No, I don't think there are standbys, and hence the situation. Yet businesses deal every day with the situation that certain employees may be out, and still have to serve customers without having the opportunity to play a 'weather delay' card.

Not the airline business.

No, but the point is that not having the reserves was a concious decision by the airline (and probably a good one). However, if that decision causes a flight originating locally to be delayed because of lack of crew (for whatever the reason), don't blame the weather!

If the crew driving to the airport from their hotel are delayed due to a wreck on the freeway, that's another situation outside of the airline's control and hence theoretically under the same force majeure clause in the contract of carriage. But, you would expect a bit more in the way of accomodation from the carrier in that case, right? How's it any different?

If a freak flood swamps my house, should I blame only myself for making the concious decision to NOT built a dike around it - even though doing so wouldn't be reasonable (or rational or financially sound)?

If you live on a flood plane..yes :D. ( I know you said freak accident)

I think what most have said here is that while weather contributed to the delay its hard to say that was 100% of the reasons there was a delay. Nobody expects CO to have back-up at every location. However, when situations fall apart you then can't just point the finger and blame the weather. Flying out IAH bad weather almost has to be expected a great deal of the time so how CO handles known variables is the issue. We are not talking freak snowstorm of 10 ft or hurricane or the like but the kind of thing that happens two or three times a week at IAH in the summer.

Very true...so it's probably worth pointing out that CO's completion factors during unfavorable weather are typically very high when compared to other carriers. Late stinks, but not making it at all is even stinkier. ;) All things considered, we run a very efficient operation by comparison - and though there are 'known' variables, they are about as accurately predictable as the weather report on the nightly news. It's tough to know just which way the wind is going to blow until it actually does...

I agree that CO is better then most on these issues. Don't even get me started on US...

Some of this maybe a PR issue. people who trave a great deal uderstand the domino effect that weather can have on operations way down the line. Other think the airline is just ducking blame. There should be some middle ground.

Yes...and it's frustrating. I can't tell you how many passengers (even high mile FF's) have told me to my face that we were lying about weather being the cause. They see the current weather reports and don't buy it when we tell them it's weather - ignoring the fact that our airplane left EWR 12 hours ago when the weather was much different, and that that same plane had to land in EWR from somewhere else however many hours earlier.

I don't know about you guys, but I find it a bit offensive to be called a liar! I wish I could take those folks into an ATC tower or our ops center on bad weather days...just observe for a few hours how it all works, the logistics involved. They'd get it pretty quickly!

This would be easy to solve by jus posting the original flights for the plane from the poit of departure to the point its at now. frankly in this day and age with everything online I think airlines could always be better at communictaion with cusotmers.

the phrase weather or atc delay without further explanation is always going to be suspect ona perfect weather day in SAN.