[jimworcs]

This is fig leaf designed to avoid regulation. The DOT has used tenuous authority to impose these penalties.. effectively suggesting that the penalties are for "deceptive" practices because Continental promised passengers that after 3 hours they would be allowed to disembark. Mesaba are being penalised for mis-leading ExpressJet and CO about the reasons why they would not provide a jetway. All the punished have agreed to be punished... on very dodgy legal grounds. The reason they have agreed is the alternative is far less palatable... regulation. I wonder why they are so desperate to avoid regulation?

Jetliner:
Continental failed to carry out it's own policies in a number of regards. First, it breached the 3 hour promise made to customers in it's charter. It also failed to "escalate" the problem up the Executive chain. This failure meant that insuffient executive attention or pressure was placed on Mesaba to address the problem. That is why they have agreed to the penalty. They are culpable and deserve the penalty.