United blames Saints victory parade for flight delay

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Passengers left waiting for hours on plane, airliner blames

Passengers left waiting for hours on plane, airliner blames Saints parade

by Bigad Shaban / Eyewitness News

Posted on February 10, 2010 at 6:33 AM

Updated today at 8:44 AM
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NEW ORLEANS - Angry, frustrated, and confused--those are just a few of the lingering emotions being felt by close to 100 United Airlines passengers still stranded in New Orleans.
Their packed flight to Los Angeles was supposed to leave at 7:18pm Tuesday evening, but after spending 3 hours on the plane, flight #263 never took off.

“The flight that they rescheduled us to doesn’t leave until 2:30 or 3pm [Wednesday] afternoon,” said Dwight Webster, a passenger trying to get back home to Oakland, California. “So all in all it will be 24 hours before I get home.”

Passengers say they were left waiting because the plane’s pilots were more than 2.5 hours late. According to United Airlines, passengers were free to move on and off the plane while it was parked at the gate. The airliner says the reason for the pilots' late arrival was due to heavy traffic as a result of the Saints parade.

"The van that was supposed to pick up the pilots of the plane was accidentally misdirected and then caught up in the huge amount of traffic due to the Super Bowl celebration in New Orleans,” said Megan McCarthy, United Airlines spokesperson. “The pilots eventually had to make their own way to the airport, which took a very long time and delayed them severely (at one point they had to walk a long distance...to get to the van).”

Once the pilots boarded, however, some passengers began accusing them of being drunk.

“I didn’t see blood shot eyes, but he looked kind of staggery, a little tipsy,” said passenger Jaime Roberts. “He had a very rude attitude.”

Photos snapped by one passenger show a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's deputy on board interviewing people after one first-class passenger, coincidentally a pilot himself, called 9-1-1 for fear the pair of on-duty pilots were intoxicated.

"In terms of the accussations of them being drunk, it isn't true," said a stern McCarthy. The airline spokesperson adamantly denies the allegations and points to the findings of law enforcement authorties who were called to the scene.

According to passengers, the deputies did not perform a breathalyzer test, but eventually concluded the pilots were not under any influence.

"We were kind of unsure whether to be on the plane or not,” said Paul Childs, a passenger from Los Angeles. “Some people had gotten off already and then we decided we'll sit down there and then I heard other passengers saying I don't feel comfortable with this, we want [the pilot] to take a breathalyzer test and then I saw the pilot stand up and said, ‘we're done, call United---we don't like these allegations, we're not flying.’"

McCarthy is giving a different reason for the cancelled flight.

"By the time the pilots arrived at the airport, the flight crew that was standing by on the plane was 'past their duty time', which means that they cannot fly because they have been on the clock too long,” said McCarthy. “Thus, the flight was cancelled."

By midnight, after passengers had picked up their luggage from the baggage claim area, they still appeared to be stranded at the airport.

“We have probably about 100 people and nobody knows where to go, nobody knows what to do,” said Tom Baker, a resident of Los Angeles.

Baker says United Airlines officials told passengers that a shuttle had been arranged to pick everyone up in order to bring them to a nearby Ramada Hotel. Passengers were provided a hotel voucher for the Ramada, but the shuttle never arrived —forcing passengers to pay their own way there.

“We missed the [Saints] parade and still now have to find a taxi to get wherever we’re going,” said Webster. “I’m a little annoyed right now.”
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Re: Passengers left waiting for hours on plane, airliner bla

I would still be at the hotel waiting for the van.

‘we're done, call United---we don't like these allegations, we're not flying.’"
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:clap:
 
Re: Passengers left waiting for hours on plane, airliner bla

A hint to passengers: If you want to get where you're going anytime soon--especially when Chicago, DC, and New York are getting hammered--don't accuse the pilots of being drunk. It's your own fault.
 
Re: Passengers left waiting for hours on plane, airliner bla

zmiller4 said:
A hint to passengers: If you want to get where you're going anytime soon--especially when Chicago, DC, and New York are getting hammered--don't accuse the pilots of being drunk. It's your own fault.
Click to expand...

Yep. First accusation I get, I'm pulling myself off duty for a breathalizer test. Not gonna have my career torpedoed because some guy in the back thinks he's funny. If the flight is delayed, then it's delayed. That's a serious accusation that needs to be dealt with. If we're on a long duty day and it takes that long to get it cleared.....don't blame the airline. Blame Mr Funny Guy in 10B.
 
Re: Passengers left waiting for hours on plane, airliner bla

zmiller4 said:
A hint to passengers: If you want to get where you're going anytime soon--especially when Chicago, DC, and New York are getting hammered--don't accuse the pilots of being drunk. It's your own fault.
Click to expand...

We had a belligerent passenger make a loud joke about the skipper and I being drunk back in 2002 (or 2003, I think).

"Flights delayed folks!"

I'd tell the whole story, but I'm sure I've told it a few dozen times.
 
Passengers left waiting for hours on plane, airliner blames Saints parade
WWL TV said:
Passengers say they were left waiting because the plane’s pilots were more than 2.5 hours late. According to United Airlines, passengers were free to move on and off the plane while it was parked at the gate. The airliner says the reason for the pilots' late arrival was due to heavy traffic as a result of the Saints parade.

"The van that was supposed to pick up the pilots of the plane was accidentally misdirected and then caught up in the huge amount of traffic due to the Super Bowl celebration in New Orleans,” said Megan McCarthy, United Airlines spokesperson. “The pilots eventually had to make their own way to the airport, which took a very long time and delayed them severely (at one point they had to walk a long distance...to get to the van).”
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Anyone know where the United crews stay in NOLA? I can attest to the hellacious traffic because of the parade, but that was all heading in to the city. I would think that the van would be heading out of the city towards MSY.
 
Re: Passengers left waiting for hours on plane, airliner bla

Doug Taylor said:
We had a belligerent passenger make a loud joke about the skipper and I being drunk back in 2002 (or 2003, I think).

"Flights delayed folks!"

I'd tell the whole story, but I'm sure I've told it a few dozen times.
Click to expand...

Hey, some of us are still fairly new here and haven't gotten to have story time!!!
 
Re: Passengers left waiting for hours on plane, airliner bla

Doug Taylor said:
We had a belligerent passenger make a loud joke about the skipper and I being drunk back in 2002 (or 2003, I think).

"Flights delayed folks!"

I'd tell the whole story, but I'm sure I've told it a few dozen times.
Click to expand...

Oh please do tell.
 
Re: Passengers left waiting for hours on plane, airliner bla

Doug Taylor said:
We had a belligerent passenger make a loud joke about the skipper and I being drunk back in 2002 (or 2003, I think).

"Flights delayed folks!"

I'd tell the whole story, but I'm sure I've told it a few dozen times.
Click to expand...

:popcorn:
 
Re: Passengers left waiting for hours on plane, airliner bla

kellwolf said:
Yep. First accusation I get, I'm pulling myself off duty for a breathalizer test. Not gonna have my career torpedoed because some guy in the back thinks he's funny. If the flight is delayed, then it's delayed. That's a serious accusation that needs to be dealt with. If we're on a long duty day and it takes that long to get it cleared.....don't blame the airline. Blame Mr Funny Guy in 10B.
Click to expand...

I know we support pilots and all here, but with the recent story of the drunken Aeroflot pilot, I don't think we should assume that it was a "Mr Funny Guy." Maybe it was a legitimate worry. You don't make that accusation lightly; obviously it's going to further delay you if you make your worries known.

It sounds like the delay was legitimate in the first place, but the customer service provided by United after the cancellation was...about as expected for one of the last-ranked carriers.
 
Re: Passengers left waiting for hours on plane, airliner bla

Bernoulli Fan said:
I know we support pilots and all here, but with the recent story of the drunken Aeroflot pilot, I don't think we should assume that it was a "Mr Funny Guy." Maybe it was a legitimate worry. You don't make that accusation lightly; obviously it's going to further delay you if you make your worries known.
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Problem is, some DO make the accusation lightly. "Huh huh. You guys ain't been drinkin' have ya? Yuck Yuck." Some other passenger overhears it, and thinks it's a serious question. Snowball effect. We had one CA try to have some fun last Sunday 'cause he is from Louisiana and had a plane full of Saints fans (you could spot them 100 yards away) on his flight going to Miami. He asked them to do the "Who Dat" song one time. Another passenger told a gate agent she thought he was drunk.

It could also be "Mr Pissed Off And Lashing Out At Anyone But Myself" guy, too.
 
Re: Passengers left waiting for hours on plane, airliner bla

kellwolf said:
Problem is, some DO make the accusation lightly. "Huh huh. You guys ain't been drinkin' have ya? Yuck Yuck." Some other passenger overhears it, and thinks it's a serious question. Snowball effect. We had one CA try to have some fun last Sunday 'cause he is from Louisiana and had a plane full of Saints fans (you could spot them 100 yards away) on his flight going to Miami. He asked them to do the "Who Dat" song one time. Another passenger told a gate agent she thought he was drunk.

It could also be "Mr Pissed Off And Lashing Out At Anyone But Myself" guy, too.
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You guys go to Miami. Was the CA Parker?
 
Re: Passengers left waiting for hours on plane, airliner bla

why wasnt there a reserve crew there to take the flight after the orginal crew knew they would be 2.5 hours late?
 
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