I am currently in he JFK clubhouse, and am thankful for that. I can't even begin to imagine how the last 24 hours has been for passengers in economy.
Let me start by saying that weather delays area part of flying. As a pilot I am aware of that. What surprises me here is how VS dealt with the weather delay.
VS10, scheduled for take-off at 9:45pm 6/27/07. We were late boarding due to thunderstorms in the area (very heavy storms). Eventually we boarded, but had some excitement when the plane was hit by lightening. To be exact, it was later pointed out that a pole next to the plane took the direct hit, but we were hit by enouh of it to knock out the power. An hour later the plane was deemed fit and we waited for fuel. Waited, and waited, and waited. Obviously the fuel guys were not going to start fueling with lightning flashing around. Eventually the Captain told corporate that he wouldn't be able to fly because the amount of time it was taking would put him past his legal limits for flying without rest. Virgin told him to continue and attempt to take off. Eventually we did try, but approaching the runway the Captain went over his legal limit, and the plane was parked quickly away from the terminal. We had now been stuck in the plane for over six hours! As we were not at a terminal the only way to deplane was to use metal stairs, which were wet due to the storm and very slippery. The inevitable happened. A young girl slipped and fell, also knocking over two other passengers on the way down. Ground staff informed passengers that there were no hotels available, but passengers became very annoyed when they called around and found plenty of hotels themselves (I am lucky, I live in the area but chose to sit it out in the clubhouse).
Moral of this story. Weather happens. Plan for it, and listen to the Captain. He has a habit of knowing what can and cannot be achieved. At the end of the day there will be less infuriated passengers.
As an aside, I am also a little peeved because I asked VS to extend my return trip by a day and they insisted on charging a $50 fee to do so. Yeah I know, it's policy, it's the rules, and I know I am probably going to take some flames for this, but come on VS. This has been a difficult 24hours, and VS had a little chance to show some compassion.
To finish, my thoughts go to the economy passengers. As I said at the start, I can't even imagine how the last 24 hours has been for them. Especially being stuck back therefor 6 hours.
Gripe over. Wish me luck for the 6:45pm re-try on the new flight number VS110!
Let me start by saying that weather delays area part of flying. As a pilot I am aware of that. What surprises me here is how VS dealt with the weather delay.
VS10, scheduled for take-off at 9:45pm 6/27/07. We were late boarding due to thunderstorms in the area (very heavy storms). Eventually we boarded, but had some excitement when the plane was hit by lightening. To be exact, it was later pointed out that a pole next to the plane took the direct hit, but we were hit by enouh of it to knock out the power. An hour later the plane was deemed fit and we waited for fuel. Waited, and waited, and waited. Obviously the fuel guys were not going to start fueling with lightning flashing around. Eventually the Captain told corporate that he wouldn't be able to fly because the amount of time it was taking would put him past his legal limits for flying without rest. Virgin told him to continue and attempt to take off. Eventually we did try, but approaching the runway the Captain went over his legal limit, and the plane was parked quickly away from the terminal. We had now been stuck in the plane for over six hours! As we were not at a terminal the only way to deplane was to use metal stairs, which were wet due to the storm and very slippery. The inevitable happened. A young girl slipped and fell, also knocking over two other passengers on the way down. Ground staff informed passengers that there were no hotels available, but passengers became very annoyed when they called around and found plenty of hotels themselves (I am lucky, I live in the area but chose to sit it out in the clubhouse).
Moral of this story. Weather happens. Plan for it, and listen to the Captain. He has a habit of knowing what can and cannot be achieved. At the end of the day there will be less infuriated passengers.
As an aside, I am also a little peeved because I asked VS to extend my return trip by a day and they insisted on charging a $50 fee to do so. Yeah I know, it's policy, it's the rules, and I know I am probably going to take some flames for this, but come on VS. This has been a difficult 24hours, and VS had a little chance to show some compassion.
To finish, my thoughts go to the economy passengers. As I said at the start, I can't even imagine how the last 24 hours has been for them. Especially being stuck back therefor 6 hours.
Gripe over. Wish me luck for the 6:45pm re-try on the new flight number VS110!
), are bound to be disappointed. Seen in this context one can understand the captain's frustration of not having ground staff "on the same team". 
