What are some other things airlines can do to prevent delayed and canceled flights?

Question

Due to a recent snow storm, an airline had delayed flights that were eventually cancelled after the plane had been sitting on the runway for hours. One airline has come up whith a bill of rights for its customers to fix this recurring problem that causes unnecessary hardships on their passangers, but other airlines have not followed suit. What are some other things airlines can do to prevent delayed and canceled flights from posing such hardships on people?

Answer 1

In a situation like the snowstorm, there is not much that can be done. If the plane is frozen to the tarmac, it's frozen to the tarmac, and unless you can control the weather, you're pretty much stuck. And that is what happened to many of the planes in the recent problems--- they taxi'ed to the runway or waiting area but sat long enough that the tires actually froze to the ground.

Also it is important to know that less than 8000 passengers were affected--- this is a tiny percentage, less than 1% of the millions and millions that travel by air each year. So it needs to be kept in perspective.

I think the best thing that airlines can do is to reset customer expectations to be as realistic as possible. If I am flying in the Northeast in Feburary, I accept being stuck in the plane or on the ground as a real possibility. I think passengers who travel certain routes at certain times need to be better prepared for things to go wrong.

Answer 2

technical issues on the aircraft
air traffic delays / congestion
a passenger who develops a health problem
baggage cart delays

loads of things