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If you didn’t see the sarcasm in my last post, let me point it out to you. Chris was speaking of one flight, you mentioned the other half million. I twisted your numbers to prove a point, that anything can be done with numbers to make a problem look small….When you are stuck in the middle of that problem, it seems pretty darn big.

I have been traveling for over twenty years as a business traveler. I know the delays happen. I’ve lived through them…..I recall a New Years Day morning in Little Rock, Arkansas back in the mid 90′s when Memphis got foged in. All flights going to Memphis were diverted to Little Rock. We sat on the plane for hours until the fog lifted. It seemed like forever. My original connection should have got me home for a late brekafast in NJ. Instead, I walked in the door long after my wife and family were asleep.

And yes, I still say return to the gate. Or bring out a set of air-stairs and buses if that is not available. Jetblue does come to mind. I seem to recall they got crucified in the press since it happened in NYC. That was only nine planes that were delayed that day, but we still hear about it to this day.

And please do not blame the ATC for the plane not returning to the gate. The airlines are not slaves to the ATC. They can decide on their own to go back to the gate. I’m sure the ATC kept giving them later and later times for take off, but at some point someone needs to say, “Enough.”

As the paying customers, we understand the airline’s desire to get the flight off the ground, no matter how long it takes. We appreciate the tenacity. We really do. But there has to be some point where people are given a choice.

It is tough to find this common ground between customer service and the needs of the airline to position its aircraft for the next flight. I understand that both the plane and crew are scheduled for other flights beyond the current flight.

I also understand the desire to keep the passengers on the plane. Getting the passengers BACK on the plane is like herding puppies. At first it seems funny, but after a while you just want the damn things back in the box (Plane). But boxing them up in the plane for continuous delays just makes people anxious. Perhaps they need to stretch their legs, perhaps they need a smoke break (I don’t smoke), or maybe they just want to buy another book since their last one was completed in the third hour of delays.

I don’t have all the answers. I don’t think anyone can come up with a solution that would please everyone; passenger and airline alike.

And last, but certainly not least. I am very aware of the last category in your most recent post. I live in Northern New Jersey. Newark is the airport I fly through on most every trip. It has gotten so bad that I am surprised when I make it home on time.

More delays attributed to weather. In November, the carriers attributed bad weather as the cause of 42% of their delays, up from 38% a year ago. In October, 34.5% of late flights were delayed by weather.

•Improved baggage handling. The U.S. carriers reported a mishandled baggage rate of 3.75 reports per 1,000 passengers in November, an improvement over November 2007′s rate of 4.9 but worse than October 2008′s 3.55.

•Fewer complaints. The DOT received 532 complaints about airline service from consumers, down from 810 in November 2007.

•Best and worst airlines. Among the major carriers, Southwest Airlines reported the highest on-time rate at 87.2%. Delta was the worst, with 77.4%.

•Best and worst airports. Flights at Salt Lake City International had the highest on-time arrival rate again, with 91% of flights arriving on time. The airport also reported the highest rate a year ago and in October 2008. Newark Liberty was the worst, with only 66% arriving on time.

So, you think in the past twenty five years that I’ve done this JOB FOR A LIVING that I havent experienced lengthy delays? They happen. Throw in several variables and some severe weather and you get the above scenario. But, weather and ATC happen in the country EVERYDAY! Yet, you say I twist statistics. Ha. That’s EIGHT flights for the ENTIRE MONTH OF NOVEMBER which had over a HALF MILLION DEPARTURES.
Return to the gate? What gate if other arrivals have come in and NO gates are available? Huh? Jetblue comes to mind with that scenario.
Why did the Air Traffic Controllers give this aircraft a RELEASE TIME? Allow it to leave the gate? HUH?
I incurred an RJ delay just before Xmas. I spent 4 1/2 hours on the runway in LGA. And, guess what, we did go back to the gate because a passenger was harrassing the flight attendant. Screaming at her. Upon, reboarding we had trouble locating passengers that had gotten off. Several terminal pages finally had them back onboard. (another issue). Weather sometimes sucks, so do delays. Thankfully, now during severe weather, airlines allow you to rebook. Giving you the option to avoid the inclement weather all together.
After that lengthy delay, I went to the hotel. Got a good night’s sleep and did it all over again the next two days, flying that is, transcons, both days.

If those people wanted off they would have been let off of the plane,no question. The decision to release an aircraft to newark rests solely with New York Center Air Traffic Control. Folks, please get your acts straight before you go off on a stupid witch hunt against an airline. Do you really think the airline employees enjoy sitting out there?

Statistics can be twisted any way you want to make a point…..

What happened to the airlines’ promises to return a plane to a gate after a certain amount of time? And to be trapped for 4+ hours on an ERJ145 is just plain torture.

That plane should have returned to the gate. And remember, that delay was probably followed by a 135 minute flight to Newark. That makes a grand total 404 minutes. Is it just me, or does 6 hours and 40 minutes seem like a long time? Why didn’t someone have some common sense and return these folks to the gate?

It’s all perspective. That carrier, ExpressJet had 22,285 flights for the month of November. Of those 22 THOUSAND, “two” had tarmac delays over 3 hours. Additionally, industry-wide, only 8 flights out of a HALF MILLION incurred lengthy delays on the runway.

According to information on the internet, the flight was delayed due to low ceilings and weather. Additionally, that flight has a poor on-time record going into EWR. All information YOU COULD of looked up instead of stating: So what happened to ExpressJet Flight 2534? Who knows.