Gulliver

I will never understand being "trapped" on an airplane. Why is it so hard to bring the rolling stairwells that many discount airlines use to board from the tarmac (or at airports that lack jetways)? I can understand more airplanes than gates in this situation, but if there were customs officials on duty (as the CNN piece states), then the only difficulty was in moving the passengers from the airplane to the customs hall. Given we can fly an airplane across any ocean on the planet, why is it then so hard to move them the last 500m?

Which reminds me - can we please bring back boarding from both the front AND back of the airplane? Airlines are so insistent on quick turn-around times that they are now asking me to re-arrange the items in the seatback pocket to save 7 seconds per seat, yet boarding (and departing) using more of the ariplane doors seems far more efficient. Again, use the rolling stairwells if need be. I'll suffer the 60 seconds on the snowy tarmac to eliminate waiting for the guy who is trying to get his grand piano out of the overhead bin, or 11 hours "trapped" because nobody is empowered enough to solve the simple problem of unloading an airplane in non-typical circumstances.

"Initial reports suggest the carriers themselves are to blame: they flew into New York before checking with airport staff to make sure that gate space would be available."

Really? Given that these were international long-haul flights, it may well be that JFK didn't know / didn't tell BEFORE the planes left home. Besides - as Cobalt Zepher rightly points out - how hard can it be to move a stairwell & a bus??

I think people need to give the airlines some break in these matters. Besides, if you are going to travel during the winter, what else are you going to expect this time of season. Clear and sunny skies?

Sure we can roll out the stairs to the planes on the tarmac, but how about the truck driver who can't get the clearance or the actual physical capability to drive out there because there is a huge snow bank in the way. There are only a limited amount of snow plowers and what about the snow that keeps on falling?

Should the airlines have called the staff first to see if gates are available? Perhaps, but if they did, then what? How reliable is that? Things can change frequently so how reliable can that resource be? 50% reliable? 80% reliable? Should all airlines call? If so, then gate availability becomes a complex function of how each independent airline is going to decide what to do. Some flights are also late for take-off because the aircrew is "stuck in traffic" from their hotels. This means that the plane can't depart the gate on time and the arriving planes have to wait even longer.

However, I do feel one shouldn't be "trapped" on an airplane. We can open the doors and let people out if we have too, especially if food runs out or toilets start clogging. But there has to be a system in place between both the airport (ie. government) and the airlines, not just the airlines. Also think about liability issues. There is always that one person who won't hesitate to sue in a heartbeat on any little matter.

Everyone seems to blame the airlines for doing a sloppy job in these matters. Then fine, I think winter passengers should pay more for their tickets so airlines and the airport can provide the extra services to help alleviate the winter season problems associated with being stuck on the tarmac. Otherwise, the other two options are to sit and wait (bring a laptop or book) or don't fly during this time.

Just admnit it folks, snow is snow. Enjoy it for what it's worth...

Fascinating. When first I saw 'North-East', I thought The Economist might actually be writing about Tyne and Wear. Of course, it was writing about its would-be home nation. Where did I read about the Americans laughing at British sycophany? Ah, sorry. A different story...