Toyota Fine vs. Airline Fines

[astroglider]

Let me get this straight. Toyota is fined $16 million for a production defect that killed a number of customers. The DOT is going to fine airlines around $5 million per airplane (757 sized) for keeping folks on ONE delayed airplane more than four hours??? Typically when there is this type of delay each airline will have dozens of planes on extended delay.

So lets say an AMR or DAL has 24 aircraft on extended delay at JFK, happens a few times per year. That's $120 million.

Let's see: Toyota kills 24 customers = $16 million fine.
Airlines DELAY 24 planeloads of folks more than four hours (nobody killed) = $120 million

Wow...o.k. that seems fair.

This is not a knock on Toyota btw...

Astro

 

[airmack]

Thank you!!! I thought i was the only one thinking that exact same thing! Thats the change we all get from our government!

 

[Raoul Duke]

Welcome to "Change" brought to you by Obama.

 

[Max Powers]

Welcome to "Change" brought to you by Obama.

The airlines are now going to be watching the clock. They don't want to pay that fine," business travel consultant and Travel Skills Group director Chris McGinnis told ABCNews.com. "We don't know yet whether this three-hour limit is really going to affect their operations that much... but now that they know there's a financial penalty, they'll find a way to make it work." The agency says carriers will be exempt from the fines if a pilot believes safety or security is at risk or if air traffic controllers advise the pilot not to return to the terminal.
Based on 2007 and 2008 tarmac delay data, the new rule could have a sweeping impact. On average each year, more than 1,500 flights experienced delays of three-hours or more, affecting 114,000 passengers.



Having worked formerly for a regional contracted by a legacy I can see this as a good idea- overall.... Look pay attention to you operations. If you try to cut corners and think you can leave someone on the ramp for over 3 hours with no food and a bathroom that smells like a$$ your going to pay for it. As a passenger and as a citizen I say this is one way the govt. can protect me without getting larger or spending more money.

 

[dispatchguy]

As a passenger and as a citizen I say this is one way the govt. can protect me without getting larger or spending more money.

And you know whats going to happen - how many gate turnbacks will happen as soon as the flight gets to 2+30 on the ground holding, and those flights get whacked.

Hows that protecting you? Now your schedule is completely fubar, while the airline ferries your now empty airplane to its next station so it can pickup the balance of its line of flight....

Yeah, we're from the gub'mint, and we here to help....

Such a STUPID law - but I expect nothing less from the US Government...

 

[whymeworry?]

Welcome to "knee-jerk" USA. The pax created this out of ONE incident on valentines day in 2006 (or was it 07?).

We will now need to put clauses in our contract that protect our pay and careers should the idiots in congress decide to meddle in something they have no clue about.

 

[crj567]

The reason is that everyone thinks airlines still make $billions each year-and all airline employees have easy, vastly overpaid jobs.

-Perception is reality. The guy who screws lug nuts on new Toyotas (for $60K per year or more) has a real tough job-and reall works for his money. Airline employees are always on vacation and "getting paid a lot for the trouble."

 

[Dizel8]

Airlines are just cancelling instead!

As for ATC advising a pilot not to go back to the gate, now that's just funny, since often when queried, they are not given good info from Washington.

Something about unintended cosequences comes to mind!

 

[G4G5]

CNBC reports that DOT secretary says that is the max fine allowable by law, he wished he could have made the fine larger but he can't

 

[Spud]

The agency says carriers will be exempt from the fines if a pilot believes safety or security is at risk or if air traffic controllers advise the pilot not to return to the terminal.


For 20% of the proposed fine I'd think about it if management asked real nice!!