United We Stand
I was in the Army and went home to surprise mom for Christmas. I was on my last layover in Newark at a late hour. As I wait at the gate for the plane to take off, they announce that the flight is delayed by half an hour. No big deal. The flight is continually delayed by a half hour. Five minutes before the flight was to board, they would push it back by a half-hour.
It went on for about three hours. They were apparently waiting for us to arrive and our crew from Pittsburgh, and couldn’t leave because of the storm. We board the plane when it finally arrives. By the time we reach the runway, Newark has been hit by the same storm that prevented them from reaching us. We sit on the runway waiting for an hour-and-a-half for the storms to pass before we can takeoff.
When the storm has passed, and we consider the duration of our next flight, it is clear that we cannot fly, because FAA regulations prohibit the crew from working for 16 consecutive hours without taking a break. Our flight has been canceled and we must get off the aircraft. At this point we were five hours after our original boarding. It is the middle of night, it has been a while since I’ve seen my family, and now, Christmas Eve.
We have no idea whatsoever what is going to happen. The airport was closed at the time, so they gave us a voucher for $12. McDonald’s is the only place open, but they have a very limited menu. We are all in line. It takes a while. We are told that they cannot get us a plane today.
We have no choice but to board the bus that they’ve arranged. All of us were angry but we didn’t have much choice. I thought I’d work out a solution with the airline at a later date. We are all seated in the main airport lobby, waiting for the bus for two more hours. I paid for a 1-hour layover, a 1-hour flight to Syracuse and got a 8-hour delay and an 8-hour bus ride.
The only thing I got was the meal voucher I received at airport. They didn’t have to do anything because the weather was to blame (which it wasn’t; it was their lack of planes). Screw United.
