Another runway imprisonment incident in New York this weekend. Another good reason to pass a Passenger Bill of Rights, pronto.
Hundreds of flights were affected this time, many of which sat on the tarmac for hours and hours. And here’s why self-imposed Bills of Rights, a la JetBlue — or even a “customers first”-style consent decree — just won’t cut it: The AP reports that at least one foreign carrier was embroiled in the latest runway-imprisonment snafu.
“Rahul Chandran said he was trapped aboard a Cathay Pacific Airways jet from midnight until nearly 9:30 a.m. Saturday, when the flight to Vancouver was finally canceled,” it reported. Throughout the night, it added, the pilot repeatedly described problems with deicing equipment, including a lack of fluid, that kept the plane waiting endlessly to have its wings sprayed.
“When the airline finally gave up and tried to return the plane to its terminal, it took at least another hour to arrange a gate,” the AP noted.
Interestingly, I received an e-mail from Kate Hanni, who is organizing the current Passenger Bill of Rights efforts. How many strikes will it take, she wondered, before something is done?
That’s a good question.
If the current bill doesn’t pass, it will say more about our the power of lobbyists and the effectiveness of our elected officials than it will about the rightness of the law.
I, for one, will be deeply disappointed if our government fails us. I’d be shocked if this didn’t seal the deal for the bill.
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