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U.S. Air Travel System at the Breaking Point

Late-Winter Nor'easter Shuts Down East Coast Travel

By Dan Schlossberg
ConsumerAffairs.com

March 17, 2007

• Appeals Court Rejects NY Passengers Rights Law • Feds Unveil New Airport Policy • Newark Delays Trigger Passenger Rights Bill in NJ • Continental Passengers Fume Over New Tarmac Ordeal • American Strands Another Planeload of Passengers • Congress Wary of Airline Promises • Air Travelers Association Opposes Passenger Bill of Rights • Latest Ice Storm Chips Away at Travelers' Patience • U.S. Air Travel System at the Breaking Point • Long Tarmac Delays Still Common • Winter Weather Wreaks Havoc with United Flights • Feds Want Probe of Airline Strandings • Airline Passenger Bill Of Rights Introduced In Senate • JetBlue Sits Out NY Storm While Others Fly • JetBlue Unveils "Passengers Bill Of Rights" • JetBlue Offers Refunds, Free Tickets To Stranded Passengers • Passengers Organize After American Airlines Stranding --- • More about Travel ...

Like a giant rubber band that won't stretch any further, the air travel system in the United States seems ready to snap.

Demand often exceeds supply, thanks to cost-conscious carriers more anxious to reduce fleet and staff size than to serve the flying public that pays their bills.

Although JetBlue has created its own Passenger Bill of Rights while Congress considers a universal one, big problems persist throughout the network. And one little glitch in a major hub can wreak havoc across the entire country.

The problems are obvious:

• Airlines reeling from runaway fuel prices are reducing flights and seats at the same time that passenger volume is at record levels;

• Staff reductions have contributed to enormous communication gaps between carriers and passengers;

• Antiquated technology used by air traffic controllers contributes to flight delays and cancellations;

• Airport expansion has not kept pace with passenger volume.

Any little glitch in the system can become a major migraine for millions of consumers.

Although 670 million people boarded commercial U.S. carriers in 2005, that number was history before last December, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Though last November, it reported a record 684 million flyers, filling 79.4 per cent of available seats.

Even though planes often fly full, with no empty seats, there weren't as many of them, with the number of flights down three per cent in 2006 when measured against the previous year. That trend is continuing, with passenger volume rising but capacity falling.

When something goes wrong, such as this weekend's wild winter weather that hits a wide area, recovery sometimes takes a week.

On March 16, for example, JetBlue flight 540 managed to take off from West Palm Beach, Fla. 15 minutes late, just ahead of a heavy squall line that soon caused a ground stop at several South Florida airports. The flight, headed for Newark, encountered minor turbulence en route but was diverted to the carrier's John F. Kennedy hub by a nor'easter that was pelting the New York area with ice.

JetBlue, criticized for leaving nine packed planes on the JFK tarmac for hours during another ice storm a month earlier, then provided bus transportation to Newark International.

A ConsumerAffairs.com reporter on the flight learned that cancellation of that flight would have stranded passengers in Florida for at least four days -- since no seats were available on other JetBlue flights until Mar. 20.

That same reporter also overhead a heated discussion between a JetBlue gate agent, who wanted to get the Newark flight in and out quickly, and the airline's operations supervisor, who had to deal with several incoming flights at once.

The JetBlue Webmaster also needs a gentle nudge: as late as today, it states that Flight 540 arrived in Newark at 1:16. Although passengers did get there eventually, the flight never arrived in Newark. The Kennedy touchdown time was 1:16, five minutes before the scheduled Newark arrival that never happened.

In addition to communications, baggage handling also remains a major problem for carriers. A passenger traveling from Palm Beach International to Rapid City, S.D. March 16 had to beg an AirTran ticket agent to transfer her bag to United Airlines in Denver. The agent insisted the two carriers had no interline agreement -- even though the same transfer had been made in the other direction two weeks earlier.

Too many airlines seem to be operating under Murphy's Law: if something can go wrong, it will.

This winter's meltdown began on Dec. 20, when a blizzard blanketed Denver International, caused several flight diversions, and stranded nearly 5,000 passengers for days.

Just over a week later, an American flight sat for nine hours on the Austin tarmac after thunderstorms closed the carrier's Dallas-Fort Worth hub.

DFW closed again on Feb. 24 when a giant duststorm cancelled more than 500 flights and idled more than 5,000 passengers.

Ice was the culprit Feb. 14 and Mar. 16 in the northeast and Feb. 24 in Chicago, when a United plane with 181 passengers sat for more than seven hours at O'Hare.

It took JetBlue six days and a cascade of cancellations to heal from the St. Valentine's Day massacre, while US Airways needed the same amount of time to reconnect passengers at its Philadelphia hub with mishandled luggage.

Even when weather doesn't interfere, passengers often encounter crushing problems. Earlier this month, unexpected computer woes crippled the long-planned merger of the US Airways and America West check-in kiosks.

The handful of real-life agents on duty were quickly swamped, causing massive delays in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and several other major airports.

Statistics show only 10 of every 10,000 flights delayed more than two hours, with delays and cancellations combining to slice more than 2 per cent off total industry revenues.

Although no one can control the weather, airlines can calm irritated passenger nerves with better and more timely updates. Failure to receive simple and accurate communication from carriers seems to be the primary reason passengers are pushing Congress for protection.

Another big issue is what to do with stranded passengers. One cancellation, especially during the Christmas holiday rush or spring break this month, can wreak havoc with the system. When dozens of flights go down, as they did when JetBlue cancelled 75 per cent of its Mar. 16 schedule, the effects linger much longer.

Where the system goes from here is anyone's guess. Despite numerous failed attempts, the federal government seems unable to upgrade the air traffic control system to improve efficiency and is woefully behind in ensuring airports are able to meet demand.

Congressional legislation, requested by the airline industry, is pending. Until it passes, however, cancellations, delays, diversions, and even unending tarmac waits won't disappear. And here's a sobering thought: thunderstorms, a nationwide phenomenon during the summer months, cause more weather delays than snowstorms.

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