obscure2k

There seems to be some sort of misconception that RST is just a little rinky-dink midwest airport, some 75 miles from MSP. In fact, RST is a designated International Airport with a customs facility and a 9000+ ft runway capable of landing 747s. The late King Hussein of Jordan frequently landed in RST. Now, does anyone think that any charter flight arriving from the middle east at whatever hour would have been subjected to this? I know, probably a poor analogy, but having been through RST so many times, and seeing those private jets on the ground, it just infuriates me that the powers who be at the airlines were not more pro-active. I know, just know, that there were so many alternatives to this disgrace.

mobilebucky

I saw the same thing, seeing she was with Andersen to the end (1998-2002) .

ijgordon

The "blame" for this specific incident can only reasonably lie with ExpressJet. Generally speaking, however, I think most will agree that CO is responsible more broadly for EJ's actions as well as pre-existing policies & procedures.

And of course, CO should be responsible for the front-line compensatory actions of this incident. ExpressJet doesn't even have a customer service phone number that I could find...

channa

The principle you're missing is that under this circumstance, the contract doesn't really matter. The implied agreement is that the airline will take reasonable care and make reasonable efforts to ensure passengers' comfort and well-being.

Once a lawyer convinces a jury that they were negligent by not having done X, Y, Z, then the protections in the contract go out the window.

The classic example is the parking garage ticket that says "not responsible for loss or damage to your vehicle." That's all well and good under normal circumstances (say a fire, earthquake, someone bumped you, who knows). But when the valet, a garage employee, drives it 50 mph through the garage and into a pole, those protections are off since they did not exercise reasonable care for your belongings (your car). In this case, they were negligent and will likely be paying for your car or repair.

So in this case, it probably wouldn't be difficult to prove that 1) they could have done more; and 2) CO has a history of this (IAH snowstorm). If CO doesn't settle, I wouldn't be surprised at some nice sums being awarded.

featheroleather

Cheap shot at Feldman.if thats whom you were refering to.Lorenzo's henchmen were probably involved.

Pan Am,in all its rebirths,has gone under 3 times.

CO isn't going BK because of this latest screw-up.

DeaconFlyer

Lots of false bravado in this thread and in the comment sections all over the internet. I'm sure there were plenty of frequent flyers on that flight, and none of them called 911. Very easy to say what you would do from behind a keyboard, a lot harder when you are actually in that situation.

dunderhead

Not directly, but the slope started with BUF and continues as consumer confidence starts to diminish.

Time to reach out and bring back Bruce Hicks to bring the media and the public back onside. The complete lack of any communications from CO and the passing the buck from the beginning, meekly coming back, and rather than standing up and being professional (remember Al Becker sweating profusely on-air with Ted Koppel when Al was at AA? He wasn't afraid like the panty-waists in IAH are), they were afraid to show their faces on national media...hiding behind Twitter messages like Ashton Kutcher (oh, I forgot...ExpressJet's Jim Ream proudly had his picture taken with him, the Twitter fad must have rubbed off...) instead of meeting the questions of MSNBC, CNN, Fox, etc., head on. What I am getting out of this entire incident is an image, reinforced by CorpComm, of a company in complete disarray, unable to present a clear and effective message be it to its employees, its customers, or the media. AC's Calin Rovinescu stands up and is counted when the proverbial feces hit the fan...others over the years -- Bob Crandall, Ed Colodny, Bill Howard, Dave Hinson -- did the same. Where's the leadership at CO/XE? Sadly missing can be the only answer.

pptp

Uh...yes it does matter quite a bit that it was Express Jet that was calling the shots all night long even though CO may have some culpability due to their contractual relationship, which said contract may or may not have been iron clad enough to allow for every conceivable circumstance.

You seem to have completely missed the point of my "comparison". All I'm saying is, yeah, that is a really bad experience but in the grand scheme of things, what are the damages???? In comparison, many walks of life go through much worse on an every day basis: soldiers, framers, landscapers etc in 100 degree weather with poor bathroom facilities. Why don't they get compensation for damages above and beyond normal?

Being stuck on a plane for 9 hrs would probably have me popping an exit too but if compensation is due, what exactly were the damages??? People are on planes for that long and way more every day.

Don't hate just because I'm being the Devil's advocate. Gotta have a rational counterpoint to all of the CO bashing.

KNRG

I do wonder what people were thinking. It amazes me that they didn't get violent or anything.. I've seen people pry open the doors of an airport parking lot monorail when it was delayed for 10mins.

I sanely sat through a 4.5 delay at Newark but we had a position in line and an obvious effort was being made to get us off the ground. Middle of the night at the wrong airport and watching all the other operations stop? Screw that.

Am I wrong in believing that the emergency exit wasn't necessary and you just need a crew member on your side to open the main cabin door? Especially in an RJ? Then they can't even charge you for the slide. You just got off, what the hell are they supposed to do about it?

pptp

RJ's don't have slides.

Again I ask: if compensation is due, what are the damages???

featheroleather

Don't play deils advocate just because it gets you attentionBeing trapped in a plane overnite,with smelling inop lavs and a couple of kids with no food isn't the same as a framer,landscaper or whoever else you try to compare this situation to.

Not on a diverson,not going anywhere,apparently with a Capt who dodn't have what it took to get the situation rectified in a better fashion. Did the crew who went illegal leave the plane or stay on board? I know news stories are inacurate at best, but this question does baffle me.If the crew could get off,why not the pax? I'm not arguing about compensation,just the lack of common sense.

soitgoes

The crew left, as I understand it, when the pax were in the terminal "confined" to the gate area.

pptp

No argument here on that.

baglady

The difference is the people you are comparing get paid to do that vs. paying for the "experience". Sure, people are on a plane that long every day (and longer) but not an RJ!

pptp

Yep, around $12/hr. That $108 for 9 hrs hard labor under much worse conditions.

Look, I'm not trying to minimize the f-up by Express Jet, just trying to put it into perspective. Nine hours out of one's life is fairly inconsequential, even if it was extremely uncomfortable.

Yes, I do believe the PAX deserve some sort of compensation (based on real damages)!