President's Daughters Get Ride On Diverted Flight

[Katarina]

<snip>
WASHINGTON -- US Airways confirmed Tuesday that a scheduled flight between Boston and Washington, D.C., was diverted Saturday so some stranded passengers -- including President George W. Bush's twin daughters -- could get on the plane.

The Bush twins were picked up in Albany, N.Y., along with 22 other passengers. However, the move caused a two-hour delay for those traveling from Boston, reported WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.

The US Airways Shuttle flight between Boston and D.C. was already 20 minutes behind schedule when, just before take-off, passengers were told their aircraft would be making the unscheduled stop.

Several passengers at Reagan National Airport said they have never heard of such treatment.

http://www.wftv.com/news/3612076/detail.html

How considerate to all the other passengers.

[jackstraw45]

1. Visiting the bars of Albany I see?

Are they on a 50 state bar tour?

[progressivebydesign]

16. Forgot about that lovely photo..

..smoking and drinking, such a lovely, lovely pair. I think Laura Bush smokes too.. there's something about her that gives me that vibe.. of course that's in addition to the thorazine she appears to be taking.

[wurzel]

2. If they'd had a hair cut we would have never heard the last of it. n/t

[katusha]

3. how many of the other 22 passengers

were in the bush twins entourage ie. secret service etc.? i'd like to know.

[aquart]

4. How can you be "stranded in Albany"???? It ain't the tundra.

It's a capital city. There is constant transportation. People even have cars.

And it wasn't snowing!

[merh]

6. But it was hot and they might sweat!

<sarcasm off>

I am sick and tired of the special treatment given to this family of vermon.

Let's do a reality tv show about them,
"Lifestyles of the rich, famous, spoiled and stupid!"

[Stephanie]

5. This cancels out the haircut story, right?

They can't use that anymore.

[Katarina]

10. Can you fill me in on the haircut story?

I must have missed that one.

[Stephanie]

13. They accused Clinton of holding up a runway while he got a haircut

on Air Force One at LAX.

[otohara]

21. But They Don't Play Fair

Thugs can do what ever they want - media ignores - Dems do or say something and it's 24/7 smear

[calimary]

25. Heavens! I was just thinking that. They made Such A Stink about

Clinton's haircut. Hey - I live in West L.A. and traffic all over our area was screwed every time Reagan came to town. He had a ranch in Santa Barbara, but if he was staying in town, it was always the Century Plaza Hotel. The luxury westside hotel/convention complex to which he'd motorcade - from Santa Monica Airport, a little municipal civil aviation airport with mostly single-engine planes, a few helicopters and Citations, a handful of little eateries and a terminal, and several flight schools. He'd land there on Marine One which would have picked him up at LAX after Air Force One landed. Translated, that meant the 405 freeway north and south - a MAJOR roadway running north and south fairly close to the coastline for miles and miles and a couple of counties. You know it from watching alll or parts of OJ Simpson's infamous "slow-speed chase." It also messed up Westside traffic almost everywhere on surface streets at intervals, throughout his visits. And, loyal Californian that he was, Reagan came through here frequently.

And funny enough, nobody seemed to mind THAT.

[pa28]

7. Another one for the "if this was Clinton" file.

Screaming Drudge headline leading to follow up stories in the mainstream media highlighting angry passengers who missed weddings, business deals etc. demanding reimbursement.

[Malva Zebrina]

8. Up yours--you paeons

if anything happens to me, my dad will have something to say about it

[KamaAina]

9. Let me guess... the plane was out of booze?

Then someone said, "Hey, I'll bet I know where we can pick some up..."

:beer:

[ILeft]

11. They couldn't just take the next flight?

"We land in Albany, and the doors open and in come Jenna and Barbara < Bush> and several Secret Service agents," our spy, who declined to be named "for fear of going to Gitmo," told us. "I kept thinking, I haven't heard of anybody diverting planes for all these other people being inconvenienced. This doesn't fit in the norm of airline travel."

But before blame goes to the first daughters, it turns out that it's not unusual for US Airways to make such diversions. "Yes, there are times when we will divert an airplane to pick up passengers off of another canceled flight. We do that when we have no other way to accommodate those customers," said airline spokesman David Castelveter."

David Castelveter, you are now offically a whore for the Bush family.

"The shuttle landed in Washington around 10:30 p.m. -- two hours past its scheduled arrival but, as witnesses tell us, time enough for Jenna to be spotted that night carousing at the Georgetown prepster hangout Smith Point."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35602-2004Aug2.html

[progressivebydesign]

15. Oh bull... they pick up passengers from other cancelled flights..

I want ONE witness to tell me, personally, that they have EVER been on a flight that made an unscheduled stop at another airport, to pick up passengers. C'mon. Never have I heard of this... your flight is cancelled, too bad, you have to wait for another one, or go to another airline.

[TahitiNut]

23. I spent 6 years flying for business - never happened.

Besides those 6 years (probably around 400 flights), I've flown pretty extensively in the US from both small and large airports for the past 35 years. It has NEVER happened to any flight I've taken. Not once.

[MaineDem]

34. I used to fly the shuttles in and out of Boston every week

I have NEVER heard of this happening.

It's one thing if a flight is delayed because of weather or equipment problems but to be delayed because of a flag stop to pick up the President's daughters? The airline couldn't give me enough compensation for that!

[AlabamaYankee]

37. I was on a flight where it happened

I was flying USAir from Atlanta to Pittsburgh and we diverted to Wheeling or Martinsburg, West Virginia to pick up passengers of a flight that was cancelled for mechanical reasons. I think it was the last flight out for the day, and was not significantly out of the way. This was over six years ago and I don't think the flight was significantly late getting into Pittsburgh. At least I made my connector to State College in plenty of time.

[gristy]

12. This is nuts

Absolutely nuts.

[Citizen Daryl]

14. Hope You're Enjoying Your New Dysfunctional Royal Family n/t

[Rob in B_more]

17. Were they campaigning in Albany?

Why and is this considered a donation by the airlines, charter service on the cheap?

[alarimer]

18. 22 people?

that's a lot of people to stuff onto what was already probably a crowded flight. The article doesn't say if anyone got bumped. I would be pissed and demanding a refund from the airline. I would call the newspaper and scream for this to get front page treatment. This is disgusting.

[amazona]

19. if you're bumped you get $300 plus another flight later

Some people make a hobby of volunteering to be bumped. I just did it, and I think I will do it more often -- you get a $300 voucher off your next flight and, if necessary, food and hotel, plus another flight later. And they bumped me up to a premium seat instead of economy. However, for people on a schedule, yeah, it's a big nuisance. On the flight where I got bumped, I could have also volunteered to be bumped from the next flight for another $300 but I couldn't do it because I had someone waiting at the other end.

The unscheduled stop, though, that I admit is waaaay out of line.

[VoteDemocratic2004]

32. What cities do they generally bump you from flights?

I wouldn't mind visiting a few relatives and old high school friends that way.

Is there a certain time of day and day of the week that they do this on?

[Art_from_Ark]

33. Sea-Tac

I got bumped off of several flights that were through Sea-Tac airport in Seattle. I got some free nights at the Doubletree and a package of discount and freebie coupons, none of which I could use because I live overseas.

[DemoTex]

20. As a retired US Airways captain, I am incensed.

This is called a flag-stop and it is legal if properly dispatched. That means the dispatcher, the company, and - most of all - the captain must agree on the terms of the diversion. I saw one flag stop in my career. They are so rare that it is breathtaking that the Bu$h twins show up on the manifest of such a rare exception.

Lookit. This fucking regime is out of control. This is just another small example of power run amok. Quote me:

This is called a flag-stop and it is legal if properly dispatched. That means the dispatcher, the company, and - most of all - the captain must agree on the terms of the diversion. I saw one flag stop in my career. They are so rare that it is breathtaking that the Bush twins show up on the manifest of such a rare exception.

Mac Tippins
US Airways Captain, Retired

Permission to use the italicized quotes is hereby granted. However, please link it to me through DU.

[TahitiNut]

24. It sounds to me like US Air has a pension fund in trouble.

Just like United. :shrug: Hundreds of billions in taxpayer money given to airlines for bailouts.

I wonder how much it cost, all told, to divert that flight. The hours of time for the pasengers. The time for the crew. The fuel. Landing fees. Gate fees. Lots.

[saigon68]

35. BREATH TAKING

That statement sums it up

[havocmom]

22. How many of those "22 other passengers" were SS and other members

of the twins entourage? The report is worded to make it seem like there were some regular guys needing a lift and the twins just happened to be among them. Do they travel without protection? No, they do not.
So of those "22 other passengers" how many were not part of the twins' protection, aids, wranglers and gophers?

Willing to bet there were few if any regular guys just in need of a lift.

[rocktivity]

26. According to the Washington Post

(link) the flight was supposed to leave Boston at 7PM this past Saturday. Albany's airport isn't LAX, but it's not so small that it would find itself with NO other planes available before 7PM.

Once when I flew out of Newark, a flight to Syracuse, New York was cancelled, and the passengers were loaded onto a bus for a six-hour ride. Albany is only 3 hours from New York City, where you can easily grab a late shuttle (or even Amtrak) back to DC. But I'm supposed to consider it a mere coincidence that the Boston shuttle just happened to have 22 empty seats, and two of the passengers just happens to be the Bush twins!!!

:headbang:
rocknation

[NashVegas]

28. Smallbany

Just gets smaller and smaller. Land in the evening and you'll find it dead as a doornail.

[RamboLiberal]

27. BTW - the Linked Story has a poll - Twins are losing 66%

So a lot of people are ticked at the special treatment. I thank DemoTex for giving us the scoop as a Captain.

BTW, you all will be glad to know there were several US Airways pilots and flight attendants who attended in uniform the Kerry/Edwards rally in Greensburg PA last Saturday to show their support. They came early and were standing right in the front of the crowd.

[daleo]

29. This is nothing special

After all, the Bin Ladens get this sort of treatment, too.

[wordout]

30. the bush twins are terrorists.

They demanded themselves be taken off the plane and repeatedly strip searched by airport moral-authority police

[Tight_rope]

31. I say we boycott US Airways....n/t

[colonel odis]

36. next time u.s. air asks for some of our tax dollars to

help bail them out, they can go to the administration and say "but ... but ... see? we even made the commoners wait while we picked up your daughters!"

it doesn't mention if anyone booed or hissed. i can't imagine a plane full of people and someone on it not yelling "bush sucks" or displaying a kerry sticker proudly.

[lebkuchen]

39. A two hour delay for everyone because of the Bush twins

How many missed connecting flights as a result, or had waiting relatives scared to death over the delay?

It reminds me of when Bush flew to Baghdad last Thanksgiving. His pilot misrepresented the plane to the UK's flight controllers and was nearly taken for a terrorist attack and shot down.

Bush thinks he has a carte blanche to do whatever he wants.

[lebkuchen]

38. Did Bush offer to help US Airways with its loan default in exchange

for this one little favor?

Considering the recent high terror alert, how many passengers thought they were being diverted to a one-way stop through the White House's front door?

I was once diverted to a Pacific Island atoll for an unscheduled refueling on the way to Australia on China Airlines. This was before 9-11. It was at night, and the sudden decent of a flight that was supposed to last 10 hours scared the hell out of me.

[johnfunk]

40. "Paris" and "Nikki" Bush: When daddy's dictator, you can have perks...

... such as air passage at the drop of a hat.

[Bridget Burke]

41. Come on, do you expect them to spend Saturday night in Albany?

On my one trip through NY's capitol city, I was struck by the interesting architecture & the natural beauty of the area. But it did not impress me as a hip & swinging party town. Surely the girls were eager to get to their favorite Georgetown hotspot for the biggest night of the week.

Albany was Charles Bukowski's home--but the girls are still a few years away from that scene.

[daleo]

42. My local newspapers didn't cover this

Which wasn't a surprise. I do believe the gave prominent play to Clinton's "haircut story", though.