Says Kate Hanni, one of the passengers, "there were people getting ill, the toilets did begin to overflow." We've done a lot of flying and can thankfully say, we've been through some bad things but never that bad. We can't imagine why anybody would think that it would be a good idea to have a plan stuck on the tarmac for nine hours. Isn't that something the Administration would do and then totally deny and then attack anybody who dared suggest they do it up until they point they admit to doing it?

So after getting pretty much nothing but finger pointing from the people involved, Kate went to go do something about it. Like everyone else these days, she started a blog. Actually, she did more than that-- she started the Coalition for Airline Passenger's Bill of Rights and sent a letter to Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. What they want and what they want now is a whole bunch of things, not the least of which is making it so people don't get stuck on tarmacs for more than they have to. And if people are, airlines have to guarantee food, sanitary conditions, and medical help if needed. Also requested are more information about which flights get delayed the most, better compensation for bumped passengers and passengers delayed by more than twelve hours and a Passenger Review Committee to oversee all of this.

A similar measure was brought up in 1999 but quickly shot down by lobbyists for the airline industry and the politicians they had bought off. Hopefully, the same thing won't happen this time.