SWA flight rules and regulations update
I've answered part of my question thanks to the e-mail response from the US Department of Transportation. According to "Fly-Rights A Consumer Guide to Air Travel" an airline is not required to endorse travel on a different airline due to cancellations, even when a big chunk of the problem is SWA's negligence - not having functioning equipment and the quantity of fluid necessary.
I've received responses from the Better Business Bureau who will be handling my complaint and the FTA, letting me know that this was not a complaint that the FTA could address.
My complaint is being reviewed by the US Department of Transportation and will be entered into their computerized industry monitoring system and their monthly publication availble to media, general public, and of course the airlines. For anyone out there with an airline complaint, I recommend this route, because it seems like a greater spanse of people will be made aware of the problem.
I understand that this kind of weather is a fluke for Portland. I was told by pdx employees that de-icing fluid was being trucked in - usually it's flown in - so obviously that takes time. And I understand that this storm has effected many other airports able to handle wintry conditions.
However, Portland has not had the negative temperatures Chicago has, and yesterday there was no new snow falling from my place or at the airport for the 4 hours I was there. (Much less time, in comparison to people I spoke with.) And many other airlines were able to get their flights in the air, with delays, but still successfully. Also, these storms were expected! So for SWA's equipment to be in disrepair (as a pdx employee told me happened) and for SWA to not know they didn't have enough de-icing fluid for the amount of planes they scheduled, is poor business planning to me. If the SWA employee who assisted me at the ticket counter is correct, it also sounds like there were not enough de-icing machines working on each plane. When I worked at O'Hare, I'd watch 2-4 de-icing machines work on one plane. The way it was explained to me, was that there was 1 machine working it's way around and by the time it got to it's starting point, ice had reformed.
Knowing storms are coming, and not being prepared is bad business, and SWA needs to be called on it.
I hope they can learn from their mistakes. I know I've learned a lot.
Now, I want to know the company that supplies the de-icing fluid...
I've received responses from the Better Business Bureau who will be handling my complaint and the FTA, letting me know that this was not a complaint that the FTA could address.
My complaint is being reviewed by the US Department of Transportation and will be entered into their computerized industry monitoring system and their monthly publication availble to media, general public, and of course the airlines. For anyone out there with an airline complaint, I recommend this route, because it seems like a greater spanse of people will be made aware of the problem.
I understand that this kind of weather is a fluke for Portland. I was told by pdx employees that de-icing fluid was being trucked in - usually it's flown in - so obviously that takes time. And I understand that this storm has effected many other airports able to handle wintry conditions.
However, Portland has not had the negative temperatures Chicago has, and yesterday there was no new snow falling from my place or at the airport for the 4 hours I was there. (Much less time, in comparison to people I spoke with.) And many other airlines were able to get their flights in the air, with delays, but still successfully. Also, these storms were expected! So for SWA's equipment to be in disrepair (as a pdx employee told me happened) and for SWA to not know they didn't have enough de-icing fluid for the amount of planes they scheduled, is poor business planning to me. If the SWA employee who assisted me at the ticket counter is correct, it also sounds like there were not enough de-icing machines working on each plane. When I worked at O'Hare, I'd watch 2-4 de-icing machines work on one plane. The way it was explained to me, was that there was 1 machine working it's way around and by the time it got to it's starting point, ice had reformed.
Knowing storms are coming, and not being prepared is bad business, and SWA needs to be called on it.
I hope they can learn from their mistakes. I know I've learned a lot.
Now, I want to know the company that supplies the de-icing fluid...