Déjà vu All Over Again
(I stole that title from Yogi Berra, who originated it, and from Ralph Jones, who, on AVSIG, so aptly used it to describe the JFK/JetBlue mess this week.)
After the nine-hour mess in Austin last year, I kinda thought that wouldn’t happen again, but it has and maybe worse.
You know the story, on February 14, pax on ten JetBlue flights were stranded on airplanes on the ground for up to more than nine hours (or more than 11 hours, depending on which story you believe).
A blue jillion news items have beat this story with enough theories and arguments to keep everyone guessing for the foreseeable future. I don’t have a theory about who was at fault or what should be done. I do have a statement—this has got to stop.
I totally agree with the JetBlue spokesperson that said, “This is unacceptable.”
Unacceptable, folks, means that we can’t do this to people.
Much more important than fixing blame is fixing the problem. Not generally mentioned in the news is that this is not just an airline problem, it is also an airport problem. Airlines and airports need to come up with a solution.
Seems to me that the real problem is not the delays, but the fact that we can’t get people off of the airplanes, and it just ain’t right to hold people against their will.
People tell me, “Ralph, you just don’t understand.” They’re right—I don’t understand. I do understand that it is unacceptable. That means somebody has to figure out a way to stop it, even if it is necessary to change the system. I don’t know if we need special buses to get people off, or a different way of operating the airport and/or airplanes. But, in the words of the old song, “Something’s Gotta Give.”
I fear that those who say we can’t solve this problem simply mean that it would cost money. Well, duh.
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Hey R.W. (Bob) Hall–
Whatever causes it–rain, snow ice, or dark of night–it’s got to stop. Of course, now congress is “investigating” the problem, so we may never get it solved. If I ran an airline or airport, that’s the last thing I’d want–congress involved.
BTW–I’ll be in HSV Mon March 19. Breakfast at Mullins?
Ralph Hood
Ralph,It’s easy to lump similar occurances together and demand a solution. As I understand it in Austin there was only two gates avail. and there wasn’t customs facilities available. With Jet Blue there was 22 gates available and the local managers were hoping the freezing rain was going to turn into just rain. If tht was the case and they were trying to save the cost of deicing those aircraft still on the gates, then I agree it was reprehensible. Sometimes the desire to cut costs gets in the way of common sense.