jp12687

no since it was outbound to the EU by a US based airline.

thag said since the return was cancelled that cost UA at least 250k if everyone files a claim.

I think what was trying to be conveyed here in no way signified the end results being ok.

i believe what he is saying is to begin with one person put themselves above everyone else and refused instructions to leave the plane.

It’s actually much deeper then “electrical devices”

they are not allowed to do any kind of “work” on the sabbath as it’s a day of rest.

the term work has in modern times been viewed very broadly. In the most devout turning something on is considered work.

its why some refrigerators sell with a. Sabbath mode which during a certain time the light will not come on when opened (but don’t get me started on how opening it is ok)

SS255

In addition, they are not allowed to carry items (luggage, money) outside of an enclosed area. (Also very complicated to explain what constitutes an “enclosed area.”) The bottom line is that if the arrival + travel time to their ultimate destination would potentially risk violating the Sabbath, they should not have boarded the plane at all. I think that most people do not consider the welfare of others, or the cost to UA, when they ask to deplane — whatever the reason may be.

Often1

Bottom line is that carriers will almost always even return to the gate to offload a passenger. Especially on TPAC/TATL where a diversion may not be quite so easy.

Annoying as it is, from the safety perspective there are real potential concerns about what people who become overwraught may do at FL 39.

jp12687

yup but that is where personal responsibility needs to come in. If they were connecting onwards and that was a huge concern then they should have abandoned before boarding the plane at 12:45am. What changed between 12;45 and 1:30? 45 min after boarding we are pushing back from the gate. That’s a super reasonable amount of time to expect boarding to take. Late night there was no line at EWR so we could have just rolled out and taken off.

by the 3rd group and post announcement it was a bad joke. I believe in religious freedom and expression but I also believe in not being a self centered jerk and and taking accountability for your actions as an adult.

Repooc17

Sorry, but not impressed.

I was on UA999 last August (2019) which encountered:

1) too much fuel
2) weather delay
3) mechanical issues
4) diversion
5) medical emergency
6) all kinds of personnel on board (firefighters, medical team + UA personnel and airport folks)
7) 1st meal being served with the 2L door opened (attached to the jet bridge) at midnight
8) pax sleeping in cots at airport from 1am

jp12687

i wish they would have served us a meal
at midnight or between 2 and 5am waiting on the new crew

Repooc17

I think the difference - the plane you were on remained in EWR; whereas the plane I had been on left EWR and diverted (to BOS) - UA has no regularly scheduled flights there after 8pm, so the terminal area was basically a ghost town. The crew was great and decided to serve meals while not getting paid (if I am not mistaken, they would only get paid after the door is closed). No food nor available nearby accommodations (e.g. hotel rooms).

Lux Flyer

Pretty sure the pay rules for crew changes when the flight is diverted

jp12687

that brings up an interesting point. Our door was closed (and jet bridge back) multiple times.

from the FA point of view were they being paid? Stop being paid each time? What happens to the crew who had been there essentially 8-10 hours who timed out but never went anywhere. Did they not get paid for the day?

notquiteaff

Could they claim act-of-god?

eng3

UA decided that having a crew onboard to serve the passengers for the later flights was more important that him making it to his destination on time. A common practice that happens daily that everyone has been aware of for decades. He decided he was more important and nearly everything that happened after that and then the resulting affected all the passengers was easily foreseeable and all a result of his own decision to be selfish. In my mind, it is equivalent to the people on this flight. If anything, the people on this flight are slightly more justified because they have a "real" religious reason whereas he just didn't want to be late (and didn't even accomplish his goal). But I know I am an outlier in my opinion and don't want to start a long sub-thread so I'll just agree to disagree.

As for the people on this flight, I respect their right to get off the plane, I'm just trying to think of a logical reason why they would wait so long to decide to get off. How close was the arrival time estimate to midnight? Perhaps each group of people had a different safety margin or distance to travel from arrival time to BRU to arrival at final destination or connecting flight. The first person's delay causing the second group to go past their safety margin causing the third group to go over their margin. Maybe they thought the plane would leave immediately after the person got off and did not realize the delay to get the bag removed. Though you would think they would know this after they saw how long it took for the first person. Did they keep updating the arrival time on the flight status? Or maybe they were just oblivious and didn't care.

Due to UA's seeming shrinking international network in some areas, I've been booking more and more connecting flights on separate PNRs either because UA's partner price is just too high or they simply don't offer the option. Although I usually give myself at least 3hrs of margin and have only been burned once in my life doing this, it really makes one reconsider the practice. I can think of alot of flight delay reasons, this one never even entered my mind.

gmt4

I see what you did there. LOL