Continental fined over tarmac delay

Nov 25, 2009 (The Record - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
CAL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Continental Airlines and its regional affiliate ExpressJet Airlines -- the top two carriers at Newark Liberty International Airport -- were fined a combined $100,000 Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Transportation for holding passengers for nearly six hours this summer on a grounded aircraft in Minnesota. Mesaba Airlines, which provided ground-handling services for the flight, was fined $75,000.

It is the first time airlines were fined because of a long tarmac delay, and that could signal a tougher government stand on behalf of passengers stuck for hours in grounded aircraft -- a key issue in an ongoing debate in Congress over airline passenger rights.

It was one of six tarmac-related delays of more than four hours in August, according to monthly statistics from DOT. In July, New York City-area airports were involved in the nation's five worst tarmac delays, including a Continental flight from Chicago to Newark where passengers were stuck on the ground for five hours.

"I hope that this sends a signal to the rest of the airline industry that we expect airlines to respect the rights of air travelers," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. "We will use what we have learned from this investigation to strengthen protections for airline passengers subjected to long tarmac delays."

The fines stem from the delay of a Continental flight operated by ExpressJet that was diverted from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Rochester International Airport on Aug. 8 because of bad weather. DOT said it landed at about 12:30 a.m. and a Mesaba Airlines employee incorrectly told the ExpressJet pilot the passengers were not allowed in the terminal because no federal security screeners were on duty. DOT said they could have been permitted into a secure area of the terminal. Instead, the passengers were stuck on the plane until about 6:15 a.m., according to the federal agency.

The three airlines signed consent orders saying they engaged in "unfair and deceptive practices," DOT said. ExpressJet, operating as Continental Express, failed to alert its operations center of the situation as stipulated in Continental's customer service commitment. And Continental, which sold the tickets, "ultimately is responsible to its passengers on that flight," DOT said.

Continental signed the order "to avoid costly litigation," the carrier said in a statement.

"As found by the DOT in its investigation, our regional carrier, ExpressJet, worked throughout the night to safely deplane the customers at the earliest possible time yet was unable to do so because the ground handler failed to provide reasonable assistance and accurate information," Continental said. "Accordingly, the fines to Continental and ExpressJet were less than the fine to [Mesaba]," the Houston-based carrier said in the statement.

A Continental spokeswoman said Continental and ExpressJet paid $50,000 each.

John Spanjers, president of Mesaba Airlines, said in a statement that the airline "operated in good faith by providing voluntary ground-handling assistance to ExpressJet during this delay. Customer service is paramount, and we are reevaluating our policies and procedures for the courtesy handling of other airlines' flights to do our part to mitigate this type of delay."

DOT's decision to levy the fines is "great news for consumers," said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, in Radnor, Pa., a supporter of proposed legislation that would explicitly require airlines to let passengers off of long-delayed planes. A tougher stand by DOT on tarmac delays "could obviate the need for congressional intervention," he said.

Tarmac-delay legislation before Congress, which is opposed by the airline industry, is part of pending Federal Aviation Administration spending reauthorization.

A year ago, DOT proposed administrative action that would provide greater passenger protections, including a provision that airlines adopt contingency plans for tarmac delays and make those plans part of their contracts of carriage.

A final ruling on that proposal is expected by the end of the year.

E-mail: newman@northjersey.com

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