Originally Posted by
RoyHudd
(And the videos of wailing and aggressive passengers makes me wonder just who they think they are.....the same often happens when flights are delayed/cancelled for technical reasons, which usually implies safety. That sort of passenger behaviour is pathetic, sometimes beneath contempt)
Regarding your last paragraph, I recall the same type of pax behaviour when People Express began in Newark in the 80's. It was a zoo. Well earned nicknames of People Distress and Air Bulgaria. Poor customer service and pax fighting for the cheapest seats and very intolerant of any disruption.
So question for the audience. Pax going ballistic over weather or technical cancellations is nothing new. Mass cancellations due to weather happen somewhat regularly and we can now add to that computer outages. Would same reaction have occurred with one of the big three?
Long time ago, but I wound up stuck in LA during the great airplane strike of 1966 severely overstaying my welcome with my Aunt. The only airline flying coast to coast where machinists didn't strike was AA. They were sold out for a year and a half into the future as were the railways. Somehow my Aunt got me a ticket (AA was adding 707s as fast as Boeing could deliver them - mine didn't even have the interior fitted out and there was a shortage of food carts, utensils, plates, etc). I don't recall civil disobedience at the airport and there were a great many frustrated people trying to get home.