Virgin America Flight's Grueling Delay Compounded by Surly Staff

[RamboLiberal]

Source: ABC News

The low point in a hellish 19 hour Los Angeles to New York flight during the last weekend's storm came when the cabin crew came through and offered the starving passengers a choice of meals: either four or five Pringles or a tiny cup of almonds.

The passengers aboard Virgin America's flight 404 were among the most put upon victims of this weekend's torrential rain storm.

The flight left California at 10:34 a.m. ET on Saturday and was due to land at New York storm lashed JFK airport at 3:35 p.m. ET, a five hour flight.

But it wasn't until 2 a.m. Sunday when the hungry, thirsty and exhausted passengers finally arrived in New York -- by bus.

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"But the flight crew started to freak out, to have some problems with how they were dealing with the passengers on the flight...Basically they ended up snapping at passengers when they tried to get off," Martin said.

"One of the flight attendants told a passenger to 'shut the hell up' and that they were 'getting on their nerves.' It wasn't that 'oh god were stuck in the plane for hours.' It was how the flight crew was handling the situation. They were not handling it well at all," he said.





Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/virgin-americas-massive-delay-los-angeles-new-york/story?id=10114581

[CreekDog]

1. What's the Captain's responsibility here?

obviously he/she isn't responsible for the weather, but hours and hours on a tarmac and people not being allowed to get off?

does the Captain have any control over that?

[Ex Lurker]

2. I thought there were new rules that require passengers deplane after a certain length of time n/t

[SoapBox]

4. Part of my personal gripe with the FAA

...this is part of my big questions with the "deplane" laws.

Say an airline lands at an airport that they DON'T service...they have NO employees there...they have NO equipment (tugs, tractors, baggage carts, stairs, cabin cleaning trucks, etc.)...they have NO physical presence (no ticket counter, no gates, no "bridges", etc.)

NOW...what the heck are crew and passengers supposed to do, if ordered to land at airport XXX by ATC?

Just wondering!

[dencol]

10. ATC does not give orders.

The pilots tell the FAA where they are going and receive clearances to land.

[SoapBox]

3. ANOTHER tough situation...

This is another of those things that just got REALLY BAD...

While the airlines themselves do many things that travelers don't like, the FAA share a HUGE amount of responsibility in these issues...

The VA (Virgin America for short) flight got diverted by Air Traffic Control...I don't think that the pilot crew has too much influence over where they are going to be sent...there would have been many aircraft that would have needed to get out of the JFK airspace and/or get fuel.

Unfortunately (no, I don't work for VA) VA does not service Stewart...in fact, according to the airport's own info, there are only 4 airlines that fly in there. http://www.panynj.gov/airports/swf-airlines.html

So, since VA doesn't have staff or equipment or facilities at Stewart, VA would have needed to try and figure out how to get the plane to the terminal, get fuel, and then once inside the airport, WHAT the HECK were the passengers going to do? There is no VA staff there! Good thing this aircraft type was only an Airbus 320 or 310 and not something bigger.

In the end, some how / some way, VA and JetBlue got buses and got those folks to JFK.

The details, the coordination for handling such a situation, are HUGE...and I mean HUGE.

I've been "trapped" on a couple of similar situations...I'll give my crews a 50/50 on how they were handled. Some great (circumstances kept in mind) and others not so good. BUT...fellow passengers? If I had my way, most of them would be in jail. Over the top demands...getting loud...and I wondered if some would not try to "take command" of the aircraft.

If anyone gets in this situation...breath DEEP...remain calm...you'll eventually get off that plane. THEN...call you pols and demand the FAA have arrangements in place at ALL U.S. airports, to handle airlines that don't fly there, 24/7!

Just my 2 cents.

More about Stewart,
http://www.panynj.gov/airports/swf-facts-info.html

[high density]

8. What the heck are the passengers going to do in the terminal?

I dunno, maybe sit in chairs? It's a lot more comfortable than an A320. If given the choice between sitting hours in a terminal or sitting hours in a plane, I'll choose the terminal every time. I don't see the need for a lot of coordination for the basics of getting off the plane. Borrow a gate and the crew can corral the customers back to the plane when it's time to go.

[Dappleganger]

9. People wonder why I always travel with Xanax.

Never leave the airport without it.

[Psephos]

18. Good post with informed perspective. n/t

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

19. Their called contract ground handling companies and FBO's

Who deal with servicing adhoc flights every day,

[high density]

5. "During this time guests were able to leave the aircraft via air stairs and several opted to do so."

Is there some reason why everybody didn't get off the plane?

[Politicalboi]

6. Perhaps money would be better spent

If the government could build emergency airports run by military for planes that need refueling or a nice terminal with food and bathrooms. It would drive me crazy to be on a plane sitting there and not being able to get off and eat or smoke, or use a toilet that wasn't full. It wouldn't have to be as big as most airports. It would be for emergency purposes only.

[Matariki]

7. Only a few generations ago that nightmare scenario would have been a miracle of travel

/looking on the brightside dept.

[customerserviceguy]

11. Flying

is now officially less dignified than riding the Greyhound bus.

I look fondly forward to my days of retirement, when my cross-country trips can be taken leisurely by automobile, seeing the sights of America along the way, while meandering through new places that I've not been before, sampling local cuisine, and filling my growlers with local microbrews. After I'm too damned old to drive, I look forward to trips by train.

The airlines are becoming something like what the Nazis used to transport victims to the concentration camps.

[nodehopper]

12. yes, exactly like what the Nazis used to transport victims to the concentration camps.

Does this fall under Godwin's law? Or just an inappropriate hyperbole?

[customerserviceguy]

13. OK, it's a bit over the top

We're certainly not there yet, all I mentioned was the direction it was taking. I really don't know where it will stop, do you?

[nodehopper]

21. I would guess whatever path it is going down, it's not the path of racially motivated genocide.

[tavalon]

16. Godwin's law

End of discussion.

[boppers]

20. Dayum, I was going to interject some perspective.

It's really sad that minor crap gets compared to, well, millions murdered.

[nodehopper]

22. see, I was curious about that

is it Godwin's law if it just invokes Nazis? or does it have to specifically invoke Hitler? What's the technical specification?

[tavalon]

23. My understanding of it (and it has changed with use)

is anytime Nazis or Hitler are invoked in a hyperbolic manner, Godwin's law is invoked.

[nankerphelge]

14. Almonds or pringles?

I would have gone with the almonds.

[Crunchy Frog]

15. Just travel by cattle car instead.

It's cheaper, faster, and you'll be treated better.

[IDemo]

17. I created a no-fly list of 1 twelve years ago

Just before the "Wanna get away?" ads hit. They didn't realize how fitting the phrase was.