News of yet another trapped-on-the-tarmac episode is making the rounds this morning, with reports that a Cathay Pacific Airways flight bound for Hong Kong spent more than seven hours parked at a San Francisco International Airport gate yesterday.
Flight CX873 was supposed to take off at 1:20 a.m., but the passengers who boarded just after midnight were not let off until 7:30 a.m., when the flight was canceled because of equipment trouble, according to an AP story.
This isn’t Cathay Pacific’s first offense. Several months ago an almost identical incident happened in New York.
This has got to end.
The Coalition for An Airline Passenger Bill of Rights released its first strandings report card last week, but it didn’t include any international carriers. If Cathay Pacific screws up again, maybe it should.
But report cards alone won’t motivate airlines to treat their passengers better. If that were true, then feel-good awards like J.D. Power and Associates’ recent North America Airline Satisfaction Study would be inspiring the airline industry to greatness. Instead, the industry seems to be wallowing in its own mediocrity.
No. What we need now are clear, strong new laws designed to protect customers from this nonsense.
Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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