Tag: delays
Airline Tarmac Rule Leads To More Delays, Study Says

Airline Tarmac Rule Leads To More Delays, Study Says

By Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

One of the nation’s toughest passenger rights laws — a rule that fines airlines for stranding fliers on an airport tarmac — may actually increase passenger delays instead of reducing them.

That is the conclusion of a new study by professors from Dartmouth College and MIT. The good news, according to the study, is that the 2010 law can be modified to reduce passenger delays.

The focus of the study is the so-called tarmac delay rule, which gives the U.S. Department of Transportation the authority to fine airlines up to $27,500 for each passenger on a domestic flight who is stranded on an airport tarmac for more than three hours. The time limit is increased to four hours for international flights.

The rule was adopted after blizzards on the East Coast in 2006 and 2007 left passengers stranded on planes for up to 11 hours.

But the new peer-reviewed study, which used algorithms to analyze airline flight data, concludes that airlines are now more likely to cancel flights that are delayed to avoid being fined by the Department of Transportation, thus creating more passenger delays.

For every minute the rule saves passengers from being stuck on a tarmac, passengers are delayed three minutes on average because they have to book new flights to get to their final destinations after their original flights are canceled, according to the study.

“There is no surprise that sometimes when you try to do something good you have these negative effects,” said Vikrant Vaze, a co-author of the study and an assistant professor at Dartmouth’s Thayer School of Engineering.

Previous studies have concluded that flight cancellations are more likely because of the tarmac rule, but the Dartmouth-MIT study says it is the first study to analyze the actual effect on passengers.

The study concluded that passenger delays can be reduced if the tarmac rule is modified to increase the tarmac time limit to 3½ hours and if the law applies only to flights scheduled to depart before 5 p.m., when passengers have more options to rebook.

Kate Hanni, a passenger-rights advocate who helped push for adoption of the tarmac rule, rejects the findings of the Dartmouth-MIT study, saying she believes that the universities are biased and accept funding from airlines.

She blames the passenger delays on airlines that schedule more flights per day than can be accommodated by the airports.

Vaze said the study was funded by a research branch of the Federal Aviation Administration and “was not funded in any part by any airline, major or otherwise.”

TRAVEL SITE ARRANGES HOTEL ROOM-SHARING

Short-term rental sites such as Airbnb can save you a few bucks on your lodging costs, but now a Seattle marketing producer has created an online company that may cut your hotel bills in half.

The catch? You have to share your hotel room with a stranger.

Bryon Shannon, who founded the Winston Club in November, said he created the website so that travelers who are visiting the same town can split the cost of a hotel room. Joining the club is free, and you get to accept or reject the roommate that the club chooses for you, based on biographical information provided by club members.

Winston Club makes its money by collecting a share of the room charge just as other hotel booking sites do. So far, the club has agreements to operate in hotels in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, Ore. Shannon declined to say how many travelers have used the Winston Club so far.

Although saving money is the primary goal of club members, Shannon said many members join to make friends or meet new travel companions. The service is popular, he said, with business travelers, especially self-employed workers or owners of start-up companies who are on a tight budget.

“We’ve noticed that business travel is one of the loneliest things,” Shannon said. “It’s a great option for people who are frustrated by that.”

©2016 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Photo: Simon_sees via Flickr

 

Two Weeks Needed To Restore Damaged Chicago Air Center: FAA

Two Weeks Needed To Restore Damaged Chicago Air Center: FAA

Chicago (AFP) — Workers will need about two more weeks to restore operations at a Chicago air traffic control center damaged two days ago by fire, U.S. aviation authorities said Sunday.

Some 2,000 flights were grounded at two major Chicago airports on Friday after a disgruntled employee lit a fire at the air traffic control center and tried to commit suicide.

“Teams will be working around the clock to install equipment, run cable and restore network connections at the facility,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

“The FAA has set a target to return Chicago Center to full service by October 13,” the agency said.

Air transit into and out of the city’s bustling O’Hare International and Midway airports was completely shut down as a result of the blaze at the FAA’s facility in the town of Aurora, Illinois.

Of the flights canceled Friday, more than 1,500 were from O’Hare, one of the nation’s busiest airports, leaving thousands of frustrated passengers stranded and unsure when they would be able to travel.

According to a federal complaint, 36-year-old Brian Howard had posted a message on his Facebook page saying he was going to “take out” the control center and kill himself.

Flight schedules gradually were returning to normal over the weekend and by Sunday, both airports were operating at more than one-half normal capacity.

“The FAA steadily has increased the number of flights arriving and departing at O’Hare and Midway,” the agency said in a statement.

By Saturday, “air traffic controllers safely managed about 60 percent of typical traffic” at O’Hare, the aviation authority said, adding that the figure for Midway was over 75 percent.

Air traffic controllers who normally work at the Chicago En Route Center in Aurora, Illinois, are currently working at other nearby FAA air traffic facilities to help safely maximize the traffic flow while the damaged Chicago Center is repaired.

AFP Photo/Scott Olson

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