Flyer advocate says Delta obtained hacked e-mails
By HARRY R. WEBER (AP) – Oct 13, 2009
ATLANTA — A passenger rights advocate accused Delta Air Lines Inc. in a federal lawsuit Tuesday of conspiring with a Virginia company to obtain hacked e-mails from her computer to help them derail her efforts to protect air travelers from lengthy tarmac delays and other inconveniences.
The suit, filed by Kate Hanni of FlyersRights.org in U.S. District Court in Houston, seeks at least $11 million in damages and a jury trial.
A spokesman for the world's biggest airline operator, Trebor Banstetter, denied that Delta hacked Hanni's e-mail account. He says Delta can't comment further on the lawsuit.
"Obviously, the idea that Delta would hack into someone's e-mail is clearly without merit," Banstetter said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Hanni and her group have been a thorn in the side of the airline industry, pushing Congress to enact a passenger bill of rights at a time when airlines are suffering from big revenue declines thanks to weak demand for air travel.
Among other things, Hanni supports a three-hour time limit on how long airlines can strand passengers on airport tarmacs. Legislation pending in the Senate would require that passengers be allowed to deplane after a three-hour wait.
There are exceptions for instances when the pilot believes the plane will take off in the next half-hour or it might be unsafe to leave the plane.
The lawsuit claims that while Hanni was sharing information with a person working for Metron Aviation Inc. of Dulles, Va., her personal computer files and FlyersRights.org e-mail accounts were hacked. She said her service provider, America Online, confirmed the e-mail accounts were hacked.
The lawsuit alleges that in late September, Metron executives confronted the worker with the stolen e-mails and claimed Delta was angry about Hanni getting information that would help pass the passenger bill of rights.
Hanni says that Metron officials claimed that Delta had provided them with the stolen e-mails.
In addition to the e-mails, Hanni said that spreadsheets, lists of donors and personal files were compromised by the alleged hacking.
The lawsuit, which also names Metron as a defendant, does not make clear specifically what was in the e-mails or who exactly committed the alleged hacking.
Metron Aviation, which provides research, airspace design, environmental analysis and software development services to the global air traffic industry and lists Delta as a customer, said in a statement that any allegations that suggest it "has behaved illegally or improperly in this matter are completely baseless and without merit." It said the company would have no further comment.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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Add News to your Google HomepageFlyer advocate says Delta obtained hacked e-mails
By HARRY R. WEBER (AP) – Oct 13, 2009
ATLANTA — A passenger rights advocate accused Delta Air Lines Inc. in a federal lawsuit Tuesday of conspiring with a Virginia company to obtain hacked e-mails from her computer to help them derail her efforts to protect air travelers from lengthy tarmac delays and other inconveniences.
The suit, filed by Kate Hanni of FlyersRights.org in U.S. District Court in Houston, seeks at least $11 million in damages and a jury trial.
A spokesman for the world's biggest airline operator, Trebor Banstetter, denied that Delta hacked Hanni's e-mail account. He says Delta can't comment further on the lawsuit.
"Obviously, the idea that Delta would hack into someone's e-mail is clearly without merit," Banstetter said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Hanni and her group have been a thorn in the side of the airline industry, pushing Congress to enact a passenger bill of rights at a time when airlines are suffering from big revenue declines thanks to weak demand for air travel.
Among other things, Hanni supports a three-hour time limit on how long airlines can strand passengers on airport tarmacs. Legislation pending in the Senate would require that passengers be allowed to deplane after a three-hour wait.
There are exceptions for instances when the pilot believes the plane will take off in the next half-hour or it might be unsafe to leave the plane.
The lawsuit claims that while Hanni was sharing information with a person working for Metron Aviation Inc. of Dulles, Va., her personal computer files and FlyersRights.org e-mail accounts were hacked. She said her service provider, America Online, confirmed the e-mail accounts were hacked.
The lawsuit alleges that in late September, Metron executives confronted the worker with the stolen e-mails and claimed Delta was angry about Hanni getting information that would help pass the passenger bill of rights.
Hanni says that Metron officials claimed that Delta had provided them with the stolen e-mails.
In addition to the e-mails, Hanni said that spreadsheets, lists of donors and personal files were compromised by the alleged hacking.
The lawsuit, which also names Metron as a defendant, does not make clear specifically what was in the e-mails or who exactly committed the alleged hacking.
Metron Aviation, which provides research, airspace design, environmental analysis and software development services to the global air traffic industry and lists Delta as a customer, said in a statement that any allegations that suggest it "has behaved illegally or improperly in this matter are completely baseless and without merit." It said the company would have no further comment.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Related articles
Passenger rights advocate sues Delta over alleged e-mail hacking
Gadling (blog) - Oct 14, 2009
Delta Airlines accused of computer hacking
CompareCarrentals.com - Oct 14, 2009
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AZ Central.com - Oct 13, 2009
More coverage (22) »
Add News to your Google Homepage
Friday, October 30, 2009
Passenger Rights Advocate Claims Delta Hacked Her Email
By Jon Hood
ConsumerAffairs.com
October 16, 2009
A leading proponent of the Airline Passenger's Bill of Rights making its way through Congress says that Delta Airlines hacked into her e-mail account in an effort to thwart the legislation.
Kate Hanni's complaint, filed in federal court in Houston, accuses Delta and a contractor of conspiracy and violation of privacy, and seeks at least $11 million in damages, most of them punitive.
Hanni founded the Coalition for an Airline Passengers Bill of Rights, which is lobbying Congress to impose more passenger-friendly requirements for planes stuck on runways for long periods of time. The bill would give passengers the right to disembark any aircraft that has been grounded for at least three hours, unless such an exit is deemed unsafe or the pilot reasonably believes the plane will take off within a half-hour. The legislation also requires airlines to provide adequate access to food, water, and restrooms for grounded passengers. The bill imposes fines for violations, and requires the Department of Transportation to approve airlines' individual plans for delayed flights.
Hanni's computer was illegally accessed over the summer; AOL confirmed that her e-mail account had been compromised. The hacker corrupted and destroyed some files, and copied others to a still-unknown location.
The facts of Hanni's case are bizarre and surprisingly dramatic. Hanni apparently began exchanging data about delays on Delta Airlines with an employee of Metron Aviation, a Virginia-based corporation that specializes in improving traffic flow management and reducing airline delays. Metron counts Delta as a client.
In a sworn affidavit, Frederick Foreman, the Metron employee, said that his superiors approached him in late September and informed him of the breach. They told him that the e-mails at issue were those between himself and Hanni, and that they were sent from his private, rather than company, e-mail account. Worse, Delta was furious that he had access to the flight delay data, despite the fact that it is publicly available information. Foreman was fired on the spot and escorted off of Metron's property.
Delta is fighting back, calling Hanni's allegations "absurd." But the airline certainly has an interest in preventing the legislation from passing. Such a bill would cost airlines at least $40 million in lost revenue.
Airlines have fought for years to keep Bill of Rights-style legislation from being passed. In 1999, the aviation industry headed off a similar bill by promising to meet tighter self-imposed standards. But support for federal legislation surged again in August, when 47 passengers were stranded on a grounded plane in Rochester, Minnesota. Inclement weather forced Continental Express Flight 2816 to divert while en route from Houston to Minneapolis, and passengers sat on the runway for six hours before finally being cleared for takeoff. The crew ran out of food almost immediately, and the small plane's sole toilet quickly filled up and sent a foul smell throughout the cabin.
While Flight 2816 drew its share of negative publicity, it was hardly the first such incident in recent years. In 2007, a JetBlue flight sat on the runway for 11 hours at JFK International Airport in New York, and a 2004 Northwest flight from Amsterdam to Seattle took 28 hours once all was said and done. The Northwest passengers, too, suffered through food and water shortages and an overwhelmed toilet. A passenger told the Today show that "at one point it seemed like we would have a riot towards the end."
Hanni's advocacy is based on personal experience. After being stranded on a tarmac in Austin in 2006, Hanni founded FlyersRights.com and began a determined push to get Congress to act.
Read more: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/10/delta_billofrights_hack.html#ixzz0VUBmKPIm
ConsumerAffairs.com
October 16, 2009
A leading proponent of the Airline Passenger's Bill of Rights making its way through Congress says that Delta Airlines hacked into her e-mail account in an effort to thwart the legislation.
Kate Hanni's complaint, filed in federal court in Houston, accuses Delta and a contractor of conspiracy and violation of privacy, and seeks at least $11 million in damages, most of them punitive.
Hanni founded the Coalition for an Airline Passengers Bill of Rights, which is lobbying Congress to impose more passenger-friendly requirements for planes stuck on runways for long periods of time. The bill would give passengers the right to disembark any aircraft that has been grounded for at least three hours, unless such an exit is deemed unsafe or the pilot reasonably believes the plane will take off within a half-hour. The legislation also requires airlines to provide adequate access to food, water, and restrooms for grounded passengers. The bill imposes fines for violations, and requires the Department of Transportation to approve airlines' individual plans for delayed flights.
Hanni's computer was illegally accessed over the summer; AOL confirmed that her e-mail account had been compromised. The hacker corrupted and destroyed some files, and copied others to a still-unknown location.
The facts of Hanni's case are bizarre and surprisingly dramatic. Hanni apparently began exchanging data about delays on Delta Airlines with an employee of Metron Aviation, a Virginia-based corporation that specializes in improving traffic flow management and reducing airline delays. Metron counts Delta as a client.
In a sworn affidavit, Frederick Foreman, the Metron employee, said that his superiors approached him in late September and informed him of the breach. They told him that the e-mails at issue were those between himself and Hanni, and that they were sent from his private, rather than company, e-mail account. Worse, Delta was furious that he had access to the flight delay data, despite the fact that it is publicly available information. Foreman was fired on the spot and escorted off of Metron's property.
Delta is fighting back, calling Hanni's allegations "absurd." But the airline certainly has an interest in preventing the legislation from passing. Such a bill would cost airlines at least $40 million in lost revenue.
Airlines have fought for years to keep Bill of Rights-style legislation from being passed. In 1999, the aviation industry headed off a similar bill by promising to meet tighter self-imposed standards. But support for federal legislation surged again in August, when 47 passengers were stranded on a grounded plane in Rochester, Minnesota. Inclement weather forced Continental Express Flight 2816 to divert while en route from Houston to Minneapolis, and passengers sat on the runway for six hours before finally being cleared for takeoff. The crew ran out of food almost immediately, and the small plane's sole toilet quickly filled up and sent a foul smell throughout the cabin.
While Flight 2816 drew its share of negative publicity, it was hardly the first such incident in recent years. In 2007, a JetBlue flight sat on the runway for 11 hours at JFK International Airport in New York, and a 2004 Northwest flight from Amsterdam to Seattle took 28 hours once all was said and done. The Northwest passengers, too, suffered through food and water shortages and an overwhelmed toilet. A passenger told the Today show that "at one point it seemed like we would have a riot towards the end."
Hanni's advocacy is based on personal experience. After being stranded on a tarmac in Austin in 2006, Hanni founded FlyersRights.com and began a determined push to get Congress to act.
Read more: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/10/delta_billofrights_hack.html#ixzz0VUBmKPIm
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Associated Press Editorial
Surviving dreaded delay on airport tarmac
By Harry R. Weber
Associated Press
Published: Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009 4:23 p.m. MDT
ATLANTA — You're tired, hungry, have a cranky baby on your lap and all you want to do is get off the plane, but you can't because it's been on the tarmac for hours waiting to take off.
A six-hour delay with 47 people aboard a small Continental Express plane at a Minnesota airport recently is the extreme. In June, the most recent month for which data is available, there were 278 tarmac delays of three hours or more. That was the most this year but still only .05 percent of the total number of scheduled flights that month.
Information is the best ammunition in such situations. Experts advise that passengers be prepared. Here are answers to some questions travelers may ask.
Q. Can't I just get off the plane?
A. No. The captain has ultimate control of the plane and generally will determine if and when to return to the gate and allow passengers to get off.
"It's not a democracy," says Robert Mann, an airline industry consultant in Port Washington, N.Y.
Passengers can request that the aircraft return to the gate, or if they have a cell phone they can call airline customer service or their carrier's frequent flier hotline and exert pressure that way. If you have a medical condition or are ill, notify the crew immediately. But taking matters into your own hands is ill-advised. An FAA spokeswoman says unruly passengers who make a run for the aircraft door could be arrested for interfering with the crew.
Q. Why would the airline choose to keep the passengers onboard rather than let them get off?
A. It takes a lot of time to get passengers off a plane and then back on again. If the weather clears up at the airport where you are heading, the crew may have a limited opportunity to take off. Tarmac delays often occur because of bad weather, congestion and air traffic control issues. Further delays could be caused by allowing passengers to get off, which also could mean passengers with connecting flights might miss those connections.
Airline operations also are a factor. Because of weak demand for air travel due to the ailing economy, airlines have taken large chunks of seats out of the air and are offering fewer flights and frequencies to some destinations.
"It may add to the reason there are the tarmac delays and not the cancellations," says Terry Trippler, an airline and travel expert based in Minneapolis. "The airlines realize that there aren't a lot of flights to get them onto alternate flights, and that's why they rather just wait and get them out."
Q. How long can the crew keep me on the plane before heading back to the gate?
A. There's no law or rule mandating that the crew allow you to get off after a certain period. Legislation introduced in the Senate in July would require planes delayed more than three hours to return to a gate. A rule proposed by the Department of Transportation would require airlines to have contingency plans for dealing with lengthy tarmac delays. Some airlines have implemented customer commitments in recent years to try to appease passengers. JetBlue Airways vows to deplane passengers if an aircraft is delayed on the ground for five hours. That was instituted in 2007 after passengers on a JetBlue flight waited 11 hours on the tarmac at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Q. Will I get something to eat and drink while I wait?
A. Airlines generally only stock enough food and drinks for the length of the flight. Passengers on the Continental Express flight later complained about not being offered food and drink during their lengthy tarmac delay. Several airlines have procedures for dealing with onboard delays that include making sure the cabin temperature is appropriate and passengers have access to restrooms, and food and water.
After a recent AirTran Airways flight from Pittsburgh to Atlanta was diverted to Chattanooga, Tenn., flight attendants offered bottled water and pretzels to passengers during the 90-minute tarmac delay.
Delta Air Lines says on its Web site that in the event of onboard ground delays under certain circumstances, it promises to make timely announcements regarding the flight status, allow customers to use cell phones and laptop computers and provide snacks and beverages to customers when "reasonable and safe to do so." Experts advise that passengers should carry food and drink with them on flights in case of a delay while onboard.
"Instead of that extra pair of shoes in your carryon, you put an extra sandwich or an extra bottle of water," Trippler says.
Q. What can I do to pass the time during a tarmac delay?
A. On a long delay you might be hoping that you're not stuck next to someone who wants to share his life story. In that case on-flight TV or radio may be your salvation. What's more, it's always smart to carry something to read to get you through a delay no matter how long.
If you have a connecting flight that you might miss, use your cell phone to call airline customer service and rebook your next flight. The one thing experts agree on is that it is important to stay calm in those situations.
Q. What kind of compensation am I entitled to if I experience a tarmac delay?
A. Typically, circumstances beyond the control of an airline are not covered in terms of passengers being provided compensation, says aviation consultant Mark Kiefer of CRA International in Boston. However, airlines have discretion to help passengers out, and some even have policies for allowing for compensation when there are tarmac delays.
For instance, JetBlue customers who experience an onboard ground delay on arrival for two hours or more after scheduled arrival time are entitled to a voucher. The voucher is good for future travel on JetBlue in the amount paid by the customer for their roundtrip ticket.
Q. Where can I get more information about airline policies regarding tarmac delays?
A. Airline Web sites are a good place to start. Check the airline's contract of carriage, which outlines its responsibilities to customers and the action it will take in various situations.
By Harry R. Weber
Associated Press
Published: Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009 4:23 p.m. MDT
ATLANTA — You're tired, hungry, have a cranky baby on your lap and all you want to do is get off the plane, but you can't because it's been on the tarmac for hours waiting to take off.
A six-hour delay with 47 people aboard a small Continental Express plane at a Minnesota airport recently is the extreme. In June, the most recent month for which data is available, there were 278 tarmac delays of three hours or more. That was the most this year but still only .05 percent of the total number of scheduled flights that month.
Information is the best ammunition in such situations. Experts advise that passengers be prepared. Here are answers to some questions travelers may ask.
Q. Can't I just get off the plane?
A. No. The captain has ultimate control of the plane and generally will determine if and when to return to the gate and allow passengers to get off.
"It's not a democracy," says Robert Mann, an airline industry consultant in Port Washington, N.Y.
Passengers can request that the aircraft return to the gate, or if they have a cell phone they can call airline customer service or their carrier's frequent flier hotline and exert pressure that way. If you have a medical condition or are ill, notify the crew immediately. But taking matters into your own hands is ill-advised. An FAA spokeswoman says unruly passengers who make a run for the aircraft door could be arrested for interfering with the crew.
Q. Why would the airline choose to keep the passengers onboard rather than let them get off?
A. It takes a lot of time to get passengers off a plane and then back on again. If the weather clears up at the airport where you are heading, the crew may have a limited opportunity to take off. Tarmac delays often occur because of bad weather, congestion and air traffic control issues. Further delays could be caused by allowing passengers to get off, which also could mean passengers with connecting flights might miss those connections.
Airline operations also are a factor. Because of weak demand for air travel due to the ailing economy, airlines have taken large chunks of seats out of the air and are offering fewer flights and frequencies to some destinations.
"It may add to the reason there are the tarmac delays and not the cancellations," says Terry Trippler, an airline and travel expert based in Minneapolis. "The airlines realize that there aren't a lot of flights to get them onto alternate flights, and that's why they rather just wait and get them out."
Q. How long can the crew keep me on the plane before heading back to the gate?
A. There's no law or rule mandating that the crew allow you to get off after a certain period. Legislation introduced in the Senate in July would require planes delayed more than three hours to return to a gate. A rule proposed by the Department of Transportation would require airlines to have contingency plans for dealing with lengthy tarmac delays. Some airlines have implemented customer commitments in recent years to try to appease passengers. JetBlue Airways vows to deplane passengers if an aircraft is delayed on the ground for five hours. That was instituted in 2007 after passengers on a JetBlue flight waited 11 hours on the tarmac at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Q. Will I get something to eat and drink while I wait?
A. Airlines generally only stock enough food and drinks for the length of the flight. Passengers on the Continental Express flight later complained about not being offered food and drink during their lengthy tarmac delay. Several airlines have procedures for dealing with onboard delays that include making sure the cabin temperature is appropriate and passengers have access to restrooms, and food and water.
After a recent AirTran Airways flight from Pittsburgh to Atlanta was diverted to Chattanooga, Tenn., flight attendants offered bottled water and pretzels to passengers during the 90-minute tarmac delay.
Delta Air Lines says on its Web site that in the event of onboard ground delays under certain circumstances, it promises to make timely announcements regarding the flight status, allow customers to use cell phones and laptop computers and provide snacks and beverages to customers when "reasonable and safe to do so." Experts advise that passengers should carry food and drink with them on flights in case of a delay while onboard.
"Instead of that extra pair of shoes in your carryon, you put an extra sandwich or an extra bottle of water," Trippler says.
Q. What can I do to pass the time during a tarmac delay?
A. On a long delay you might be hoping that you're not stuck next to someone who wants to share his life story. In that case on-flight TV or radio may be your salvation. What's more, it's always smart to carry something to read to get you through a delay no matter how long.
If you have a connecting flight that you might miss, use your cell phone to call airline customer service and rebook your next flight. The one thing experts agree on is that it is important to stay calm in those situations.
Q. What kind of compensation am I entitled to if I experience a tarmac delay?
A. Typically, circumstances beyond the control of an airline are not covered in terms of passengers being provided compensation, says aviation consultant Mark Kiefer of CRA International in Boston. However, airlines have discretion to help passengers out, and some even have policies for allowing for compensation when there are tarmac delays.
For instance, JetBlue customers who experience an onboard ground delay on arrival for two hours or more after scheduled arrival time are entitled to a voucher. The voucher is good for future travel on JetBlue in the amount paid by the customer for their roundtrip ticket.
Q. Where can I get more information about airline policies regarding tarmac delays?
A. Airline Web sites are a good place to start. Check the airline's contract of carriage, which outlines its responsibilities to customers and the action it will take in various situations.
Seattle Times Editorial
Saturday, September 26, 2009 - Page updated at 11:17 AM
Permission to reprint or copy this article or photo, other than personal use, must be obtained from The Seattle Times. Call 206-464-3113 206-464-3113 or e-mail resale@seattletimes.com with your request.
RICHARD DREW / AP
Travelers wait for flights while planes idle on the tarmac at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, in this Feb. 15, 2007, file photo. From January to June 2009, 613 planes were delayed on tarmacs for more than three hours, their passengers kept on board, the government says.
Pass bill to set tarmac-bound fliers free after three hours
YOU'VE heard the horror stories: Airplanes stuffed full of passengers sit on tarmacs for six, seven, even 10 hours — while passengers overheat, toilets overflow, and some people become seriously ill.
Congress need not dither long on legislation giving passengers assurance they will be treated better. The legislation, which every member of Congress should support, says passengers must be allowed to disembark if a plane is stuck longer than three hours. Not only is it inhumane to leave people trapped in deplorable conditions, it is physically harmful.
A 2007 World Health Organization study says the risk of developing such things as pulmonary embolism doubles after four hours of seated immobility.
Increased passenger rights, sponsored by Sens. Barbara Boxer and Olympia Snowe, Democrat and Republican, should be part of final Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization legislation this year or passed as a stand-alone bill.
The legislative mechanism is not the point. What matters is swift recognition the flying public deserves better treatment
Airlines also should be required to provide food, water, adequate restrooms, proper ventilation and access to medications as planes await takeoff. After three hours, passengers should be able to return to the terminal and move around. A reasonable exception says passengers need not disembark if the pilot believes he will take off in the next half-hour or if it is hazardous to deplane.
A spokesman for the Air Transport Association, which represents large airlines, worries children who fly alone might be stranded in a strange airport. Possibly, but the airlines can implement clear procedures to assure children traveling alone are not left in airports to fend for themselves
Congress knows this bill is popular. The best bet is to include passenger rights in an extension of FAA reauthorization legislation, which means it would become law quickly.
Airlines have left too many passengers on the tarmac for too many hours. Green-light this legislation and give the flying public the comfort of knowing their basic needs will be respected.
Permission to reprint or copy this article or photo, other than personal use, must be obtained from The Seattle Times. Call 206-464-3113 206-464-3113 or e-mail resale@seattletimes.com with your request.
RICHARD DREW / AP
Travelers wait for flights while planes idle on the tarmac at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, in this Feb. 15, 2007, file photo. From January to June 2009, 613 planes were delayed on tarmacs for more than three hours, their passengers kept on board, the government says.
Pass bill to set tarmac-bound fliers free after three hours
YOU'VE heard the horror stories: Airplanes stuffed full of passengers sit on tarmacs for six, seven, even 10 hours — while passengers overheat, toilets overflow, and some people become seriously ill.
Congress need not dither long on legislation giving passengers assurance they will be treated better. The legislation, which every member of Congress should support, says passengers must be allowed to disembark if a plane is stuck longer than three hours. Not only is it inhumane to leave people trapped in deplorable conditions, it is physically harmful.
A 2007 World Health Organization study says the risk of developing such things as pulmonary embolism doubles after four hours of seated immobility.
Increased passenger rights, sponsored by Sens. Barbara Boxer and Olympia Snowe, Democrat and Republican, should be part of final Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization legislation this year or passed as a stand-alone bill.
The legislative mechanism is not the point. What matters is swift recognition the flying public deserves better treatment
Airlines also should be required to provide food, water, adequate restrooms, proper ventilation and access to medications as planes await takeoff. After three hours, passengers should be able to return to the terminal and move around. A reasonable exception says passengers need not disembark if the pilot believes he will take off in the next half-hour or if it is hazardous to deplane.
A spokesman for the Air Transport Association, which represents large airlines, worries children who fly alone might be stranded in a strange airport. Possibly, but the airlines can implement clear procedures to assure children traveling alone are not left in airports to fend for themselves
Congress knows this bill is popular. The best bet is to include passenger rights in an extension of FAA reauthorization legislation, which means it would become law quickly.
Airlines have left too many passengers on the tarmac for too many hours. Green-light this legislation and give the flying public the comfort of knowing their basic needs will be respected.
ATA wins Self Tending Mushroom Award
The Self Tending Mushroom Award, or STeMie, is given to organizations, individuals or countries that shun the obvious changes within their industries in favor of darkness and a rich diet of self-generated propaganda. This month, we award the last STeMie of the year to the Air Transport Association in the category of Travel Trends and their members, guilty by association.
The intent of the STeMie is to offer valuable examples of what not to do. Neither given in anger nor intent on slander, the STeMie serves as a means to learn something useful and perhaps even pull these mushrooms out of the dark and into the light of reality. So get your shovels ready and join me in thanking the ATA and its members for feeling the pain so that we might learn to avoid the same fate.
The Air Transport Association of America is, “the premier trade group of the principal U.S. airlines” including United, US Air, Continental, and many more. According to the ATA website, their members account for 90% of all commercial passenger and cargo air transport in the United States. According to ATA, “The association’s fundamental purpose is to foster a business and regulatory environment that ensures safe and secure air transportation and permits U.S. airlines to flourish, stimulating economic growth locally, nationally and internationally. By working with members in the technical, legal and political arenas, ATA leads industry efforts to fashion crucial policy and supports measures that enhance aviation safety, security and well-being.”
ATA and its associated members earned the coveted STeMie for a complete unwillingness to recognize growing consumer animosity over the way passengers are treated and failing to lead their industry in any way towards a market solution.
No matter the business or industry, problems will arise. It is up to the businesses and their associations to lead change to address these problems before consumers and eventually the government turn on them. ATA and its member airlines have chosen instead to ignore the problem, keep quiet and hope it will just go away. The “problem,” however, consists of their customers...and they have nowhere else to go but to the Federal Government.
The issue of a passenger bill of rights was sparked over ten years ago during the infamous snow storm of January 2-3, 1999 when Northwest Airlines left approximately eight thousand peopled stranded in aircraft on the tarmacs in Detroit for more up to 11 hours without food, water or bathroom facilities. Northwest subsequently lost a class action suit to the tune of $7.1 million USD awarded to those passengers. On the day of the award, the lawyer for the passengers stated his belief that, “I believe this settlement will encourage all airlines to be careful about the rights of airline passengers in the future.”... Apparently not. Damages paid, vouchers distributed and apology letters sent, however, were not enough as airlines did little to improve the situation over the last decade. Those same passengers have now formed the major force behind a consumer outcry for passenger rights legislation and the federal government is taking action.
Over the past decade, a number of organizations have developed in support of a passenger bill of rights. Among them are the Airline Employees Whistleblowers Association, and the Coalition for an Airline Passenger’s Bill of Rights (a.k.a FlyersRights.com). Recently, other organizations have joined the cause to advocate federal legislation including the National Business Travel Association (NBTA), the Business Travel Coalition (BTC) and the International Association For Contract & Commercial Management (IACCM). The fact that the BTC has begun to advocate a passenger bill of rights is significant.
Over these ten years congress has held many hearings and considered the issue many times. Until recently they took no action, preferring instead to let market forces and good old fashioned competition sort it out. The BTC has testified four times in front of congress in opposition to federal passenger rights legislation and in favor of the market forces approach. By all accounts, market forces should have ruled the day. Consumers treated badly by one airline would naturally go to another airline with better customer service instead. But it didn’t work out that way. The market, left to its own devices for ten years, did nothing to correct the problem.
According to a press release by the Business Travel Coalition, “While some airlines have taken limited positive steps on behalf of their customers, at the industry-level the airlines appear either unwilling or unable to fix this extended ground delay problem.” As of the time of this writing, the BTC had not yet released its soon to be published survey results but did have this much to say based on data thus far collected: “there is an evident market failure that can only be addressed by government intervention.” Such a complete and total change of heart from the one organization that was standing in vocal opposition to passenger rights legislation should be wake up call for the ATA and its member airlines.
In the meantime, a major meeting of stakeholders including senators, congressmen, industry representatives, everyday passengers, and more is scheduled for September 22nd in Washington, D.C. at the Hart Senate Office Building. Anyone can sign up to attend...anyone at all...but as of August 16th, the attendee list did not contain a single current airline executive or ATA representative.
This is not the only time ATA and its airline members have been silent. They have been virtually hiding under their desks for ten years. While consumers, organizations, senators, congressmen and the press debate and discuss, ATA and its member airlines are nowhere to be seen. No press releases, no statements, no speeches ... and no action to correct the problem that clearly has their customers up in arms.
There was such a gaping lack of discussion from ATA and their airline members that we had to ask the Air Transport Association if they had a position. The ATA representative stated that, “The Air Transport Association and its member airlines understand passengers’ frustration with long delays. However, we continue to believe that a hard-and-fast rule requiring mandatory deplaning of passengers after three hours will have substantial, unintended consequences, leading to even more inconvenience for passengers and ultimately more flight cancellations. “
At what point did sitting on the tarmac for any length of time become allowable as good customer service? At what point did it stop being an inconvenience? If the flight is stuck on the tarmac for three hours, it might be a sign that the flight is better off canceled. Behind the curtain are the airline shareholders and executives that don’t want to lose the price of the ticket when passengers are re-booked...even if that means keeping passengers on the plane in less than sanitary conditions.
Do planes sit on the tarmac for more than three hours so often? Apparently so. BTC cites the DOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics who found that, “for the 8 months ending May 31, 2009, 578 flights experienced extended tarmac delays of 3 hours or more”. That’s an average of 72 flights per day that spend three hours or more sitting on the tarmac. That is out of an average of 28,537 commercial airline flights per day for about one quarter of one percent of all flights. Most opponents of a passenger bill of rights cite these numbers to show the “statistical insignificance” of such delays. They question why time is being spent on such “rare” occurrences when there are so many other issues to be solved such as aging air traffic control equipment. They certainly have a point that outdated equipment affects every flight, but it is hard to call it insignificant when you are the one stranded on the tarmac.
In the past, airlines have had a very good track record in one thing and that is challenging Department of Transportation regulations so proponents of a passenger bill of rights prefer a more challenge-proof rule in the form of congressional legislation - i.e., a law. Detailed passenger rights clauses have now been written into the current FAA reauthorization legislation by both the house and the senate. This legislation (H.R. 915 and S.1451) reauthorizes (i.e. funds) the FAA to function for the next two to four years. Although the bill passed the House in May 2009, it has only in July 2009 passed out of committee in the Senate and with some changes (not related to passenger rights). By the time the Senate passes the bill, confers with the House on the various changes, and the House passes it all over again, we may be hearing jingle bells. As congress churns its gears to move the reauthorization towards completion, there is zero expectation that the passenger rights portion of the bill will be changed or removed. What that means, is that by New Year’s Day, we could very well be looking at real legislation in place for passenger rights as part of the FAA mandate.
Ask airlines and the Air Transport Association how they feel about these incidents and they will tell you how the weather was bad, or how a particular employee made a bad decision. The BTC suggests that these excuses, “miss the larger, structural leadership failure at the individual airline and industry levels.”
While their customers and even their government grows increasingly upset by their lack of customer care, ATA and their member airlines hide in silence telling themselves that it will all be OK in the end. They have taken in so many shovels full of their own watch-and-wait mentality that all they know how to do is watch the debate boil over until the government slaps them with laws to make them care about their customers.
There are a number of lessons that every organization can take from this unfortunate situation. First, in the emerging business environment, price is important but service is what distinguishes you from your competition and increases your market share. It is not good enough to have service equal to your competition; set your own high standard and stick to it. Your customers will tell you what they want if you only listen; but you cannot be afraid to hear the bad news along with the good ideas. Lastly, when your industry leadership fails to lead, don’t be shy to step up and take the role. Industry leadership is good for your company, good for your customers and good for your shareholders alike.
The intent of the STeMie is to offer valuable examples of what not to do. Neither given in anger nor intent on slander, the STeMie serves as a means to learn something useful and perhaps even pull these mushrooms out of the dark and into the light of reality. So get your shovels ready and join me in thanking the ATA and its members for feeling the pain so that we might learn to avoid the same fate.
The Air Transport Association of America is, “the premier trade group of the principal U.S. airlines” including United, US Air, Continental, and many more. According to the ATA website, their members account for 90% of all commercial passenger and cargo air transport in the United States. According to ATA, “The association’s fundamental purpose is to foster a business and regulatory environment that ensures safe and secure air transportation and permits U.S. airlines to flourish, stimulating economic growth locally, nationally and internationally. By working with members in the technical, legal and political arenas, ATA leads industry efforts to fashion crucial policy and supports measures that enhance aviation safety, security and well-being.”
ATA and its associated members earned the coveted STeMie for a complete unwillingness to recognize growing consumer animosity over the way passengers are treated and failing to lead their industry in any way towards a market solution.
No matter the business or industry, problems will arise. It is up to the businesses and their associations to lead change to address these problems before consumers and eventually the government turn on them. ATA and its member airlines have chosen instead to ignore the problem, keep quiet and hope it will just go away. The “problem,” however, consists of their customers...and they have nowhere else to go but to the Federal Government.
The issue of a passenger bill of rights was sparked over ten years ago during the infamous snow storm of January 2-3, 1999 when Northwest Airlines left approximately eight thousand peopled stranded in aircraft on the tarmacs in Detroit for more up to 11 hours without food, water or bathroom facilities. Northwest subsequently lost a class action suit to the tune of $7.1 million USD awarded to those passengers. On the day of the award, the lawyer for the passengers stated his belief that, “I believe this settlement will encourage all airlines to be careful about the rights of airline passengers in the future.”... Apparently not. Damages paid, vouchers distributed and apology letters sent, however, were not enough as airlines did little to improve the situation over the last decade. Those same passengers have now formed the major force behind a consumer outcry for passenger rights legislation and the federal government is taking action.
Over the past decade, a number of organizations have developed in support of a passenger bill of rights. Among them are the Airline Employees Whistleblowers Association, and the Coalition for an Airline Passenger’s Bill of Rights (a.k.a FlyersRights.com). Recently, other organizations have joined the cause to advocate federal legislation including the National Business Travel Association (NBTA), the Business Travel Coalition (BTC) and the International Association For Contract & Commercial Management (IACCM). The fact that the BTC has begun to advocate a passenger bill of rights is significant.
Over these ten years congress has held many hearings and considered the issue many times. Until recently they took no action, preferring instead to let market forces and good old fashioned competition sort it out. The BTC has testified four times in front of congress in opposition to federal passenger rights legislation and in favor of the market forces approach. By all accounts, market forces should have ruled the day. Consumers treated badly by one airline would naturally go to another airline with better customer service instead. But it didn’t work out that way. The market, left to its own devices for ten years, did nothing to correct the problem.
According to a press release by the Business Travel Coalition, “While some airlines have taken limited positive steps on behalf of their customers, at the industry-level the airlines appear either unwilling or unable to fix this extended ground delay problem.” As of the time of this writing, the BTC had not yet released its soon to be published survey results but did have this much to say based on data thus far collected: “there is an evident market failure that can only be addressed by government intervention.” Such a complete and total change of heart from the one organization that was standing in vocal opposition to passenger rights legislation should be wake up call for the ATA and its member airlines.
In the meantime, a major meeting of stakeholders including senators, congressmen, industry representatives, everyday passengers, and more is scheduled for September 22nd in Washington, D.C. at the Hart Senate Office Building. Anyone can sign up to attend...anyone at all...but as of August 16th, the attendee list did not contain a single current airline executive or ATA representative.
This is not the only time ATA and its airline members have been silent. They have been virtually hiding under their desks for ten years. While consumers, organizations, senators, congressmen and the press debate and discuss, ATA and its member airlines are nowhere to be seen. No press releases, no statements, no speeches ... and no action to correct the problem that clearly has their customers up in arms.
There was such a gaping lack of discussion from ATA and their airline members that we had to ask the Air Transport Association if they had a position. The ATA representative stated that, “The Air Transport Association and its member airlines understand passengers’ frustration with long delays. However, we continue to believe that a hard-and-fast rule requiring mandatory deplaning of passengers after three hours will have substantial, unintended consequences, leading to even more inconvenience for passengers and ultimately more flight cancellations. “
At what point did sitting on the tarmac for any length of time become allowable as good customer service? At what point did it stop being an inconvenience? If the flight is stuck on the tarmac for three hours, it might be a sign that the flight is better off canceled. Behind the curtain are the airline shareholders and executives that don’t want to lose the price of the ticket when passengers are re-booked...even if that means keeping passengers on the plane in less than sanitary conditions.
Do planes sit on the tarmac for more than three hours so often? Apparently so. BTC cites the DOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics who found that, “for the 8 months ending May 31, 2009, 578 flights experienced extended tarmac delays of 3 hours or more”. That’s an average of 72 flights per day that spend three hours or more sitting on the tarmac. That is out of an average of 28,537 commercial airline flights per day for about one quarter of one percent of all flights. Most opponents of a passenger bill of rights cite these numbers to show the “statistical insignificance” of such delays. They question why time is being spent on such “rare” occurrences when there are so many other issues to be solved such as aging air traffic control equipment. They certainly have a point that outdated equipment affects every flight, but it is hard to call it insignificant when you are the one stranded on the tarmac.
In the past, airlines have had a very good track record in one thing and that is challenging Department of Transportation regulations so proponents of a passenger bill of rights prefer a more challenge-proof rule in the form of congressional legislation - i.e., a law. Detailed passenger rights clauses have now been written into the current FAA reauthorization legislation by both the house and the senate. This legislation (H.R. 915 and S.1451) reauthorizes (i.e. funds) the FAA to function for the next two to four years. Although the bill passed the House in May 2009, it has only in July 2009 passed out of committee in the Senate and with some changes (not related to passenger rights). By the time the Senate passes the bill, confers with the House on the various changes, and the House passes it all over again, we may be hearing jingle bells. As congress churns its gears to move the reauthorization towards completion, there is zero expectation that the passenger rights portion of the bill will be changed or removed. What that means, is that by New Year’s Day, we could very well be looking at real legislation in place for passenger rights as part of the FAA mandate.
Ask airlines and the Air Transport Association how they feel about these incidents and they will tell you how the weather was bad, or how a particular employee made a bad decision. The BTC suggests that these excuses, “miss the larger, structural leadership failure at the individual airline and industry levels.”
While their customers and even their government grows increasingly upset by their lack of customer care, ATA and their member airlines hide in silence telling themselves that it will all be OK in the end. They have taken in so many shovels full of their own watch-and-wait mentality that all they know how to do is watch the debate boil over until the government slaps them with laws to make them care about their customers.
There are a number of lessons that every organization can take from this unfortunate situation. First, in the emerging business environment, price is important but service is what distinguishes you from your competition and increases your market share. It is not good enough to have service equal to your competition; set your own high standard and stick to it. Your customers will tell you what they want if you only listen; but you cannot be afraid to hear the bad news along with the good ideas. Lastly, when your industry leadership fails to lead, don’t be shy to step up and take the role. Industry leadership is good for your company, good for your customers and good for your shareholders alike.
FlyersRights.org has truly made it. Watch Southpark Dead Celebrities!
Southpark the adult cartoon show that is so popular in the US has done an entire episode on "purgatory" that time spent on a plane on the tarmac without goods or services.
We will be editing the video to include only the pertinent parts of this episode and beeping out the inappropriate for all audiences language. But until then you can tune in any night this week and right at minute 9 you'll see the impact we've made on Southpark!
Kate
We will be editing the video to include only the pertinent parts of this episode and beeping out the inappropriate for all audiences language. But until then you can tune in any night this week and right at minute 9 you'll see the impact we've made on Southpark!
Kate
"Don't drink the water"
October 12, 2009
Contact:
Kate Hanni
(707) 337-0328
kate@flyersrights.com
For Immediate Release
Flyersrights.org Plea to Airline Passengers: “Don’t Drink the Water!”
Consumer Advocacy Group Disappointed in Latest EPA Guidelines for Providing Safe Drinking Water Aboard Airplanes
Napa, CA (October 12, 2009) – Flyersrights.org, the national advocacy group for airline passengers in the United States, has gone on record by stating that last week’s finalized EPA guidelines regarding airline drinking water are insufficient and basically allow the airlines to operate as they please without regard to passenger health and safety.
The new EPA guidelines, which are based on a 2004 study in which 15% of airliners tested positive for coliform, call for mandatory testing every five years. In addition, the EPA is only required to do random inspections on airplane water systems and the new rules don’t commence for another 18 months.
Kate Hanni, founder and president of Flyersrights.org does not think the new rules adequately address passenger health concerns.
“Testing water every five years for coliform is simply unacceptable. The flying public trusts the airlines to provide it with basic needs such as potable, hygienic water -and the airlines are failing the task. Now the government has attempted to regulate, yet has clearly bowed down to the airlines with extremely lax new rules that do not address the issue. Our recommendation to passengers is that they do not drink water on board an airplane unless it is bottled, do not brush teeth with bathroom tap water and disinfect further after washing hands in airplane bathrooms”, said Hanni.
Paul Ziots, a passenger who was stranded on the tarmac in Austin in 2006 for almost nine hours, knows the dangers of airplane tap water all too well.
“All we had on board the aircraft was tap water. I became ill with intestinal problems, and had to put myself up for two nights in an airport hotel, at my own expense, before aborting my trip and flying home”, he states.
Flyersrights.org was formed in 2007 by several passengers who were stranded for nine hours on the tarmac in Austin, Texas. The organization advocates for passengers’ rights, including passage of the Passenger’s Bill of Rights currently being debated in Congress. The organization currently has 27,000 members nationwide. For more information, visit www.flyersrights.org or call the hotline at 1-877-FLYERS6.
###
Contact:
Kate Hanni
(707) 337-0328
kate@flyersrights.com
For Immediate Release
Flyersrights.org Plea to Airline Passengers: “Don’t Drink the Water!”
Consumer Advocacy Group Disappointed in Latest EPA Guidelines for Providing Safe Drinking Water Aboard Airplanes
Napa, CA (October 12, 2009) – Flyersrights.org, the national advocacy group for airline passengers in the United States, has gone on record by stating that last week’s finalized EPA guidelines regarding airline drinking water are insufficient and basically allow the airlines to operate as they please without regard to passenger health and safety.
The new EPA guidelines, which are based on a 2004 study in which 15% of airliners tested positive for coliform, call for mandatory testing every five years. In addition, the EPA is only required to do random inspections on airplane water systems and the new rules don’t commence for another 18 months.
Kate Hanni, founder and president of Flyersrights.org does not think the new rules adequately address passenger health concerns.
“Testing water every five years for coliform is simply unacceptable. The flying public trusts the airlines to provide it with basic needs such as potable, hygienic water -and the airlines are failing the task. Now the government has attempted to regulate, yet has clearly bowed down to the airlines with extremely lax new rules that do not address the issue. Our recommendation to passengers is that they do not drink water on board an airplane unless it is bottled, do not brush teeth with bathroom tap water and disinfect further after washing hands in airplane bathrooms”, said Hanni.
Paul Ziots, a passenger who was stranded on the tarmac in Austin in 2006 for almost nine hours, knows the dangers of airplane tap water all too well.
“All we had on board the aircraft was tap water. I became ill with intestinal problems, and had to put myself up for two nights in an airport hotel, at my own expense, before aborting my trip and flying home”, he states.
Flyersrights.org was formed in 2007 by several passengers who were stranded for nine hours on the tarmac in Austin, Texas. The organization advocates for passengers’ rights, including passage of the Passenger’s Bill of Rights currently being debated in Congress. The organization currently has 27,000 members nationwide. For more information, visit www.flyersrights.org or call the hotline at 1-877-FLYERS6.
###
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