David Rogers and Pam Miller were among the stranded passengers at Honolulu Airport last night after the airline company was ordered to suspend all flights due to maintenance and equipment problems.
"Our boss is not a happy camper right now," said Miller, who noted she and Rogers were due back at work in San Jose today.
Four outgoing flights to California - two to San San Francisco, one to San Jose and another to Los Angeles - were canceled yesterday, stranding 1,300 passengers.
"A few, maybe 150, got out and we're trying to find more seats on other carriers," said David Glover, manager of the Miami-based charter airline's Hawaii operations.
When their flight to San Jose was canceled, Rich International provided Rogers and Miller with overnight accommodations and a telephone number to call later for information.
After repeatedly calling the number and hearing the same recorded message, they decided to try to look for a flight out on their own. But other carriers would not honor their tickets without approval from Rich International.
"If (the airline) would have answered their telephone and had a solution, everything would have been fine," Rogers said. "But they dropped the ball on us."
Glover learned at mid-morning that the Federal Aviation Administration had ordered Rich International to stop flying. Two of its planes, which landed at Maui, were still there today while two others were at Honolulu Airport.
Passengers on Maui were offered overnight accommodations or a flight to Honolulu.
"They've been very nice," said Richard Bradford of San Francisco, who opted to come to Honolulu from Maui to start a 22-day vacation. "I trust Rich will get ahold of us later to tell us what to do."
Glover is awaiting further orders from Rich International's general office in Miami, Fla. "Providing hotel, meals and transportation is going to be very expensive," he said.
May Rose Gaoiran of San Jose, who paid $379 for a Suntrips vacation special that included a round-trip ticket on Rich International and lodging, also needs to get back to work but feels it's better to be safe.
"I need to get out but I'd rather be here than up there with an unsafe crew," Gaoiran said.
The maintenance and equipment problems, found Aug. 26 through 31 in routine checks of the airline include problems with equipment used to install jet engines, said Bill White, deputy director of the FAA flight standards service. The FAA also cited improper record keeping, first officers' training, and other problems.
The airline flies 16 L-1011s and five DC-8s.
This isn't the first time Rich has encountered problems with the FAA, according to White. The FAA is considering a $2.6 million penalty against the airline because improper parts were installed on L-1011 airplanes.