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About Rick Seaney, CEO FareCompare

Rick Seaney

Rick Seaney, co-founder of FareCompare.com - is a world-class air travel expert.

FareCompare.com presides over a kingdom of sophisticated software that searches out fares and destinations at a billion combinations per query - while keeping track of 500 airlines serving more than 270,000 markets around the globe.

And all of Rick's data is updated continuously - in real-time.

No wonder he's the media's go-to guy for all things air travel. He's got the answers. And he loves to share his knowledge.

That's why Rick and the team created FareCompare.com - to help everyone become an air travel expert, and get the best deals first -- every time they fly.

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UPDATE: “Trapped on Tarmac” Story Gets Even Worse

August 11, 2009 | Posted in: Airline News,Ask Rick,Delays,Passengers,Storms,Weather | 1 comment

I’m sure some of you read my recent post on those folks who were “trapped on the tarmac” for nine hours.

The Continental flight operated by ExpressJet was heading to Minneapolis when it was diverted to nearby Rochester due to storms, and – no one was allowed off the plane! The small jet was packed with crying babies, hungry adults and one stinking toilet.

According to ExpressJet -passengers weren’t allowed off the plane because “that was not provided as an option by ground services personnel at the airport.”

Oh no?

According to today’s Joe Sharkey column, the Rochester airport manager says, not true: “a diverted Delta aircraft landed after the Continental flight and went to a gate, where passengers were let off and sent by chartered bus to Minneapolis”.

Meantime, Continental is sending apologies and refunds to those affected by this, but – c’mon - why is this still happening?

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Not Again! Trapped on the Tarmac for Nine Hours

August 10, 2009 | Posted in: Airline News,Ask Rick,Delays,Passengers,Weather | 9 comments

Somebody messed up.

On Friday night, a Continental flight (operated by ExpressJet) from Houston to Minneapolis-St. Paul was supposed to get to the Twin Cities a little after midnight. But there were storms in the area, and the flight was diverted to Rochester, Minnesota.

And they didn’t let anyone off the plane – for the next nine hours!

One of the 47 passengers described the 50-seater plane as a “sardine can”- complete with crying babies, and a single restroom – that started to smell.

Between the two airlines, the explanations for this grim incident are somewhat murky – and amusing, too — if you weren’t on the plane. Keep reading, to see the “explanations”…
Not Again! Trapped on the Tarmac for Nine Hours

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Ever Been “Trapped on the Tarmac”? Relief May be in Sight

July 21, 2009 | Posted in: Airline News,Ask Rick,Delays,Passengers | 4 comments

The senate is expected to vote today on legislation that would force airlines to let passengers off their planes – if they’ve been waiting three hours for take off.

Such “trapped on the tarmac” episodes typically take place when airlines are waiting out terrible snowstorms or other obnoxious weather.

The airlines however, are opposed to the legislation: they want the flexibility of being able to take off the moment, say, a break in the weather appears – and if they have to wait to round up all the passengers and get them back onboard, that “break” can disappear.

Hmmm. As one who’s spent his fair share of time sitting on an idling airplane, I can see both sides – and in fairness to the airlines, they’ve done a much, much better job in recent years of getting people off planes – without any legislation.

That said, its seems to me their change of heart wouldn’t have happened without some horrendous publicity about people trapped on tarmacs for hours without food or water.

Readers – please sound off on this.

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Odd Flight Delays: Turtles on the Tarmac at JFK

July 9, 2009 | Posted in: Delays,Pilots,Travel Safety,Travel Tips | 0 comments

It almost sounds like a disaster-movie title: Turtles on the Tarmac!

Actually these were Diamondback terrapins – little guys weighing about 2 to 3 pounds – and they came out of the sea yesterday, to slowly invade a JFK runway.

Apparently they were looking for a likely spot to breed (you’d think they could have found a more romantic spot than one of the world’s busiest airports, but then, I’m no turtle expert).

According to the AP, airport authorities were first alerted to the trouble when “a chorus of pilots was radioing the tower to report turtles”, and then suddenly the reports changed to “massive” numbers of turtles on the tarmac.

Enter the ground crews, who scooped them up and returned them to Jamaica Bay which surrounds the airport. At one point, the FAA ordered the runway closed for the turtle round-up, and some morning flights were delayed as much as an hour-and-a-half.

At least the passengers had a good story to tell once they got to their destinations.

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NEWS: United Computer Outages Creating Big Delays at O’Hare

July 2, 2009 | Posted in: Ask Rick,Delays,News,United | 0 comments

UPDATE: Computers are back up

If you’re flying in or out of Chicago’s O’Hare today, stay in touch with your airline. Especially if you’re flying United!

Just in time for Fourth of July holiday travel – according to several news reports, there has been a computer outage affecting United Airlines, resulting in delays and cancellations. You can see that for yourself on FlightStats.

The United Airlines website acknowledges an “airport check-in system issue” and the resulting delays/cancellations. Apparently United employees are now using a “manual process” to check employees in – and you know that’s going to take awhile. Print your boarding pass at home – at least save yourself a little bit of time. And keep monitoring United.

Sounds like a real mess out there.

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If You’ve Been Waiting to Ride the Dreamliner – Wait a Little Longer

June 29, 2009 | Posted in: Airline News,Delays | 0 comments

Dreamliner Progress Report: more delays…

The Dreamliner, which has already overshot its delivery date by about two years – is now likely to be pushed back perhaps a few more months, due to a “structural flaw” discovered during ground testing.

Some of Boeing’s customers are getting frustrated: according to the Wall St. Journal, Australia’s Qantas “scratched” orders for 15 of the planes, and will delay taking 15 others (but they also have more Dreamliners on order).

In case you were thinking of getting in line – and many airlines still very much want this huge plane – the list price is $178 million.

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Dismal Weather in Dallas, Delays/Cancellations

June 11, 2009 | Posted in: Airline News,Delays | 0 comments

Scorching heat and thunderstorms have teamed up to create some delays at the Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW) airport.

Do as I did, and check with Flightstats for the latest info. At the moment I’m seeing several cancelled flights, and delays – but of course, this can change, from moment to moment.

Call before you head out the door – but if you’re already at the airport, well – at least at DFW, there’s a good variety of restaurants.

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Airline Report Card April ’09: On-Time Stats, Lost Bags, Lost Pets

June 10, 2009 | Posted in: Airline News,Delays,DOT,Pets | 0 comments

Good job, airlines! The overall grade for this month’s report card is A -

This latest monthly report card covers the month April 2009, and features statistics provided by the Dept. of Transportation. If you like, compare these latest figures and grades with last month’s report card.

Mishandled Baggage: Grade – A -
U.S. airlines had a rate of 3.79 “mishandled” bags per 1,000 in April – better than a year ago, AND, better than March of this year.

Pet Incidents: Grade – A
There were no pet “incidents” in April – no pet died or was injured – compared to two incidents last month. NOTE: The only way to get a good grade in this subject is with ZERO incidents.

Airline Service Complaints: Grade – B -
There were 781 complaints in April – much better than a year ago, but still 10% higher than March.

Airline On-Time Arrival Rates: Grade – A -
The 19 “reporting” carriers posted an overall on-time arrival record of 79.1 Again, better than April of last year, and about a point better than March of this year

All the details are right here

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updated: 2009-06-10T11:55:51+00:00