# Crack in 767 window delays Saints' evacuation from Seattle



## CHamilton (Dec 3, 2013)

New Orleans Saints trapped in Seattle overnight by plane glitch




> SEATTLE - The losing New Orleans Saints got an unexpected overnight stay in the Seattle area after their team plane was unable to take off Monday night.
> 
> The team was scheduled to fly out of Seattle at 10 p.m. following their humiliating loss at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks.
> 
> But after team members boarded the charter plane, a crack was found in a cabin window - making the Boeing 767 aircraft unsafe to fly, said an airline spokesman.


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## railiner (Dec 4, 2013)

More important, IMHO, is the rest of the story....Delta's regional partner ExpressJet, bumped some passenger's off a regularly scheduled flight in order to accommodate another sports team on another cancelled charter flight. They did offer some denied boarding compensation voucher's. I haven't read or heard of the passenger's reaction as to whether they were livid (I would be in the circumstances), or if they were satisfied.....

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/12/florida-flight-delta-connecticut/


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## Devil's Advocate (Dec 4, 2013)

Yeah, the Florida story sounds much worse...



> A passenger who was supposed to be on the flight to Atlanta before it was canceled and did not want to be identified told The Sun passengers were told there was a mechanical difficulty, but some of them noticed the Gators basketball team boarding the plane meant for them out the window. People were upset as they scrambled to rearrange their travel schedules and some had to be driven to airports in Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa to catch other flights, she said. A passenger who was moving from Salt Lake City to New Jersey was going to miss the moving truck, so he had to find someone else to meet the driver instead. A student's father had to drive her to Atlanta so she wouldn't miss an event she needed to make. Another passenger missed a funeral.
> 
> Link: http://www.gainesville.com/article/20131202/ARTICLES/131209942


So, they lied to the passengers who were nonetheless able to watch the truth unfold for themselves through the windows? Nice. Good job Delta. Oh, I forgot, it's all ExpressJet's fault and not that of kind hearted Delta. Never mind that Delta hired ExpressJet, or that Delta signed the contract, or that Delta sold the tickets. It's not Delta's fault that their customers were treated like crap. Whatever. Edward Bernays would be so dismayed, not by Delta's lame excuses, but by their ineptitude in selling the deception properly.


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## fairviewroad (Dec 4, 2013)

Delta told passengers there was a mechanical difficulty. There was. It's not clear whether Delta properly communicated that the mechanical

problem was on a different aircraft. If they implied that it was on the aircraft meant for the scheduled flight, then shame on them. But it's just

as likely (IMO) that the anonymous passenger quoted in the news report simply misunderstood the scenario.

Airlines cancel flights and re-assign aircraft every day for operational reasons. I'm not sure why Delta though it was more important, operationally

speaking, for the basketball team to leave Gainesville first. But a charter flight is full of paying customers just the same as a scheduled

flight. In fact, the charter flight probably generated more revenue than the scheduled flight, though that might not have played into the decision.

Even if it did, can you really fault Delta for looking after their most lucrative customers first?

So, other than a possible miscommunication to passengers (deliberate or not), I can't really fault Delta here. If the store was that a GNV-ATL

flight had been canceled and the aircraft used on a flight to a different Delta hub, this wouldn't be a news story. But because it involves a

sports team, it's apparently a scandal. Whatever.


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## ALC Rail Writer (Dec 11, 2013)

Devil's Advocate said:


> Yeah, the Florida story sounds much worse...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


They lost the game by one point too... karma?

And let us not use the name of Eddie Bernays in vain, I doubt he'd roll in the grave in his plush silk suit (or whatever he's buried in, if he's buried) over every bad PR job. Now the Obamacare rollout or the Romney campaign, now those he's probably laughing over with a fine Cuban with Uncle Sig.


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