Winging It

On 2/14-15 I was stranded in JFK after being let off back into the gate by a Delta flight for Athens (where we sat in the plane for almost 10 hours). When faced with the decision of trying to book another flight on 2/15, a major consideration was what would happen to my checked belongings. I am from Philadelphia and was told my luggage could not come off the plane and would go to Greece - and maybe eventually back to New York. I live 2-3 hours from JFK and that meant maybe having to sacrifice everything I had packed.

I think that a plane should not be boarded until they know it will take off when boarding is done.
In the mean time, they should give passengers estimated departure times.
That way, passengers can choose to travel by alternate means, if they so desire.
If at the last moment a plane cannot take off due to weather at the departure airport or destination, the plane should let the passengers leave the plane so they can choose to travel by alternate means, if they so desire.
During stormy weather, even if there is a break in the weather, some passengers might feel it would be safer for them to take a train.

It makes no sense to add yet another oversight function to the already overloaded plate of the federal government. What good will it do? Since when is the federal government known for its flawless oversight of private industries?

Making it a government issue does not address the real underlying issue, which is how to make sure consumers of services maintain some control over the transaction. The burden for answering that question lies with the individual companies and the industry as a whole.

Yes, people can complain after the fact and choose another airline the next time they travel, but when you're trapped in a tin can with a hundred other cranky people with no food or water and overflowing toilets, it's a very small consolation.

Under those circumstances, I could easily see myself yelling FIRE! and popping the emergency chute, and be perfectly willing to accept the consequences as long as I could get off the plane. Such an action might result in spending time in a federal prison, but after 10 hours of being stuck on a plane, I think I would be okay with that.

Ideally, I'd like some reassurance that rather than subject consumers to those circumstances, the airline and airport systems will demonstrate some common sense by anticipating a systems failure and responding to it by returning to a point where the consumer can choose another option.

What passengers really do want is a system that, when it breaks down, can transfer control back to them - the consumers.

Is it better to spend Friday night in an airport in a distant city, or is it better to spend an extra hour on the tarmac to get home at a later hour? I can't speak for everyone, but I'd sure like to be the one to make the decision that's right for me at the time.

What's missing is flexibility in the problem solving and that is something the government cannot mandate.

Hey, Tom. I probably need to get a life, but while I was reading some information on the VATSIM website, which provides virtual air traffic control simulation to people flying flight simulator software, I stumbled across a free, useful website called FlightAware.com that lets you track flight plans of all commercial and general aviaition traffic in a number of different visual ways. You can select PHL and see what the inbound and outbound traffic looks like. Or you can track the status of individual flights. I know there are several sites like that, but this one is really robust. Thought your readers might like it.

Cheers!