Carrier Wants To Avoid Congressional Intervention 

In an attempt to heed the anguished cries of hundreds of passengers trapped on tarmacs this winter, imprisoned by inadequate planning and apparent lack of compassion by the commercial airline industry -- while also avoiding Congressional action -- United Airlines announced it is changing its policies on ground delays.

The carrier says it will limit taxi-out and on-ground diversion delays before takeoff to three hours or less, and limit taxi-in delays after landing to 90 minutes or less, according to the Denver Post.

In the event those boundaries are crossed, however, it's unlikely passengers will swoon over the airline's generosity.

Should a taxi-out or on-ground diversion delay last longer than four hours, or a taxi-in longer than 90 minutes occur, United will call them "flights of note" and present affected passengers with a 20 percent discount on a round-trip economy-class United ticket, a $10 airport meal voucher... and a written apology.

"This is giving compensation where they historically have not," said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association. But, he said, "we as passengers have to recognize there is no free lunch. We pay for these things at the end of the day, so if an airline is very forthcoming with money, it's going to affect fares at the other end."

United claims 324 of its flights in 2006 had taxi-out times that extended past the three hour mark.

As Aero-News reported, low-cost carrier JetBlue came up with a customer bill of rights earlier this year, in response to storm-related delays that stranded passengers on New York tarmacs for hours... and tied up its network for days.

Apparently, United thought now would be a good time for a policy change... especially as Congress is working to birth a universal airline "passenger bill of rights" that would tightly regulate airlines' actions during ground delays. That's something the airlines would prefer not happen.

The carrier said it implemented its ground-hold and diversion policy "following several high-profile incidents of extreme travel delays in the industry - which sparked interest in a legislated Passenger Bill of Rights."

"Stuck on a plane on the tarmac for hours on end before takeoff or after landing is something no one enjoys," the airline told employees. "How we handle our customers during operational challenges, such as extensive delays, can make or break our customers' impression of their United experience."

FMI: www.united.com, www.airtravelersassociation.com