Study: Consumers pay hefty price for tarmac rules - chicagotribune.com (Click link to read full article)
chicagotribune.com
Flight cancellations climb under new tarmac rules
Canceled flights have soared 41 percent and diversions have risen 26 percent following enactment of three-hour limit, study finds
By Julie Johnsson, Tribune reporter
July 20, 2010
Lengthy tarmac delays are down sharply since the Obama administration threatened airlines with stiff fines for stranding passengers. But the harm to passengers far outweighs any benefits consumers derive from the new rule, according to a study to be released Tuesday.
Faced with the prospect of multimillion-dollar fines for every seriously delayed plane, airlines are taking no chances, researchers said.
Canceled flights have soared 41 percent and diversions have risen 26 percent since the rule took effect in late April. Carriers are returning planes to airport gates by the 2 1/2-hour mark as a precaution, even though the fines apply to aircraft that sit on the tarmac for more than three hours, according to Darryl Jenkins and Joshua Marks, aviation consultants and researchers at the George Washington University School of Business.
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