Trapped On a Plane? No Fresh Water for You!
I thought this was an amusing little tidbit from today's news. The 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals has overturned a New York law that would have forced airlines to provide food, toilet facilities, fresh air and water to passengers who are trapped in delayed planes.
Having been trapped on a delayed plane for several hours (and I'm sure I'm one of the lucky ones), this doesn't bother me at all--next time, I'll make a point of pissing on the floor and coughing all over the pilot. Bet they change their minds right quick!
The article doesn't state any specific length of time after which the requirement would kick in (i.e., how long would the delay have to be before the airline has to provide these staples?), but I would assume that after several hours, you're gonna have some cranky, smelly passengers--ideal conditions for taking off, wouldn't you say?
The appeals court called the law "laudable" (consolation prize talk for all rejected laws), but said that only the federal government, not state government, has the power to enact such laws.
And as we all know,they're too busy trampling our First Amendment rights they're too busy.
Having been trapped on a delayed plane for several hours (and I'm sure I'm one of the lucky ones), this doesn't bother me at all--next time, I'll make a point of pissing on the floor and coughing all over the pilot. Bet they change their minds right quick!
The article doesn't state any specific length of time after which the requirement would kick in (i.e., how long would the delay have to be before the airline has to provide these staples?), but I would assume that after several hours, you're gonna have some cranky, smelly passengers--ideal conditions for taking off, wouldn't you say?
The appeals court called the law "laudable" (consolation prize talk for all rejected laws), but said that only the federal government, not state government, has the power to enact such laws.
And as we all know,
posted by Aaron at 12:36 PM
5 Comments:
Oh, I can't wait to pee on the floor of a delayed plane! All my wildest dreams come true!!!!
Is it me, or are humans becoming more and more like cattle to our legislators?
I just finished reading about this on the NY Times site. At first, I thought it must be the ruling of a corporate friendly, Reagan packed court but that doesn't seem to be the case. If each state was allowed to enforce their own regulations on a federally regulated industry flying would become a logistical nightmare for airlines and passengers. What is needed is a federal passengers rights bill. Thank goodness we have a Congress that is willing to make the tough decisions needed to serve their constituents...oh hell, who am I kidding? We're all going to have to piss ourselves and hope Nancy Pelosi is flying coach before this bunch ever tries to help us.
Stephen: It's not just you...we're all becoming so much livestock in the eyes of our lawmakers. Unless we're illegal immigrants, in which case we're treated with the courtesy that American prisoners get (in other words, more than the average American working stiff will ever see).
Sarah: If Nancy hasn't yet reached the age of incontinence, then I should still be wearing a diaper myself! :-)
Having never been on a plane, I naively thought that basic needs would always be met. I didn't realize that a plane must sit on the runway for hours before the passengers are treated like humans. Or that laws would have to be inacted to force the airlines to offer basic services, un-be-lieve-able! Ed
Having been stuck on that plane once, I can attest that passengers' inconvenience and discomfort are viewed very casually ("oh well--that's what they get for taking advantage of cheap flights," etc., I suppose). But even we got drinks!
Post a Comment
<< Home