Crusader Fights Worst Airlines
Angry Passenger Tells Bad Airlines: End Long Delays or Else
Stuck for hours, an unhappy traveler now campaigns for government to make endless waits on runways Illegal, with special aid for stranded seniors
Bad airlines, long flight delays and excessive tarmac waits have led Kate Hanni of Napa, California to become an air-passenger crusader against the increasingly frustrating issues that face all flyers -- stranded seniors, crying children, and everyone in between.
Do you have a horror story about your worst airline delay? Share it. Hanni has a Web site where you can post stories about awful experiences.
Major airlines have been much in the news lately because of ground problems.
From January through July, American Airlines, Continental Airlines and Delta Airlines were among the airlines rated among the top 5 for delays between terminal gate and takeoff.
Hanni is battling for more strict government laws that would make confinement on the ground illegal once passengers are kept beyond a certain time. Rep. Mike Thompson (D. Calif.) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D. Calif.), her congresspeople, is listening. She said they have introduced bills that would force airlines to let stranded travelers off planes stranded more than three hours.
Not a professional complainer before, Hanni became one after she and scores of others were stuck on American Airlines Flight 1348 Dec. 29 as it idled on the tarmac in Austin, Texas for nearly 10 hours. She says she now has almost 17,000 people who have joined her coalition to demand a "passengers' bill of rights." Besides her own Web site, she is being helped by others who suffered similar flight delays. There are videos on You Tube, chat room discussions and letters piling up in the offices of major airlines.
"Enough is enough! We are turning our anger with the big airlines into grassroots advocacy," a message on flyersrights.com, Hanni's site, begins.
Among the "bill of rights" demands:
- Provide for the essential needs of passengers during air- or ground-based delays of longer than three hours, including food, water, sanitary facilities, and access to medical attention.
- Provide for the needs of disabled, elderly and special needs passengers by establishing procedures for assisting with the moving and retrieving of baggage, and the moving of passengers from one area of airport to another at all times by airline personnel.
- ·Compensate “bumped” passengers or passengers delayed due to flight cancellations or postponements of over 12 hours by refund of 150% of ticket price.
Under the heading "Emergency Kit," flyersrights.com has posted its own complaint hotline, the phone number and e-mail address of a key U.S. Department of Transportation complaint section, and the phone numbers of reporters at the NY Times, USA Today, Dallas Morning News and Bloomberg News.
For previous Senior Travel reports on this issue see "Worst Airlines for Senior Travel," and "Worst Airlines? Take Your Pick" or type "worst airlines" in search box above.
