United's new policy aims to keep fliers from long ground delays
Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY, 5/30/2007
United Airlines has a new policy for long ground delays. The Denver Post writes that United "said it now aims to limit taxi-out delays on the ground before takeoff to three hours or less and limit taxi-in delays on the ground after landing to 90 minutes or less." United's change comes after high-profile incidents in which JetBlue and other carriers suffered ground delays as long as 11 hours on some flights. Those incidents captured headlines across the nation and spurred talk of federal legislation that would bar or penalize airlines from keeping fliers trapped on delayed planes for more than a few hours.
As for United's new policy, the Post writes that "any North American flights that have taxi-out delays longer than four hours, taxi-in delays longer than 90 minutes or on-ground diversion delays longer than four hours will be deemed by United as 'flights of note.' Passengers on such 'flights of note' will get a note of apology, a certificate for 20% off a United round-trip economy-class ticket and a $10 airport meal voucher."
The Post says United decided to implement the policy "following several high-profile incidents of extreme travel delays in the industry -- which sparked interest in a legislated Passenger Bill of Rights." David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, says "this is giving compensation where they historically have not." But, he adds, "we as passengers have to recognize there is no free lunch. We pay for these things at the end of the day, so if an airline is very forthcoming with money, it's going to affect fares at the other end."