Originally Posted by prestonh

For my business we have backup equipment for nearly everything we run. For our small operation it blows my mind that UA does not have, at the ready, a spare frame for every type at each hub should something go MX or divert. I am even more baffled that there is not a rescue frame sitting on each US coast for just such a contingency. Maybe the rescue frame does a turn or two each day hub to hub to keep it somewhat utilized. But for a 763 to sit within 2-3 hours of multiple UA hubs and have pax returned to EWR after 20 hours is just the worst possible outcome of a irrops recovery I have seen. While the execs have been counting their money and options of late, I guess they forget how quickly the costs of these issues can chip away at the brand and pricing power. This reminds me of two events in UA history....the dumping of pax in Cody, WY for them to fend for themselves during a snowstorm and the summer from He**. both of which pax were given the middle finger by UA as we were just told to be 'glad we got there safely when we got around to it'.