Posted on 07/20/2004 11:20:08 AM PDT by EggsAckley
I hate flying. That's been the fact for quite a numbers of years. But after the events at O'Hare airport last Friday, July 16th, I vow that I will NEVER fly through that airport again, and what's more, I will NEVER EVER again fly on United Airlines. "Fly the friendly skies" my great aunt fanny! Their motto SHOULD be "We don't care, we don't have to. We're United."
On that day, dozens of planes were stuck on the tarmac, not allowed to take off. After the first hour had passed, our "friendly" pilot announced that there was a weather system holding up our takeoff. Weather? Where?
After four and a half hours of sitting on the tarmac we FINALLY departed. The explanation of "weather" was laughable; how could a weather system that no one saw hold up so many planes of so many sizes heading out for so many destinations?
I still have not been able to find out what the truth was, and I was away from computers for the subsequent four days, and had no way of researching what REALLY was going on that day. Was there a crisis at the airport? Controller shut-down? It was bad enough being trapped like sardines in that 707, with very little air, no water, and not allowed to get up and move around. What made it worse was that the crew simply didn't care how uncomfortable everyone was. It was a very unhealthy situation.
Anybody got any ideas?
That's no excuse for the pilot lying about some bogus weather system. People just want the truth. However, I must concede, some can't handle the truth, forcing them to lie to maintain the peace.
Had they not pushed away from the gate, they would have had to have let yall disembark to the comfort of that gate's seating area within the terminal, but I
reckon they needed that space for another flight.
I know you'll write a seething letter!
And oh how I'd love to read it! LOL!
I got delayed out of Midway for about two hours at the beginning of the month. It was weather-related for at least some of that time. Maybe it's just a really bad area to fly out of?
I got stuck on the ground at Newark for four hours on the evening of September 10, 2001. Ultimately cost me three unwanted days in Dallas due to getting in too late to continue on to Denver that day and then getting caught in the ground halt the next day. I hate delays!
United has almost the lowest comparative rating here:
http://www.epinions.com/search/mem_search_~0/search_vertical_~2522535/no_skip_~1?search_string=United+Airlines
Compare that to nonunion JetBlue:
http://www.epinions.com/search/?submitted_form=searchbar&search_string=jetblue&tax_name=&dyn_nav=0&dyn_nav_id=&search_vertical=2522535&searchbar_submit=Search
THANK YOU!! I hadn't thought of the FAA. Will do that today, while my legs are still numb. The numb legs are a good impetus for me!
As a former airline pilot, I'm not aware of any rules limiting how long you can be kept on aircraft. I don't think it's covered by the Geneva Convention, although it probably should be. I do know a few things: Once you are off 'the gate', the crew is being paid. Once off the 'gate', the flight is considered on its way, and the airlines hate to have flights come back - it screws up their nice little statistics (on time arrivals, completed flights, etc.). The airlines work great, when the variables are severly limited. But throw in a little weather, etc. and the whole system can really come crashing down. Six hours is inhumane though. The crew was probably sympathetic to your situation. Airline management? well, they don't care. Period.
Heheheh. When I write it, I'll let y'all know. Just too tired today.
As the day progresses, delays grow.
I too will never fly through O'hare if I can help it. Saturday my wife and four month old had a connecting flight through O'Hare. Our direct flight to Raleigh/Durham on United sat for an hour due to a "computer problem" before they decided to deplane. We sat there in the airport for 4 hours before they finally decided to cancel the flight. They rescheduled us the next day on a flight through Newark. That flight sat on the tarmac for 2 1/2 hours before taking off due to "weather back east". We were fortunate to find that when we finally got to Newark, our connecting flight to RDU was delayed as well due to a mechanical problem. They switched planes and we finally got home around midnight...24 hours late!
No. This is not extreme. There is not a business in the country that operates like the airline system and gives the type "Who cares?" service to its customers that can reasonably expect to survive too long.
There is no other industry that treats its customers as the Big Three do. NONE. They could care less about anything other than doing everything they can to fill up the planes while charging the maximum charge. They are run worse than a "mom and pop" start-up business. There is NO customer service, and the agents at most airports (especially at O'Hare or Newark or LaGuardia) do nothing but talk to each other and ignore their CUSTOMERS. I'm certain it has to do with the deteriorating manners and norms of society--and the fact they are paid peanuts (You get what you pay for.)
Kerry & Edwards were playing 'touch' football??
That's the thing, spower. The crew was TOTALLY unsympathetic. As we approached hour number 4, I asked the "flying waitress" (she didn't deserve the title flight attendant) how long they were going to keep us locked up in the plane. Her answer: "have you been drinking?" (!!!) I wasn't rude, didn't raise my voice, used no foul language, just asked her how long they were going to make us sit there. Then she brought the thirteen-year-old "pilot" back to ask if I'd been drinking. It was ludricrous. One of those "how long has it been since you've beaten your wife" kind of questions. THE CREW were making a scene, NOT ME!!
Take a breath. Two lines of thunderstorms came up in the afternoon - one from northeast of chicago through central indiana, and one from Grand rapids down towards dayton. This make it next to impossible to get any air traffic eastbound, and all mdw (I don't know the O'Hare status then)traffic was ground-stopped due to weather. Ask me how i know :-)
United may have handled the aftermath of your flight differently, but they're not out to get you. This sort of stuff costs them tons of money. Planes can't fly through thunderstorms.
The easiest way to check on the atc status is via the FAA's site www.fly.faa.gov where you will get a real-time update on any ground stops. It's a little tricky when you're on a plane, but if it makes you feel any better, try calling a friend who is online. Just remember that what the site reports is a snapshot of current delays and not a forecast.
WOW! You were in a 707?
Haven't seen one of those babies since I was in Miami in '94.
It wasn't "weather related" it was "whether related." "Whether" it would make it or not.
Heh! One of the passengers DID call a friend who was on-line, at about the 4 hour point. Their friend looked at the site and reported that we had landed twenty minutes before. So according to the website, we were already in Scranton, not sitting on the tarmac. Insult to injury!
WOW! You were in a 707?
Haven't seen one of those babies since I was in Miami in '94.
It wasn't "weather related" it was "whether related." "Whether" it would make it or not.
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