Long story short: They shuffled the plane back and forth for 5 hours in 90 degree heat with no water or A/C. They avoided the gate to avoid fines, and they avoided the runway to avoid breaking laws.
Last Monday, I was on a flight from LGA -> MSP. Unfortunately, the weather between the two cities was rough and the plane was too small to fly around it. Now before you flip out, I realize that weather is inevitable and you can't blame Delta. However, I think I can blame them for how they handled it.
Unfortunately for me, I was quite hung over by the time I made it onto my early flight. Once we departed from the gate and made it to the runway, the pilot made an announcement that the flight was going to be delayed due to weather. In order to preserve gas, they were adamant about shutting off the engines which also killed the air conditioning. Time kept moving and before you know it, we were 2.5 hours into being on the runway, literally going in circles. They claimed they were going to return to gate to refuel but they hardly used any. We returned, I was allowed off for 10 min and they we got back on the plane to sit on the runway and do circles for another 2 hours. This time, they finally started breaking out the water.
The reality is, I'm aware they can't be at the gate past a certain amount of time or they get fined. I am also aware there is a law that prohibits planes from sitting on the runway for more than 3 hours at a time. Basically, they just kept shuffling us around to avoid fines and breaking laws. This is really awful service. They should have just left us off the plane until they flight was cleared for take off. I got an automatic email saying they wanted to give me 5k bonus miles but I feel this incident is worth more. Would you say I am right, or wrong?
And trust me, middle-seat with a hangover in 90f with no water was one of the worst hangover experiences ever. hahaha.
Last Monday, I was on a flight from LGA -> MSP. Unfortunately, the weather between the two cities was rough and the plane was too small to fly around it. Now before you flip out, I realize that weather is inevitable and you can't blame Delta. However, I think I can blame them for how they handled it.
Unfortunately for me, I was quite hung over by the time I made it onto my early flight. Once we departed from the gate and made it to the runway, the pilot made an announcement that the flight was going to be delayed due to weather. In order to preserve gas, they were adamant about shutting off the engines which also killed the air conditioning. Time kept moving and before you know it, we were 2.5 hours into being on the runway, literally going in circles. They claimed they were going to return to gate to refuel but they hardly used any. We returned, I was allowed off for 10 min and they we got back on the plane to sit on the runway and do circles for another 2 hours. This time, they finally started breaking out the water.
The reality is, I'm aware they can't be at the gate past a certain amount of time or they get fined. I am also aware there is a law that prohibits planes from sitting on the runway for more than 3 hours at a time. Basically, they just kept shuffling us around to avoid fines and breaking laws. This is really awful service. They should have just left us off the plane until they flight was cleared for take off. I got an automatic email saying they wanted to give me 5k bonus miles but I feel this incident is worth more. Would you say I am right, or wrong?
And trust me, middle-seat with a hangover in 90f with no water was one of the worst hangover experiences ever. hahaha.