Tarmac delay hall of shame: US Airways loses in latest month

airwaysUnlike some of my esteemed travel writing colleagues, I won’t make the mistake of confusing a few tarmac delay activists with the entire passenger rights movement. Still, the August airline performance numbers, which have just been released by our friends at the Department of Transportation, merit a closer look.

You might think ExpressJet Airlines flight 2816 would be a standout. Not quite correct.

Here’s the full list:

1. ExpressJet Airlines flight 2816 from Houston to Minneapolis/St. Paul, 8/7/09 – delayed on tarmac 337 minutes
2. AirTran Airways flight 782 from Atlanta to St. Louis, 8/12/09 – delayed on tarmac 253 minutes
3. US Airways flight 2135 from Boston to New York LaGuardia, 8/21/09 – delayed on tarmac 252 minutes
4. US Airways flight 2131 from Boston to New York LaGuardia, 8/21/09 – delayed on tarmac 244 minutes
5. JetBlue Airways flight 1258 from Washington Dulles to Boston, 8/21/09 – delayed on tarmac 241 minutes

That’s two US Airways flights from Boston to LaGuardia on the same day, held on the tarmac more than four hours in an air traffic control delay. Sure, the ExpressJet incident looks bad, but US Airways is better represented for the month.

And let’s not forget JetBlue flight 1258, which was delayed only a few minutes less than the US Airways flights.

That’s something of a surprise, considering JetBlue’s reluctance to keep anyone waiting.

I’m reasonably certain that there will be no meaningful time-limit rule on tarmac delays in the upcoming FAA Reauthorization Bill, so this horse race is bound to continue for the foreseeable future.

Does anyone care to predict the winner — uh, make that loser — for 2009?

(Photo: Brian Indrelunas/Flickr Creative Commons)

  • Justin

    Hi Mr Elliott,

    Unfortunately, it’s going to take passengers binding together and doing a class action suit when such incidents occur. If enough people start sticking together to hold the airlines accountable, they either will change their tune, or start losing a LOT OF MONEY. Where’s ambulance chasing civil suit lawyers when you need them.

  • Peter

    Chris:

    I’m curious what action, if any, you would take, if you were on one of those planes?

  • Nicole

    The looser? That’s easy: Airline passengers.

  • Michael

    I think that all the passengers should start calling the local radio, tv, etc. while the plane is delaved on the tarmac and let the media know what is happening at the time. Put some heat on the airline at the time. The media would probably start reporting the situation after they receive calls from the passengers being kept hostage by the airlines. Those who had access to the internet could also access your list of airlines corporate numbers and text and call them to report the situation. Put the heat of the media on the airlines and their irresponsible actions.

  • Pat

    What about people with panic attacks? I’m surprised we haven’t had more backlash on this!

  • Jeanne

    That’s because people with panic attacks, or folks with severe PTSD are probably making the conscious choice to avoid air travel. I’m one of them.

    While flying doesn’t bother me, I have a member in my immediate family who suffers from a severe form of PTSD.

    I was recently offered by my parents all expense paid round-trip airline tickets so that we could visit them. But for me, that’s not a good scenario for the other member of my family.

    So instead, I asked if they’d mind paying for a rental car and I’d just drive us down there for a visit. Worked out great – we could stop when we wanted – walk around – and get there in reasonable comfort. Yes it did take longer, but we didn’t have to take the chance of getting caught on the tarmac for hours & hours, causing the one I love and care for intense mental suffering (and a possible meltdown) due to being confined in the extended enclosed conditions.

    I felt like it was also the responsible thing for me to do, to not expose other airline passengers to that scenario either.

    So folks with panic attacks & PTSD know that their best option is to drive. ;-)