What Did They Expect With Such Draconian Penalties?

You didn’t need a fortune teller to predict what would happen when last December the Department of Transportation imposed a $27,500 fine per passenger on airline flights with tarmac delays over three hours, according to the Howe & Hutton Report. (That amounts to some $2.75 million for a 100-passenger regional jet.)

Now the media are reporting over 15,000 flight cancellations linked to the winter storms which have been unusually severe in many parts of the country, e.g., D.C., New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas, to name a few. Cancellation means no fine, and passengers have to re-book. One airline reportedly cancelled more flights in one day than it formerly cancelled per year. Be careful what you ask for. You might get it.

At least one of the passenger advocates who most strongly pushed for the tarmac delay penalty scheme now says airlines don’t need to cancel flights to prevent tarmac delays. At $2.75 million or more, why should airlines take a chance?