Tarmac delays – get creative to enjoy the time!

by Jason Barger on September 17, 2009

delta

With all the talk lately about getting stuck on the tarmac, you better come prepared for an extended wait!

According to the Houston Chronicle, the top 5 tarmac delays in July lasted between 268 minutes and the infamous 392 minute Delta delay. Before you run out to Walmart in search of a shiny-reflector orange vest to take matters into your own hands, consider the fact that these delays have actually improved over the last year.

That’s right. The Chronicle reports that airlines’ overall on-time performance improved in July, with 77.6 percent of airline flights reaching their destinations on time — within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival — up from 75.7 percent in July 2008.

So, we’re heading in the right direction for sure, but it still might not be a bad idea to have a Plan B in your itinerary. In case you’re lacking creativity today, keep this crib sheet in your carry-on so you’ll have some ideas on what to do and not to do during your next delay!

    Top 4 Suggestions For What Not To Do During Your Tarmac Delay

4. Try to convince your seat-mate to purchase every single item in the Skymall magazine
3. Ask the flight attendant if they have a hair cutting service on board
2. Pace up and down the aisle-way on your cell phone yelling “buy, sell, buy, sell”
1. Walk person to person asking for donations to start your own airline.

    Top 4 Suggestions For Enjoying Your Tarmac Delay

4. Bring a book that you’ve been hoping to have the time to enjoy
3. Make a gratitude list of the things you are most thankful for in your life right now
2. Write a letter to someone in your life that you haven’t said thank you to enough
1. Sit, breathe, and take the time to think about something you just haven’t had time to consider lately

I know it isn’t always the place you wish you were, but delays do offer opportunities to spend time in unique ways.

“Life is what happens when we are making other plans.” – John Lennon

Travel Gracefully.

Jason Barger is author of Step Back from the Baggage Claim: Change the World, Start at the Airport.

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Tagged as: tarmac delay, tarmac delays

  • Bill

    Maybe the incidences of this have gone down but I still find it extremely unacceptable.

  • Frank

    During a lengthy delay, I’ve been known to have a little “cocktail party” in the back galley. I know, I know, no congregating, but you use good judgement and I can relate to those tiny seats and how uncomfortable they get after a short period of time. People need to get up and move about.
    I’ve had the most interesting conservations during delays. Offer a drink. chat. Meet and hear wonderful people.
    Had Steve Croft (60 Minutes) in my galley once. We chatted for a long time over the airline industry during a delay. Smart man. I certainly enjoyed chatting with him, and I bet, he enjoyed that cold one I gave him. =)

  • Hapgood

    Jason, do you perhaps work for the same airline as Frank? He insists that the tarmac delay problem is so complex that the only thing an airline can and should do when it happens is to let the passengers sit there until whatever causes the delay resolves itself. And now you come along and tell us that while we’re sitting there we should enjoy it and be grateful. Honestly, couldn’t the money they’re spending on you shills be better spent on fixing some of the frustrating things about air travel that even you can’t possibly be grateful for?

    That said, your approach is a good one. If we have to fly, there are many frustrating things over which we have no control. Ideally, we should respond to it by focusing on what we’re grateful for rather than letting frustration and anger uselessly consume us. However, that does not excuse the airlines for all the frustration and anger they needlessly provoke. The tranquility of a Zen master and/or the patience of a saint should not be prerequisites for flying the unfriendly skies!

  • Frank

    Hapgood September 17, 2009 at 11:33 am
    Jason, do you perhaps work for the same airline as Frank? He insists that the tarmac delay problem is so complex that the only thing an airline can and should do when it happens is to let the passengers sit there until whatever causes the delay resolves itself.
    =================================================

    REALLY NOW?…….I SAID THAT?…….REPOST IT.

    You’re delusional……….I NEVER said passengers should sit there!

  • Marilyn Long

    You really need to buy Jason’s book and think about the possibilities of making travel more pleasant. I have been stuck on the tarmac in a lengthy delay only once about 5 hours, supposedly waiting in a snowstorm to be deiced so I know how frustrating such situations are. However, in any aspect of life when you are in a situation over which you have no control if you can find something else to focus on to make the time pass as pleasantly as possible you will lower your blood pressure. That doesn’t excuse the airlines from cavalierly ignoring the needs of passengers, but for your own mental state, you can benefit by focusing on something else.

  • Lyngengr

    In some countries, detaining people in a confined space in which they have no control over their situation is called JAIL. In the US, we call it an airplane. I fail to see the difference.

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