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Flying the Unfriendly Skies

April 11, 2007 3:59 PM

"during those 9 exasperating hours, we were besieged by an OVERWHELMING SENSE OF FEAR AND DESPERATION, not knowing when and if we would ever be able to get out of the aircraft.  our pilot did the best he could under the circumstances, he reminded us to be patient, but after 9 hours of BEING HELD AGAINST OUR WILL IN AN AIRPLANE -- knowing full well that we could have spent that time at least at the airport -- we could no longer remain calm.  WE HAD JUST HAD TO ENDURE THE FOWL STENCH OF OVERFLOWED TOILETS FOR 9 HOURS AS OUR VENTILATION WAS TURNED OFF.  some people with medical conditions such as diabetes ran out of medication, and others had NO WATER with which to take theirs."

that is what kate hanni told a senate panel Wednesday afternoon as she describes what should have been a short san francisco to point clear, alabama flight aboard AMERICAN AIRLINES on DECEMBER 29, 2006 that turned instead into a 57 HOUR, 3 DAY ordeal. 

she has formed the COALITION FOR AIRLINE PASSENGERS' BILL OF RIGHTS and in just 3 short months 15,000 people have joined her organization, many with horrible tales of their own.

at that same hearing DOT I.G. calvin scovel said the DEEP-SEATED CUSTOMER DISSATISFACTION with FLIGHT DELAYS AND CANCELLATIONS which he found to be a big problem in 2001, is "STILL THE CASE TODAY."   

scovel adds that tests his unit conducted show information provided at boarding areas about delays and cancellations was NOT TIMELY or ADEQUATE, the majority of airline employees do NOT follow federal guidelines or even their own policies when it comes to interacting with passengers who have disabilities and he says JETBLUE's own passengers' bill of rights DOESN'T GO FAR ENOUGH. 

he takes a swipe at DOT saying when the department of transportation discovers a violation and assesses penalties against the airlines, "IT ALMOST ALWAYS FORGIVES THE PENALTY" IF THE AIR CARRIER SAYS IT WILL DO BETTER.

having been snookered once before by the airlines' cross my heart and hope to die pledge to fix the mess, congress is now considering legislation that would among other things require carriers to SAFELY UNLOAD PASSENGERS once they have been stuck on a runway for 3 OR MORE HOURS.

April 11, 2007 in Weblogs | Permalink | User Comments (0)

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