Tarmac Delays

Remember those hideous incidents of airline passengers being stranded on the tarmac for nine or 10 hours without enough food or water, or a chance to get off the plane? Likely you haven't heard that story lately. In a news release Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation said that long tarmac delays have largely disappeared since a rule went into effect in April 2010  that, with rare exceptions, prohibits U.S. airlines from leaving domestic flights on the tarmac for more than three hours without letting passengers deplane.

The U.S. Department of Transportation issued its first violation of the three-hour tarmac rule and fined American Eagle Airlines $900,000, according to a DOT statement. The airline, American Airlines' regional carrier, was singled out for keeping passengers on airplanes on 15 flights arriving at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on May 29. DOT says 608 passengers were affected by delays of up to 3 hours and 45 minutes. The tarmac delay rule, as it is nicknamed, which went into effect April 2010, says airlines with 30 or more passengers on domestic flights can't remain on the runway longer than three hours without facing fines of up to $27,000 per passenger.

JetBlue Airways Corp. and AMR Corp.'s American Airlines could face huge U.S. fines after their passengers sat for hours in jets stranded on a snow-covered tarmac near Hartford, Conn., this weekend. The U.S. Transportation Department is investigating the JetBlue reports and "several other possible delays" but couldn't comment immediately on American Airlines. Under rules in place since April 2010, most tarmac delays at U.S. airports are limited to three hours for domestic flights and four hours for international flights, the agency said.

JetBlue Airways Corp. and AMR Corp.'s American Airlines could face huge U.S. fines after their passengers sat for hours in jets stranded on a snow-covered tarmac near Hartford, Conn., this weekend. The U.S. Transportation Department is investigating the JetBlue reports and "several other possible delays" but couldn't comment immediately on American Airlines. Under rules in place since April 2010, most tarmac delays at U.S. airports are limited to three hours for domestic flights and four hours for international flights, the agency said.

Federal fines totaling $175,000 were levied Tuesday against the three airlines that stranded dozens of passengers for nearly six hours on a tarmac in Rochester, Minn., last summer. The fines are the first that airlines have received for lengthy tarmac delays. Continental Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines were given a total civil penalty of $100,000 by the U.S. Department of Transportation for their roles in keeping passengers on board Continental Express Flight 2816 on Aug. 8. Also, the department assessed a civil penalty of $75,000 against Mesaba Airlines, which provided ground handling for the flight.

The number of flights delayed on U.S. airport tarmacs for more than three hours dropped to zero in October, the Department of Transportation reported Tuesday. The achievement marks the first time U.S.-based airlines reported no such lengthy interruptions since the agency began tracking them in 2008. The agency reported 11 delays lasting longer than three hours in October 2009. Passenger-rights advocates attribute the result to penalties adopted last year by the Transportation Department.

After hearing Jim Engle of Sierra Madre talk about the headaches he and his wife endured on a round trip from Burbank to Detroit on American Airlines in the summer, you might be surprised to hear that the country's airlines continue to get great marks in customer service. Engle and his wife suffered through several delays, an unscheduled stop in Ontario and airline staff who, he said, were curt and unhelpful. "And I don't have enough time to tell you about the extra charges for baggage and food and water, which ran out before half the plane was served," he complained.

The Times' Dec. 22 editorial on the federal government's rule requiring airliners that sit on the tarmac for more than three hours to disembark passengers was surprisingly astute -- surprising because the sensible observations and conclusions that The Times expressed have been so rarely understood or articulated in this emotion-charged debate. Ever since a very few but very public events -- in December 2006, February 2007 and then one flight this past summer in Rochester, Minn. -- many have made "fixing" this problem a cause celebre.

Starting late this month, airlines that leave passengers stranded on a tarmac in a delayed plane for three hours or more can face a hefty fine under new rules adopted by the U.S. Department of Transportation. If carriers don't let passengers out of the plane before the three-hour mark, the agency can fine them up to $27,500 per customer. At least three domestic airlines have announced plans to avoid the penalties. But that won't necessarily cut down on delays. US Airways and Continental Airlines have both unveiled procedures to return the plane to the gate if it can't take off before the three-hour limit.

The surprise snowstorm in the Northeast that killed at least three people and knocked out power to millions of homes also stranded a JetBlue plane on the tarmac for seven hours in Hartford, Conn., an ordeal passengers say left them without food, water or working toilets. Flight 504 from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Newark, N.J., was diverted to Bradley International Airport in Hartford because of bad weather. The plane landed about 1:30 p.m. but didn't make it to the gate until about 9 p.m. for reasons that still aren't clear, media reports say. JetBlue posted this Twitter message during the long delay: "We can't deplane the aircraft until it's safe.

The surprise snowstorm in the Northeast that killed at least three people and knocked out power to millions of homes also stranded a JetBlue plane on the tarmac for seven hours in Hartford, Conn., an ordeal passengers say left them without food, water or working toilets. Flight 504 from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Newark, N.J., was diverted to Bradley International Airport in Hartford because of bad weather. The plane landed about 1:30 p.m. but didn't make it to the gate until about 9 p.m. for reasons that still aren't clear, media reports say. JetBlue posted this Twitter message during the long delay: "We can't deplane the aircraft until it's safe.

Remember those hideous incidents of airline passengers being stranded on the tarmac for nine or 10 hours without enough food or water, or a chance to get off the plane? Likely you haven't heard that story lately. In a news release Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation said that long tarmac delays have largely disappeared since a rule went into effect in April 2010  that, with rare exceptions, prohibits U.S. airlines from leaving domestic flights on the tarmac for more than three hours without letting passengers deplane.

The number of flights delayed on U.S. airport tarmacs for more than three hours dropped to zero in October, the Department of Transportation reported Tuesday. The achievement marks the first time U.S.-based airlines reported no such lengthy interruptions since the agency began tracking them in 2008. The agency reported 11 delays lasting longer than three hours in October 2009. Passenger-rights advocates attribute the result to penalties adopted last year by the Transportation Department.

President Obama's call for government workers to cut back on driving and travel to reduce air pollution has angered business travel leaders who say he is once again hurting the travel industry. Obama issued a directive last week ordering government workers to commute and travel less to reduce greenhouse emissions 13% by 2020. The move, he said, would eliminate 101 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. But the National Business Travel Assn., a trade group for business travel managers, called the plan a "misguided swing at the travel industry" that could "undermine the slight recovery the travel industry is just now starting to experience."

At some grocery stores, cashiers open an extra checkout station when the lines get long. Starting this week, when crowds gather at the American Airlines counters at Los Angeles International Airport, staffers may serve the waiting passengers with hand-held devices that print boarding passes and baggage tags. The device, the size of a large cellphone, is attached to a small printer that hangs from the belts of the airline employees. Several airlines already let passengers download an electronic boarding pass to a cellphone or PDA, but American Airlines says it has the only portable device in the U.S. that lets passengers skip the counter altogether even when they have bags to check.

NEW YORK (AP) -- You've heard the horror stories of airline passengers stranded on the tarmac for hours without food or water or even sanitary bathroom conditions. Or worse, you've lived the experience. You wondered, why is this allowed to happen? After years of sparring between passenger advocates and defiant airlines, the government has stepped in. Starting Thursday, U.S. airlines will have to let passengers off the plane after three hours or face potentially huge fines. But depending on the airport you're at and the decisions made by pilots, passengers will have different experiences with the rule.

NEW YORK (AP) -- You've heard the horror stories of airline passengers stranded on the tarmac for hours without food or water or even sanitary bathroom conditions. Or worse, you've lived the experience. You wondered, why is this allowed to happen? After years of sparring between passenger advocates and defiant airlines, the government has stepped in. Starting Thursday, U.S. airlines will have to let passengers off the plane after three hours or face potentially huge fines. But depending on the airport you're at and the decisions made by pilots, passengers will have different experiences with the rule.

The U.S. Department of Transportation issued its first violation of the three-hour tarmac rule and fined American Eagle Airlines $900,000, according to a DOT statement. The airline, American Airlines' regional carrier, was singled out for keeping passengers on airplanes on 15 flights arriving at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on May 29. DOT says 608 passengers were affected by delays of up to 3 hours and 45 minutes. The tarmac delay rule, as it is nicknamed, which went into effect April 2010, says airlines with 30 or more passengers on domestic flights can't remain on the runway longer than three hours without facing fines of up to $27,000 per passenger.

Starting late this month, airlines that leave passengers stranded on a tarmac in a delayed plane for three hours or more can face a hefty fine under new rules adopted by the U.S. Department of Transportation. If carriers don't let passengers out of the plane before the three-hour mark, the agency can fine them up to $27,500 per customer. At least three domestic airlines have announced plans to avoid the penalties. But that won't necessarily cut down on delays. US Airways and Continental Airlines have both unveiled procedures to return the plane to the gate if it can't take off before the three-hour limit.

The Times' Dec. 22 editorial on the federal government's rule requiring airliners that sit on the tarmac for more than three hours to disembark passengers was surprisingly astute -- surprising because the sensible observations and conclusions that The Times expressed have been so rarely understood or articulated in this emotion-charged debate. Ever since a very few but very public events -- in December 2006, February 2007 and then one flight this past summer in Rochester, Minn. -- many have made "fixing" this problem a cause celebre.