Airlines Get The Last Word

When It Comes To Tarmac Delays

    I have to say that I loved the article in USA Today recently about airlines' backlash when it comes to fines for stranding passengers on the runway because of bad weather.
    You know it was coming to this. And I'm glad it has.
    After several incidents in which airlines were accused of holding passengers hostage on a plane that was stuck on snowy or rainy tarmacs, and who couldn't take off because it wasn't safe,  the US government stepped in with a so-called "Passenger Bill of Rights." It threatens to fine airlines $27,500 per passenger for such ground delays of three or more hours, according to USA Today.
    So, the airlines upped one on the government and those vocal passengers who pushed for such penalties. Now the airlines say they will just cancel flights and escape paying penalties for being delayed because Mother Nature has the last word. According to the article, the airlines in fact save money by such cancellations because fuel is not used and passenger tickets are prepaid. 
     For once, the airlines are doing something smart! Rather than deal with a bunch of whining passengers who are on an airplane that is prevented from taking off because of bad weather, the airline will just clip their wings. There will be no more near riots aboard a delayed plane on a tarmac. There will be no more bitching from passengers who say they were held hostage in hostile conditions. There will be no more arguments with on board crew members, who would rather be away from such types anyway.
    I always laugh at those stories that make the news. They make good headlines and sensational sound bites. But what really isn't told, is the airlines' side of the story.
    Complaining passengers seem to think that with the snap of his fingers, a captain can pull off a snowy runway and go back to a gate that has probably already been taken by another plane. It's not like a captain can park the aircraft and drop off those bitching passengers in the inclimate weather. I could just see the lawsuits now. They would whine about that too.
    These are the same passengers who complain that "there was nothing to eat on the airplane for us. The toilets were overflowing."  They never say how "full of shit" they are and how they oversensationalize the story for attention to their "cause."
     Oh! And we can't forget how they always try to play the "children" card and say their children were crying and hungry.
    These are the same lame passengers who fail to travel prepared, the ones who never pack toys or food for their children. The same ones who probably fly once a century and think it's the end of the world when Mother Nature forbids planes from taking off to their destinations.
     Interestingly, in the USA Today article, a woman who has pushed for passenger bill of rights, says this "solvable." But she doesn't give any bright ideas in the article.
     And a Department of Transportation spokeswoman, told USA Today, that the passenger bill of rights was designed to give passengers "a fundamental right to be treated with respect." Never mind that safety is at stake here.
     The spokeswoman is obviously living in her own little world behind her Washington DC desk, away from screaming and pouting passengers who would rather risk their lives and have the plane take off in the terrible weather. They have this sense of entitlement that because they purchase a plane ticket, they should be flown to their destination, rain or shine. Never mind safety.
    Never mind that if they were in a plane crash, they would only be coming home in pieces.
    Just something for them to think about.