Flight’s delays American Trans Air flight 837 was scheduled to depart for Hawaii from New York's Kennedy Airport at about 10 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday.
cause outrage
ATA passengers were 'ready
to kill' after a nearly 2-day delay
at New York's Kennedy AirportBy Rod Antone
rantone@starbulletin.comFirst came the announcement of a short delay. Then passengers were told it would be several hours before they boarded. After boarding came another delay as passengers sat in the plane waiting to take off.
The more than 300 passengers on the Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays charter finally arrived yesterday at Honolulu Airport at about 4:30 p.m. -- a day and a half later than planned.
"It was the worst trip of my entire life," said Waianae resident Lisa Moody. "I feel like my last name."
"People were losing it," said Carl Superina of Long Island, N.Y. "I saw two passengers almost come to blows because of the stress, heat and exhaustion."
Passengers said delays began in the terminal at JFK, when a representative of Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays informed them there would be a 30-minute delay.
After that the delays just kept coming.
Passengers said they were told mechanical problems would further delay their flight. They finally started to board at 4 p.m.
Passengers said they were on board and waiting on the runway at about 6 p.m. with the engines running. After sitting there for an hour and a half, the stress caused a split among passengers -- those who wanted to continue on and those who wanted to get off."I'd say about 30 people were outraged and ready to kill," said Donni Holt of Kula, Maui. "Personally, I was OK, but one lady went berserk and demanded to get off the plane."
"The plane revolted," said Christopher Ramsey of Greenwich, Conn. "We all had a bad day, and it was only getting worse."
Ramsey said the flight eventually was canceled, and people were sent to hotels and told to arrive at the airport for a 7 a.m. check-in. But the next day, Ramsey said, no one was there from Trans Air to check them in.
"There were about three guys who came in, but not until 10 a.m.," Ramsey said. "We're finally here, but now they're just putting a lei around your neck and telling you to call a 1-800 number.
"What about the rent-a-cars and the hotel reservations that have just gone down the tubes? No one is telling us what the problem was or where to go next, and everyone is just getting angrier."
Officials of Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays and American Trans Air could not be reached for comment.
One woman said she missed a wedding on Oahu yesterday because of the delays. Superina said the experience dampened his trip, which he and his wife had planned for the past five years as their 25th wedding anniversary gift to each other.
"The whole situation was mismanaged by ATA and Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays from the start," Superina said. "We were physically exhausted at one point and ready to go home."
Passengers were offered flight coupons for any destination in the continental United States, as well as hotel and food vouchers for their overnight stay in New York.
However, while some tempers flared, others tried to keep it all in perspective.
"We weren't in Siberia or anything," said Holt, who added that she missed appointments with a doctor and a dentist on Oahu because of delays. "It's just a day and a half in people's lives."
"The people at the airport were doing their best, but they just didn't have the information they needed and, because of that, didn't make decisions they should have," said Princeville, Kauai, resident Donald Olsen. "Sometimes you just have to go with what happens.
"I just wanted to get back."