What am I owed for a 12-hour flight to nowhere?

The passengers on a recent Continental Airlines flight 89 from Newark to Beijing were given an unwelcome lesson in patience. Halfway through the flight, their plane was diverted on a medical emergency and eventually returned to the states, where it was canceled. Then, the next day, the same passengers were finally sent to China. Are these air travelers owed anything for the trouble?

That’s the question I was left with after hearing from Darryl Champagne, one of the passengers on flight 89, who described the 12-hour flight to nowhere.

We got all the way up to the North Pole, about 6 hours into the almost 14 hour flight. Then we diverted to Goose Bay due to a medical. Then when the medical cleared up a couple of hours later, we re-diverted all the way to Newark as a cancellation.

But the details of this particular flight are even more bizarre. Apparently, one of the passengers didn’t approve of Continental’s handling of the situation, and had to be escorted off the plane in handcuffs.

All told, the passengers were on a plane for half a day.

DEPARTS

City: New York/Newark, NJ (EWR – Liberty)

Gate: C75

Check-in Terminal: Terminal C

Scheduled Time: 12:15 p.m.

Actual Time: 12:17 p.m.

Scheduled Date: Sat., Feb. 23, 2008

ARRIVES

City: New York/Newark, NJ (EWR – Liberty)

Gate: C93

Terminal: Terminal C

Scheduled Time: 12:35 a.m.

Actual Time: 12:48 a.m.

Scheduled Date: Sat., Feb. 23, 2008

So what does Continental owe these passengers?

Well, nothing. According to its contract of carriage, a medical emergency would qualify as a force majeure event. Rule 24 D) addresses the airline’s obligation.

Force Majeure Event – In the event of a Force Majeure Event, CO without notice, may cancel, terminate, divert, postpone, or delay any flight, right of carriage or reservations (whether or not confirmed) and determine if any departure or landing should be made, without any liability on the part of CO. CO may reschedule passenger on another available CO flight or refund any unused portions of the ticket in the form of a travel certificate.

Continental offered the passengers hotel and meal vouchers. But beyond that, it isn’t obligated to do anything else for them.

I think flight 89 is an interesting case study. There’s been a lot of media coverage given to planes that sit on the tarmac for up to 12 hours. But what about the flights that take off and return to the same airport 12 hours later?

  • Joe Farrell

    What if there was a mechanical? A sick passenger fits in the category of a mechanical problem for me. It is NOT a ‘force majeure’ as those phrases are defined. Just ask the AA passenger who died. There was no diversion there. CO made the decision to terminate the flight in Goose Bay. The reason was flight crew time out. They had NO CHOICE but to return to EWR. The only OTHER choice was waiting until the crew was legal the next day. CO would have had to put everyone up in Goose Bay. Are there enough hotel rooms for a 777-300 of passengers in Goose Bay at the last minute?

    There are some seriuos practical issues here. I thnnk CO is on the hook for any expenses incurred back in NYC, or, a lost Beijing hotel cost., which these days is $75 a night at most western style hotels.

  • Mike

    I am going to disagree with Joe. I don’t know the details of the ill passenger but given the hassles of an emergency landing, I would assume it was a serious situation where a life may have been at risk.

    I think hotel and meals back in EWR is fairly reasonable given the circumstances. It doesn’t make up for the PITA factor the other passengers, but stuff happens in life.

  • Jeff

    But did the pax get the miles for both trips?!

  • Stewart Sheinfeld

    according to the times listed here the plane arrived back in Newark 12 hours before it left

  • http://eastvillageidiot.com Chris

    Well, it wasn’t entirely a flight to nowhere. They did arrive across the concourse from where they departed.

  • JARaphs

    I flew the CO EWR-Beijing flight a few years ago, and everything about the way the flight was run was outstanding, at least from this coach passenger’s perspective.
    On our return to the US, takeoff was delayed about two hours after the plane was fully boarded. The reason? A sick student in a school group. The crew did a great job of keeping us updated, and informed us that, on arrival in the US, we would be quarantined while doctors boarded the plane. It was about an hour of delay after we landed. CO was doing everything possible to protect both the passengers on board, and the ill passenger (who probably should never have boarded).
    The passenger on the flight you wrote about must have been very sick – let us not forget that foreign countries are NOT interested in having sick people crossing borders. CO did the right thing by flying back – and it’s understandable that there isn’t a backup 777 with crew waiting in EWR for moments like these.