Flying gets a little safer

Four or five years ago my wife and I were on our way home from Las Vegas with a flight change in Chicago. We boarded our plane at O'Hare, taxied out onto the runway somewhere and...stopped. The engines shut down - and we sat. The pilot told us there would be a delay for weather. And we waited. And no more information was forthcoming.

We sat on the runway for 3+ hours - crying babies, long lines for the bathroom, cramped seats, uncomfortable temperatures.

Finally, they started the engines and we were told we had to go back to the terminal to refuel. But they lied. We went back to the terminal and they had us deplane. Our flight had been canceled - but no one told us until we were back inside the terminal. We waited in line for another 2+ hours for an agent to tell us that there were no flights back to Syracuse for two days - that they would not put us up for the two days - that there were no available hotels within an hour's drive of the airport.

We finally caught two seats on a flight to Buffalo, and I rented a car and drove home from there (about a 3-hour drive).

For the privilege of being so rudely treated, we paid American Airlines something akin to $700, round-trip. I hate - no, make that despise, the airlines in this country. Maybe $700 isn't a lot to them - it is to us. One would think that when you shell out that kind of money and put yourself and your transportation into the hands of a large corporation like that, that they would take care of you. They don't. They're willing to abandon you and leave you to your own devices the minute things get tough for them. (One hostess in the airport told us that weather wasn't the reason for the cancellation of our flight - there was a work slowdown by the air-traffic controllers. We still don't know the truth.)

Are the airlines struggling financially? I hope so. They can all go out of business for all I care. I fly as little as possible (maybe once a year) and would fly even less if it were possible.

As far as I am concerned, the new news out of Washington regarding the nation's airlines is minimally good news, but even what the government is allowing is too much, IMHO.

Here's a summary of the new FAA regulations - from the New York Times...

Under the new regulations, airlines operating domestic flights will be able only to keep passengers on board for three hours before they must be allowed to disembark a delayed flight. The regulation provides exceptions only for safety or security or if air traffic control advises the pilot in command that returning to the terminal would disrupt airport operations.
.........

Airlines will be required to provide food and water for passengers within two hours of a plane being delayed on a tarmac, and to maintain operable lavatories. They must also provide passengers with medical attention when necessary.

From January to June this year, 613 planes were delayed on tarmacs for more than three hours, their passengers kept on board.

Airlines will also be prohibited from scheduling chronically delayed flights. Carriers who fail to comply could face government enforcement action for using unfair or deceptive trade practices.