Mercury News editorialized about this today.

Ugh, the worst.

it’s been pissing down here in NYC for the past 15 minutes or so.

LGA freakin’ shuts down at the hint of moisture in the air.

[rolls eyes]

Jane, hum a few bars of “United Breaks Guitars.” If that doesn’t cheer you up, then start composing your own little diddy, ‘learn to fight fares on U.S. Air’

Useless Airways.

Those poor passengers were held on the plane for six hours. It’s about 1.5 hour bus ride from Rochester to Minneapolis. Continental was grossly negligent, and then they lied about it. First they said the airport had no TSA security. Airport said it was a lie. Then Continental said no buses could come because of flooding. Except MN State Patrol confirmed there were no flooded areas at the time.

Godspeed, Jane.

US Scareways

Atrios, earlier today:

Air Travel

It’s amazing any of us bother.

Good luck. This is why I got an Asus 1000HE notebook — the battery can last 7-8 hours. Combined with a high-speed Internet dongle, you can almost forget you’re trapped in an aluminum shipping crate…

If you have time, go play “Achievement Unlocked”. It’s a riot!

so true.

Hope we don’t have to take to the streets to “Free Jane”

I drive if it is less than 300 miles. If 300 – 500 miles, then it becomes a coin flip. Or Amtrak becomes an option sometimes.

I remember getting stuck in Detroit before the DTW makeover (it would have been about 10 years ago). Got the strangest looks from the people that recognized that I was whistling “Always Look on the Bright side of Life” from the end of the Life of Brian.

I felt it was appropriate.

Oh, and corporate consolidation and vertical monopolies and industry lobbyist power are all natural, positive side-effects of the free market that contribute to a higher standard of living for everyone because… well, they just do, you socialist! Just think how long you’d have to sit on that tarmac if the corporation that owned that airplane *wasn’t* so terribly desperate to retain your business? Huh? Socialist says what?

Got stuck like that in Memphis in the summer one time. We knew there was nothing wrong with the plane because the newspaper had said the day before that there would be work slow-down. People were furious and the plane smelled like a sewer by the time we left. Hope your experience is better.

Its a plot next time take the train.

Hope we don’t have to take to the streets to “Free Jane”

I hear it’s ‘zactly what CNBC is looking for

I hope you brought sandwiches airport food is pricey.

My family was recently forced to sit on a plane on the tarmac at JFK for four hours, and then we still had an almost six hour flight to San Francisco. Even when there isn’t a weather issue, it seems it’s standard practice to line up 30 planes, all scheduled to take off at the same instant, and waste tons of fuel by having them creep forward in line for almost an hour before reaching takeoff position.

I’m channelling you a virtual chocolate covered vanilla ice cream bar. Ya know. the one covered with tin foil whose name will not be spoken.

I’d buy you a drink Jane, if I were there. I got stuck like this once and started a “row row row your boat” singalong, with every row starting a line later … drove the crew nuts but kept them smiling at the same time.

The Captain must have radioed in an SOS because we were quickly disembarked …

Should have taken Acela.

I think “always look on the bright side of life” is the best sentiment to sing in these situations. YMMV

Time to reregulate the airline industry regulated organized flights every airline company gets a profit no undercutting the competition.
No financing the undercutting by cutting service, cutting necessary repairs, underfunding the company pension plan, or getting excessive debt to fuel expansion etc plus the air lines would be forced to repay that 9/11 bailout money Bush gave them with interest.

How do you make a small fortune investing in the airlines?

Start with a large fortune:)

LOL !!!

Old joke about investing in the airlines I got it from business tv which is funny they love deregulation of industry but the airline industry has not done so well.
Maybe Jane could threaten to start doing posts on the airline industry and argue for reregulation:)
That might get her better service.

ANNNND… another airline (can’t remember name) who bussed their passengers from Rochester to Minneapolis offered to let Continental SHARE the bus… but Continental dispatchers in Minneapolis declined.

You make a good point. Where were the Teapot protestors screaming that the airlines were now all government-run “Fed Air”? (Oh, yeah, I forgot, consistency is for liberals…)

Oh you were nice. You could have started a “This is the song that never ends” sing-along.

Jane, you’re 1/3 of the way there of setting a record for sitting on the tarmack. Maybe U.S. Air is going for the gold.

What’s the top speed of the Acela? France’s TGV cruises at 200+ mph but then the French people believe that the government has a legitimate role to play in the betterment of their lives. Americans can always dream.

The government gave the airlines cash we should be running them but Bush well he just gave the airlines cash no repayment plan, no control of the industry.
I assume thats what the Tea Baggers want they want Obama to just give banks cash and never demand the money back or take an ownership role in running the banks which any other stockholder who paid that much would have.
If the free market is so good free of government regulation then why did the banks fail?

Yes high speed trains plus building them would be a great stimulus plan create jobs nation wide and save fuel.

What I do not understand is WHY you have to stay IN the plane? I have heard horror stories of sitting in planes for hours with no food, drink or bathroom facilities — and no circulated air. One was just last week and the airline said they couldn’t leave the plane because everyone at the airline had gone home. Huh? Who would buy THAT line???? If an airline has a flight still on the ground, no employee goes home. I live in a hick town (Sacramento) so I know this airport wasn’t some backwater place. If you are big enough for an airport (for jets, anyway), you are big enough to stay open all night. Yes, in smaller towns, maybe the restaurants in the airport wouldn’t be open, but any employees? Give me a F-ing break. That is a lie.

It is painfully simple: If you are delayed (for whatever reason), the passengers leave the plane. Then YOU pay for their meals or snacks. Period. YOUR delay, YOUR responsibility to make it better for your customers. When did business get so BAD? Must have been gradual.

building them would improve the construction trades job market – people that aren’t working because of the housing crash.

Jane, US Air’s website says flt 2172- cancelled.

It’s the teabaggers, I just know it.

Jane claim you have bad circulation your legs tense up if you sitdown to long say your Doctor is worried about strokes said you should walk a mile a day.
They might let you walk off the plane and then you can get snacks.

Yes more benefit!

I know this is going to be a stupid question, and I’m sorry to ask, but what is “NN”?

Why am I being censored on this website?

[mod note: personal attacks are not allowed.]

Lets only discuss with people who share our views!!! Yea for bubbles!!!!!!!!!

Hypocrite.

What happened to the marcy fundraiser? She not good enough to raise 150k for?

Netroots Nation.

It’s Netroots Nation.

Told you it was a stupid question. Thanks much.

Netroots Nation
There are no stupid questions, dah’lin.
Not here, anyway.
:)

I can already hear O’Reilly’s head exploding. I hope that addressing the issue of forming well-organized boycotts against sponsors of hate speech comes up in the NN dialogue. Money is the only thing these people understand. I consider the fact that Geico, Progressive, Lawyers.com. Proctor-Gamble and others have all pulled out of Beck’s show to be a nice tactical victory. I hope there’s more where that came from…

All available crews have been diverted to fly teabaggers to special events arranged for CNBC. (Snark)

If necessary we may need to mount a team to rescue you from captivity.

Are you still on the plane? Did I miss your escape?

Good luck, Jane. I’m sure you’ll get there eventually.

Ok, have you learned your lesson? Once more with feeling, DON’T FLY USAIR!!!

The last time I flew them was a flight from Harrisburg, PA, to Philadelphia to make an AA connection to Miami to connect to La Paz. The flight from Harrisburg was delayed over an hour because some jerk was changing a tire on the plane and took his good ol’ time about it. He was doing it right in front of the waiting lounge and everyone was watching him, but he and his buddy just sat there shooting the breeze. I asked the USAIR people if I could still make my flight. “Oh, yes!” they assured me.

We left Harrisburg at almost exactly the time that my AA flight started to load. On the flight I asked the stewardess to call ahead and ask the flight to wait a couple minutes. She refused and said that they already had everything in the computer. She didn’t even try to alert them. We got into Philly at the time my AA flight was scheduled to take off. There were no USAIR people waiting to help me get my flight or even direct me to where I should go. The stewardess was worthless because she had never been in the terminal. “Oh, I don’t get off the flight.”

I ran like hell and got to the AA gate in time to watch it pull out onto the runway. When I went to complain at USAIR, they first told me that the people in Harrisburg should not have let me get on the plane. Finally I got them to give me a voucher for a night in a hotel and a meal. Their vouchers were less than the cheapest meal the hotel offered. The phone card they gave me had no money left on it. Then they put me on one of their own flights the next day so that I lost miles with my AA account. And of course, I got into La Paz a day late.

When I complained to the head office and wanted reimbursed for my expenses, all they would do was give me a $75 travel voucher that was useless to me because they didn’t fly anywhere near my home. They refused to try to instate my air miles with AA. They refused everything. When I read that they were having so much difficulty after 9/11, well, schadenfreude.

Marcy is still having funds raised

$115,050 at time of this post.

She’s not on the front page at the moment, raising money for health care reform is a more urgent priority.

They don’t offer alcohol until you are in the air on most flights. Hope you are already at your destination. We have ours in an hour as well!

Now 4:20 PT; anybody know what happened to Jane’s flight?

This keeping people on the plane has got to stop.

Now I’m getting nervous because, unexpectedly, I have to fly to Baltimore next week to help out my mother. Of course, I don’t plan to fly anything but Southwest (which has suffered some deterioration of its great rep, but still muuuuuuch better than USAir or Cont.), but still, this makes me nervous.

I was on a flight once that spent a couple of hours (at most) on the tarmac, waiting for thunderstorms to clear the route. The flight crew had the doors open, and people could go into the terminal (if they wanted to risk running for the stairs). Some people took full advantage, and were well-lubricated by the time the plane arrived at its destination (a one-hour flight).
I think the flight crew was more than a little nuts by the time we actually left the gate: it’s the only time I’ve ever gotten a safety lecture about ‘designer Dixie cups’ that drop down from the ceiling.

Okay they finally let me off the plane, rerouted me to Atlanta, and thence to Pittsburgh. I’m in my hotel now. I could’ve WALKED faster.

The flight attendants are underemployed. They could be making big money running the SERE program at Gitmo.

holy moley jane

Way late, but I’m glad you made it.. Go lady :)