achieve maximum schedule coordination and
comparable service standards.

Your comments on the flight operated by Shuttle America, the Delta
Connection Carrier, will be forwarded to their attention.

We appreciate your interest in Delta Air Lines.

Sincerely,

Barbara Allen
Medallion Desk
www.delta.com

Can you say Pass the Buck?

samftla

At Delta, we loves us some flyin' and it be showin' like a motherf-------.

@Delta Airlines: FAIL
Utter and complete failure. You can't get a plane off the ground in 7 hours? You can't let people off the plane? You can't even give your employees accurate information to give to the passengers? Fail, fail, fail.

@joelion: That guy sounded pissed they couldn't at least get some food. The crew had to be hungry too by then.

Rectilinear Propagation

1.) That flight was not on Delta mainline. It was on a Shuttle America flight. Shuttle America is a regional airline that is contracted by Delta to provide "feed" to Delta mainline. They are what is referred to as a low cost provider, they charge Delta mainline the least amount for providing that flight. If you have a beef take it up with Shuttle America, owned by Republic at www.shuttleamerica.com.

2.) The thing to understand is that the pilots and crew members that Republic hires are mostly new to the buisness. These regional airlines are like double AA baseball teams. This is where people go to get the experience and the time to move up and hopefully get a job at a major or legacy carrier. They work for very little, for example a pilot at Republic can make as little as 24K his first year. Yes you heard me right as little as 24K his first year. So with that type of compensation you are not getting the cream of the crop!!!

3.) The aircraft in question is an EMB 170/175 jet. It is a 70 seat regional jet. It is realitivly new and so it will have mainatance issues pop up every once in a while.

4.) Crew duty days are limited to 16 hours so the crew was telling the truth that they would time out if they tried to continue.

5.) Crew scheduling in most likelyhood told the captain that the relief crew was in JFK. The schedulers have a tendency to not always tell the truth. Remeber they are getting paid even less than new pilots. You get what you pay for.

6.) These people could have gotten off at anytime. The door would have to open to allow in new crew members, to allow maintance personal to work on the aircraft and fill out the proper paperwork. All they would have to do is ask. This plane did not leave the gate, you ask they will let you off.

7.) If you are away from the gate and want to go back, just feign an illness, do not disrupt the crew or try to open any door, that will get you arrested. Just tell them you are sick and need to go back, they will.

8.) If for some reason they will not just hop on your cell phone, dial 411 ask for the number for the local airport authority and call them and explain you are sick on this flight number and they will not let you off. That should take care of it.

etops777

s35flyer

Popping the emergency doors sounds like a good plan also. What really got me was that they were sitting in this plane for hours with no AC in the summer. That has to be horrible.

I think getting in trouble with the law for causing a scene on a plane would have been worth it to get off the darn thing.

This is exactly why I do not fly. I will drive or take the train.

Does anyone know if Canada's air system is any better as far as the crazy searches, long waits and stranding people in planes? We have talked about flying to Europe for a vacation. It would be worth it to me to drive to Canada to avoid the insanity that has become flying in the US.

bohemian

Perspex

wiretapstudios

r.e. delta situation: This is exactly why I fly JetBlue. At least then we would have gotten a frantic CEO video out of it.

bringafajita

ingridc

blitzcat

Count me in for not liking the new format much either.

Ola

Re the new layout: I'd like to see dates on the articles/posts. I can't cite them without dates (and I don't know if my RSS is a "valid source").

RebekahSue

Boo to the new format.

HOORAY BEER!

LeJerque

MandM813

Stand the hell up for yourselves. The ones crying weren't the only babies on that plane. :P

consumer_999

On an unrelated note: please revert the layout :)

EtherealStrife

The emergency door sounds like a great plan.

superlayne

doctor_cos

[Scene: Delta CEO's office]

DELTA CEO: "I feel like going for a plane ride today." [Picks up phone.] "Yes, I'd like 2 tickets... one for me and one for that suspicious-looking guy that works in IT... yeah, yeah, the one with the beard and the crazy eyes. ... tell him it's a business lunch."

[Scene: Airplane interior. Delta CEO and Suspicious IT Employee are sitting next to one another in coach]

CEO: "Thanks for joining me on this not-at-all-strange midair business lunch."

SITE: "Oh, no problem. It's nice to get out sometimes. And with the CEO, no less!"

CEO: "Of course. Would you mind taking a picture of me?"

SITE: "Sure thing, boss!"

[CEO hands camera to employee]

CEO: "HELP! This suspicious-looking man with a beard and crazy eyes is trying to learn the secrets of air travel! Homeland Security! Batman! George W. Bush! Any properly diligent citizen! Stop him!"

[A puff of smoke appears. Dick Cheney emerges from the blackness]

CHENEY: "We have underestimated terror. Clearly it wishes to expose the foibles of modern air travel through the black magic of 'film' and 'moving pictures.' I banish thee to Gitmo, Guillermo del Terror!"

[Lightning flies from his fingers and strikes Employee, who disappears.]

CHENEY: "Furthermore I ban all cameras, camcorders, and camera phones from planes! Or else terror will win!"

CEO: "Hooray!"

CHENEY: "May I have some of those peanuts?"

CEO: "No, they weren't budgeted for this flight."

CHENEY: "Awww..."

leejames

I was wondering the same thing about the exit rows. I'd say 7 hours being held hostage on a plane constitutes an emergency. Pop! Surely it costs the airline some non-trivial amount to handle an emergency door incident. Maybe a few of those would convince them to stop fooking over their customers like this.

Brian Gee

joelion

Not really. It depends on what you think "get away with it" means. They still do it.
There doesn't seem to be any let up. I won't fly, unless I have to, but my tax dollars still subsidize the bastards.

Landru

Everyone look! A big inflatable slide.

Weeeeeeeeeeeee!

GrantGannon

On the redesign, it really doesn't work. The typeface is too small, and the stories are too compact. Give us some room to breathe people! White space is not a sin!

Could be my claustrophobia kicking in yet again...

taylorich

Eyebrows McGee

Oh, and being stuck on an airplane for so many hours is right up there with being buried alive on my nightmare list.

nequam

loquaciousmusic

Shit strewn aisles
Nation wide flight delays over system failures at 2 major airports (Hobby and O'Hare) in a week's time.
And at least 6 reported flight delays of over 5 hours in the last 6 months.

I REALLY think the airlines need to reconsider their ability to provide their services if they are consistently failing to manage RUNNING the airline.

I have now decided that I won't fly unless I have my video camera with me.

Screw "passengers bill of rights". How about basic human rights? These planes should not leave the gate until they have clearance to fly, no matter what the excuse. And personally, there is never a time when being "re-screened" would inconvenience me for a 7 hour flight delay. I'd take the whole of the TSA up my butthole before I'd sit on a parked plane for 7 hours.

dvddesign

This isn't going to get better.

Tell your employer you refuse to fly, or are on a no-fly list.

Find some alternative transportation.

brianary

Dangerdog

The HZA.

Also- cute puppy!!

Brawndo

CRSpartan01

Long story short, after ordeal over, called Delta to get compensation, the operator told me to avoid JFK for Delta flights.

llcooljabe

Do you think Delta will ever comment on this and make things right before the video is featured on ever news channel that doesn't hold stock in the company?

G-Dog

Wormfather

Pelagius

banned

MercuryPDX

North of 49

jeffj-nj

alpha

I just don't get the announcement if the video wasn't going to follow? If you're not done, you're not done, but then don't set the expectation to begin with.

enm4r

And I'm not a fan of the new layout either, but I fear change so eh.

Wormfather

TPIRman

dbeahn

b612markt

Starfury

I know I'm being an asshole about it, but either post the video, post a retraction, or stop crucifying companies for doing things similar to what you are doing.

PS I love the Consumerist, but hate the new layout.

billybastion