[AirlinesMustPay]

Originally Posted by airhead

Airlinesmustpay: You are seeing the problem from a micro point of view. The update is in a hour so instead of asking the passengers what they want, the captian does his job. In a perfect world the captain would ask the passengers but guess what...by doing that a mutiny is created. Half wants to go and the other half wants to stay. How do you figure who is right?

And let's assume they decide to bus out the ones who want out...well where does the bus come from and how many of these buses should an airline have on stand by at every airport, everyday and what should be the pay of these bus drivers? And what will you pay the agent who has to stand at the bottom of the stairs as passengers walk from the aircraft to the bus? What a tremendous cost to the airline that would be. A cost that will surely be passed on the customer.

The whole issue of being held captive is a tricky issue still yet to be defined. What is a defined reasonable amount of time to be sitting in the tarmac? I think 3 hours is acceptable. But at some point the passenger has to agree that some rights are briefly given up for the ability to fly in a small metal tube at 12,000 feet altitude going 500 miles an hour.

The captain must do his job, but his job cannot be to keep me on board against my wishes. That is to infringe on my right to liberty protected by the constitution. I boarded the aircraft to fly and if he is not flying he must let me out if I so request.

If half want to go and half wants to stay, that's no problem and that's no mutiny. I thought I had dealt with that. The half who want to get out must be allowed to get out. I already said while I am in the terminal having my steak sandwich, I am quite happy to give you guys who want to stay on an aircraft with overflowing toilets a call.

The pilot can pull back to a gate to let the passengers off. But if that has a cost, then the airline can weigh that cost against the cost of getting a bus to bring the passengers from the aircraft to the terminal. Where does the bus come from and how much is the driver paid? Since when is that a passenger's problem. Would you like me to say how much the pilots and stewardesses are to be paid too? Pay them all a million dollars a day if you wish.

Some small airports own buses and employ drivers. When needed the airline pays the airport for use of the bus. I travel to JFK regularly by Delta (and I'd like to say I've never had a problem with Delta - all my problems have been on AA) and I have seen buses marked "Delta" at JFK so I will presume for larger airports, some airlines will have their own bus. These are not used only in emergencies but if an aircraft cannot get a gate, they remain on the tarmac and a bus picks up the passengers at the foot of the aircraft and brings them to the terminal. If a small airline with only one or two flights per day arriving an an airport doesnt have a bus, it can use another airline's bus for a fee, or their managers can have a contingency plan in place which may be to phone up a local bus company and have them do it. That is what prudent management is about. Managers are not there to tell their staff how to lie to customers!!

Whatever "tremendous cost" they pay for buses, is their decision. When Northwest settled for $1200 per passenger for keeping them 11 hours in 1999 on the tarmac, I'm sure they settled because their lawyers advised them they were likely to get the worst of the lawsuit.

There is nothing tricky about the right not be imprisoned against one's wishes. It is an established fundamental right, and no pilot can ride roughshod over that right. When you enter a plane you consent to fly. If the airline wants you to consent to sit in a stationary plane for three hours, they should get you to sign such a document.