LAT: 45-Hour Delay: Nonstop Plight

[question everything]

From the Los Angeles Times

45-Hour Delay: Nonstop Plight

Passengers on an Air India flight endure hours on the tarmac, a mini- revolt and more. Oh, the memories!
By Jennifer Oldham
Times Staff Writer

December 22, 2005

It started Monday when their first plane blew a tire on takeoff, dumped fuel over the ocean and circled back to Los Angeles International Airport to land in a spray of sparks, shedding 200 pounds of rubber and metal on the runway.

On Tuesday, hundreds of Air India passengers tried again, settling into a different jumbo jet with "Your Palace in the Sky" scrolled in red script near the tail. This time, one of the engines wouldn't start. For about five hours, travelers sat in the sweltering plane. Flight attendants locked up the drinks. Some passengers staged a mini revolt.

Finally, passengers were taken off the plane and bused to a hotel, arriving at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. They overwhelmed the front desk, and some did not get to bed until 4 a.m. The weary travelers returned to LAX later Wednesday morning for their third attempt, a flight set to depart at 1 p.m. It was pushed back. It was moved up. And finally, around 4:30 p.m., they took off, bound for Frankfurt, Germany, and New Delhi. All in all, after two nights with little sleep, endless waits in line and three scheduled flights, their ordeal stretched to a 45-hour delay.

(snip)

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-me-airindia22dec22,1,2791890.story

[alarimer]

1. I bet they had to pay for their hotel rooms

That's what happened to me when I got stuck in Atlanta last week, having missed all my connections. That was mostly due to weather. This, on the other hand, sounds like typical airline incompetence. I wonder if they even allowed people to use the restrooms while they sat on the ground for five hours. I was one some flights where we sat for an hour or so but they let people use their phones and laptops as well as get out of their seats.

[MrModerate]

2. I've flown Air India before . . .

I'd sooner stick my hand in a garden chipper. I'm surprized 3 out of 4 of their planes don't crash.