I'm baaaaaack! I know, I know... You thought that my month and a half vacation from blogging signaled the end of Anthony's ravings. NOT SO!! I've got more to rave about than ever!! I'm going to start with US Airways.
On January 15, 2009 there was a US Airways flight that left New York on its way to North Carolina. Flight 1549 flew right into a gaggle of geese a couple minutes after takeoff and was forced to ditch in the Hudson River. Yaaay! Not one fatality! That is great considering the airline industry recently made it through their second year without a domestic commercial airline fatality for the first time in history! What a way to start out 2009 though, eh?
The crew has been showered with praise for how they handled the event. Everyone from the pilot to the flight attendants have been put on pedastels as the best of the best having acted appropriately on all of their training in the situation. The passegers were even praised for their level headed thinking and quick action. All in all it looked like a huge lovefest for the passengers and the crew. That is, until recently...
A letter was sent to the 150 passengers of flight 1549. Here is that letter:
January 21, 2009
I hope that this letter finds you at home and taking some time to rest and recover from the events of last Thursday.
On behalf of the 34,000 employees at US Airways, I want to acknowledge your courage, the professionalism of our crew, and the outstanding rescue efforts of all of the various organizations and agencies that came together last week to assist with Flight 1549.
We would very much like to see you on a future US Airways flight soon. To that end, we are extending Chairman's Preferred status, our most coveted frequent flier level, to you through March 2010.
I know our Customer Care Team has been providing support and also communicating next steps as we work to recover and potentially return any items from the flight. In the meantime, please let us know if you have additional needs.
Again, we are grateful the events surrounding Flight 1549 ended as they did, and we will continue to applaud our crew and the actions of the first responders for many years to come.
We look forward to serving you again soon.
Sincerely,
Doug Parker
Chairman and CEO, US Airways
Hmmmmm.... That seems more like a slap in the face. You survived a plane crash, so we decided to offer you something that you might perceive to have some intrinsic value, but is actually worthless to us so you won't sue us. What a crock... US Airways may have a talented flight crew on some of their planes, but obviously the integrity of the airline is seriously lacking.
Many of the passengers have already received money for their lost baggage and other claims, and are still able to file for more losses in the future. Accepting the money for their damages doesn't waive their right to sue the airline, so after this letter I'm sure there are going to be some cases filed. Unfortunately the drama wasn't nearly severe enough for anybody to sell the movie rights to it, but I'm sure a couple books will come out of this at least. The lawsuits are what I'm really interested in.
This was a sorry sorry move for US Airways if you ask me. The crew deserve praise for sure and the passengers deserve even more praise. You can't offer them some stupid temporary honor for what they just endured. Give me a break. The NY Post wrote up a great story on this that I would recommend reading. Click Here for the article. I'll keep an eye on any developments and rant about them later.
