Last week's monster snow and ice storm exposed a glaring weakness in the airline industry that should have been dealt with already, but hasn't been.
Passengers aboard some JetBlue Airways jets were forced to sit for close to ten hours in jets that couldn't take off as the storm shut down JFK International Airport. The aircraft were parked on the taxiway waiting for clearance to take off and hours went by.
Many of the aircraft didn't have food or water on board and the doors had to be opened every ten minutes to let fresh air into the passenger cabins. Still more hours went by. Finally buses arrived to take the passengers off the planes and return them to the terminal, which should have happened hours before. I can't imagine waiting ten hours for a plane to take off.
JetBlue offered free tickets, discounts and other bonuses to their captive passengers once they were back in the terminal. Analysts called the move "smart." JetBlue also announced that they were introducing a passenger bill of rights on their own.
Other airlines are refusing to do so; they would rather have dissatisfied customers vote with their feet, which leaves them free to take their passengers hostage in the meantime. They shouldn't be waylaying people like that.
It's a wonder that the passengers didn't try to seize control of the jet in their frustration.
No comments:
Post a Comment