"Big mess at Hartsfield-Jackson"

Monday, November 26, 2007

Big mess at Hartsfield-Jackson
Weather delays more than 350 AirTran flights; Delta rebooks passengers
By RUSSELL GRANTHAM
The Atlanta (GA) Journal-Constitution


Post-Thanksgiving airline passengers' luck ran out Monday when bad weather
disrupted travel up and down the Eastern seaboard, with flight delays
expected into the evening.

AirTran Airways, the second-largest carrier at Hartsfield-Jackson in
Atlanta, said by late afternoon that more than half its 700 daily flights
were delayed.

"It's been a long and ugly day," said AirTran spokesman Dave Hirschman. He
said AirTran hoped to accommodate delayed passengers on its final bank of
flights late Monday, but with planes about 80 percent full, there may not be
enough seats.

"We understand there are families traveling with small children," he said.
"We're doing our utmost to get them there safely."

Delta Air Lines, the biggest carrier at Hartsfield-Jackson, gave a somewhat
conflicting account.

"It looks as though things are running fairly well," said Delta spokeswoman
Betsy Talton. She said the longest delays, up to an hour, were on flights to
New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Talton said Delta had canceled 15 mainline flights and 26 flights by its
smaller regional jets by mid-afternoon - out of about 1,500 mainline flights
systemwide - but expected to rebook passengers on later flights.

Because of rain and low visibility at Hartsfield-Jackson, the Federal
Aviation Administration held departing aircraft up to 30 minutes and said
delays were averaging almost an hour for arriving aircraft.

Elsewhere, delays averaged more than two hours at several airports in New
York and other northeastern cities, according to the FAA.

The delays Monday contrasted with better-than-expected performance by
airlines over the Thanksgiving holiday as the result of favorable weather
conditions and extra preparations by carriers and airports to handle record
traffic.

Airport crowds also were bigger than usual Monday as the last holiday
travelers joined the usual surge of business travelers at the beginning of
the week.


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