Airlines Frequent-Flier Programs

After years of shrinking benefits and increasing fees, frequent-flier programs are courting their most loyal customers again.

In recent weeks, American Airlines introduced new awards for one-way flights; United dropped its $75 to $100 fees for booking an award within three weeks of travel; and Delta Air Lines made it easier for elite frequent fliers to retain their V.I.P. status.

Carriers have also been dangling mileage offers, including double-mile promotions, and have even resurrected bonuses for booking online.

Those who follow the programs describe the changes as a slight shift in a more consumer-friendly direction, giving customers more ways to earn and redeem miles.

“What we’re seeing is a bit of a resurgence on the airlines’ part in focusing on their frequent-flier programs,” said Tim Winship, who tracks loyalty programs for SmarterTravel.com. But he added that the issue members care about most — being able to use their miles for free tickets — remains a challenge, especially with planes flying nearly full.

“I think award availability remains the elephant in the room,” he said. “The travel slump has not resulted in any increase in award availability, and in fact, if anything my sense is that people are having a more difficult time now.”

That assessment, while hotly debated on travel Web sites, is difficult to confirm.
Randy Petersen, founder of the frequent-flier hubs InsideFlyer.com and FlyerTalk.com, said 2008 was a record year for award redemption, which he attributed to travelers using miles for more mundane trips, like visits to relatives in less exotic locales.

“In a good economy, everyone wants to use their miles to go to Hawaii, London or San Francisco,” he said. “But when the recession hit, award redemption really started to spread out because people were using their miles not as much for vacation as necessary travel.”

Another factor spurring award redemption, Mr. Petersen said, has been the shift to “dynamic pricing.” If a seat that requires 25,000 miles is available for the outbound leg of a trip, but there is only a 50,000-mile seat on the return, many airlines now offer the itinerary for an amount in between — say, 37,500 miles — rather than charging the higher price for the entire trip.
In a similar vein, the new one-way award from American Airlines lets members book a flight after as little as 12,500 miles, a good option for students returning to college or snowbirds heading south for the winter.

There have also been changes in financial regulations that require airlines to account for unused frequent-flier miles as a liability, which has motivated carriers to make awards easier to redeem.
“There really is an incentive now for the airlines to get all of their miles redeemed because it’s expensive for them to carry them as a liability,” Mr. Petersen said.

Even so, he acknowledged that as travelers prioritize low-priced tickets over flying with a preferred airline, carriers need to work harder to earn loyalty, especially among their elite fliers.
Delta Airlines, for example, recently announced new benefits for its elite SkyMiles members, which take effect in 2010.

Among the more significant changes, Delta added a “diamond” tier to its existing levels of Medallion membership (silver, gold and platinum) — all referred to as having elite status, which comes with benefits like free upgrades and fee waivers.

Paul R. Skrbec, a Delta spokesman, said adding a fourth tier encouraged Medallion members to stay with Delta, rather than switch to another carrier after obtaining platinum status. The higher the tier, the better the benefits. For example, a diamond member will get a 125 percent mileage bonus versus a 100 percent bonus for platinum elites.

Seth Miller, a freelance technology consultant in Manhattan, is one of the elite frequent fliers airlines have been courting, having maintained top-tier platinum status in Continental’s OnePass program for 10 years.

“The legacy airlines especially are doing as much as they can to generate loyalty, and these days that means crazy bonuses — double miles for this, triple miles for that, miles are being given out like candy on Halloween,” Mr. Miller said.

“It’s great now,” he added, but he worries that the airlines’ largess could have a downside. “The question is, what happens when everyone tries to take advantage of all these benefits that are being handed out now? I’ve got elite status, but am I going to be able to get upgrades or will everybody else have status, too?”

Another question is whether nonelite frequent fliers have dropped off the radar as airlines focus on their biggest spenders — a message that average consumers may be responding to by shifting their loyalty to other rewards programs, like those offered on credit cards.

A research company that tracks loyalty programs found that membership in credit card reward programs surpassed membership in frequent-flier programs for the first time in 2009.

According to Colloquy, the company that conducted the research, the average household in the United States is signed up for 14 loyalty programs, ranging from grocery stores and gas stations to airlines and hotels, but actively participates in only six.

The recession has diminished participation in multiple travel programs, said Kelly Hlavinka, a partner at Colloquy. She said this could bring about a return to the original premise of loyalty rewards: to cement a relationship with just one airline or hotel.

“Savvy travelers may be saying, ‘I may not be able to spread my business out to two or three airlines, but I can consolidate my travel with one company,’ ” Ms. Hlavinka said. “The real opportunity for airlines is to try to keep that business with their airline.”

Air Force One Integrated Defense Systems

Historically, several U.S. presidents have flown on Boeing aircraft.

In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt flew to Casablanca aboard a Boeing model 314 Clipper.

In 1962, Boeing introduced U.S. presidents to modern jet transportation with the introduction of the Boeing model 707-320B. In all, seven presidents were served by the 707-320B.

Today, the chief executive flies aboard a specially configured 747-200B, the newest and largest

presidential airplane. Its capabilities include:

Longer range for presidential travel

Aerial refueling

Self-sufficiency at airports around the world

The "flying Oval Office" has 4,000 square feet of interior floor space. Among its accommodations are:

Conference/dining room

Quarters for the president and the first lady

An office area for senior staff members

Another office that converts into a medical facility when necessary

Work and rest areas for the presidential staff, media representatives and Air Force crews

Two galleys that can provide 100 meals at one sitting

Multi-frequency radios for air-to-air, air-to-ground and satellite communications

Principal differences between Air Force One and the standard Boeing 747 include state-of-the-art navigation, electronic and communications equipment; its interior configuration and furnishings; self-contained baggage loader; and front and aft air-stairs.

Air france crash

The Air France plane that disappeared between Brazil and France with 228 people on board today has almost certainly crashed, airline and government officials said.
If no survivors are found it will be the worst loss of life involving an Air France plane in the firm's 75-year history.

The officials believe the Airbus A330-200 aircraft crashed after running into lightning and thunderstorms over the Atlantic Ocean.

Gordon Brown said he feared Britons were among the passengers. "I do fear there may be some British citizens on board," the prime minister told Sky News. "We are doing all the checking that is necessary."

The Air France chief executive, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, told a news conference: "We are probably facing an air catastrophe."

He said the aircraft went through a thunderstorm with strong turbulence at about 3am BST.
An automated message was received at 3.14am indicating a failure of the electrical system, Air France said in a statement.

"The whole company shares the anxiety of the families," Gourgeon said. "We are doing everything possible to get information through, little by little, as it comes through."

François Brousse, an Air France spokesman, said several of the plane's mechanisms had malfunctioned, preventing it from making contact with air traffic controllers.

"It is probably a combination of circumstances that could have led to the crash," he said.
Brazilian air force planes are searching the Atlantic for flight AF447, which left Rio de Janeiro at 7pm local time (11pm BST) yesterday. It had been expected in Paris at 11.15am .

Brazilian air force officials told the Associated Press a search was under way near the island of Fernando de Noronha, about 1,500 miles north-east of Rio, but an Air France source was quoted as saying that there was "no hope" for those on board.

Jean-Louis Borloo, the second most senior figure in the French cabinet, said: "By now it would be beyond its kerosene [aviation fuel] reserves … unfortunately we must now envisage the most tragic scenario."

Borloo told the France Info radio station the plane had disappeared from both military and civilian radar screens.

The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, expressed "extreme worry" and sent the junior minister for transport, Dominique Bussereau, and Borloo to Charles de Gaulle airport to monitor the situation.

The Air France flight was full – today is a French bank holiday and Brazil is an increasingly popular tourist destination among the French.

At midday, the flight was still up on the arrivals board with the word "delayed" beside it, even after official statements said that it had probably been lost. By 1pm, it had been removed from the board.

Relatives and friends of passengers who had arrived at Charles de Gaulle's terminal two to meet the plane were ushered into a closed area away from journalists, where they were being counselled by airport staff.

A former pilot told France Info he believed the plane was the first passenger-carrying Airbus A330 to crash. The model is known as having a good safety record.

The plane was carrying 216 passengers and 12 crew. Of the passengers, 126 were men and 82 were women. Seven children and a baby were on board.

According to the French media, Paris airport authorities were told by their Brazilian counterparts that the aircraft had vanished from radar screens.

Douglas Ferreira Machado told Brazil's Globo TV that he believed the plane must have left Brazilian waters and could have been near the coast of Africa by the time contact was lost, based on the speed it was travelling.

"It's going to take a long time to carry out this search," he said. "It could be a long, sad story. The black box will be at the bottom of the sea."

French military aircraft took off from Senegal in western Africa to take part in the search.

France Info quoted an airport authority source as saying it was possible, but extremely unlikely, that the radar drop-out had been caused by a transmitter failure.

Chris Yates, an aviation expert, told the BBC: "There is not radar coverage across the Atlantic, because it is too far from radar stations.

"But the fact [the plane] has not appeared on radar when it neared land gives me cause for concern."

He said that "if we are talking about an aircraft coming down over the ocean … then survivability is quite limited".

Air France said the pilot had flown 11,000 hours, 1,700 of them on an Airbus 330, making him a highly experienced pilot. Of the two co-pilots, one had 3,000 hours of flight time and the other 6,600 hours. Flight AF447, which had flown 18,870 hours, entered service in April 2005. Its last engineering overhaul was in April.

The A330-200 model has not had any fatal accidents involving passengers. In June 1994, an A330 owned by Airbus on a test flight simulating an engine failure on take-off crashed shortly after leaving Toulouse, killing all seven people on board.

In October last year, a Qantas A330 flying from Singapore to Perth reportedly experienced a sudden change in altitude.

The crew issued a mayday call before diverting the aircraft. About 36 passengers and crew members were injured, more than a dozen seriously.

The last major incident involving an Air France plane was in July 2000 when one of its Concordes crashed just after taking off from Charles de Gaulle Airport, bound for New York.
All 109 people on board were killed, along with at least four on the ground.

klm

Delta Air

Delta Air Lines Inc. said Friday that systemwide traffic and capacity decreased in September compared with the same month a year ago.

The Atlanta-based carrier said it flew 9.71 billion revenue passenger miles last month, a 0.8 percent decline from 9.79 billion a year earlier.

A revenue passenger mile is a widely watched industry measurement accounting for one paying passenger flown one mile.

Available seat miles, or capacity, fell 3.7 percent to 12.14 billion from 12.61 billion a year earlier.
Load factor, or occupancy, rose 2.4 percentage points to 80 percent from 77.6 percent.

For the first nine months of the year, Delta recorded systemwide traffic of 94.46 billion revenue passenger miles, compared to 92.83 billion a year earlier. Available seat miles rose to 115.2 billion from 114.35 billion. Year-to-date load factor was 82 percent, compared with 81.2 percent a year earlier.

Shares of Delta Air Lines slipped 36 cents, or 4.6 percent, to $7.55 in afternoon trading

Airlines Best Fares

Just about every air-travel trend is getting worse, driven largely by soaring jet-fuel prices. To save money, strapped carriers are adding every surcharge they can get away with, raising fares, eliminating perks, and cutting back flights.

That means air travel is going to get more stressful than ever. Most flights will be full, with crammed overhead bins and no chance for a better seat. Delays have hit record levels recently and will probably get worse. And there will be less margin for error, so a problem with one flight could quickly cascade to others.

Frequent fliers who spend a lot on air tickets, of course, get the best seats and other preferential treatment--and often know the best tricks for traveling smoothly. The rest of the flying public has less recourse. But there are a few things you can do to reduce the odds of a middle seat, a lost bag, a surprise surcharge, or a nightmare trip:

Book directly with the airline. Use websites like Orbitz, Travelocity, and Expedia to research flights, but once you've found the one you want, book through the airline's website or a live agent. That's often where you'll find the best fare and have the best chance of getting an aisle or window seat. And if something goes wrong, the airline is more likely to help if you originally made the reservation through it.

Use every automated service available. Airlines have replaced many of their live agents with online services and machines at the airport--one trend that actually benefits travelers. Fliers with no bags to check can avoid lines by printing their boarding pass either at the airline's website up to 24 hours in advance or at an airport kiosk. This is also a chance to check whether a better seat is available. The sooner you check in, the better--all your fellow travelers are doing the same thing, and if any choice seats are still left, they'll go to whoever claims them first.

Pack light--really light. Most airlines allow one checked bag at no extra charge but now tack on $25 for a second checked bag. That's meant to bring in a bit of extra revenue--but also to encourage passengers to pack less, to help cut down on the weight in the plane and reduce fuel use. Some fliers try to skirt the surcharge by packing two bags' worth of stuff into one huge suitcase. Bad idea--many airlines also charge $100 for an overweight bag.

Then there are fliers who stuff a week's worth of gear into an oversize carry-on. That can backfire, too. On full flights, the overhead bins are often full before half the passengers have even boarded, and that bulging duffel won't fit under a seat, either. That means it will end up getting checked, costing you--and those around you--lots of added inconvenience.

Better to underpack and pick up spare socks or underwear at your destination if you really need them. If you're transporting gifts or anything that can be shipped by mail or UPS, do that ahead of time. It'll cost less than that $100 surcharge.

Fly off-off-peak. A red-eye or crack-of-dawn departure might cost you some sleep--but buy you some comfort. The only flights these days with any chance of a light load are those at the start or end of the day, when airlines are often moving planes into position for a long shift of full-capacity hauling.

Consider paying for a more comfortable seat. Some airlines now charge an extra $15 or $20 for exit-row seats or other spots in coach that tend to have a bit more legroom or are closer to the front of the plane. Get over the outrage, and pay up. "It's not such a terrible amount to pay to be comfortable," says David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association. Paying the extra fee might also entitle you to board before the rest of the horde, ensuring an overhead spot for your bag and less jostling.

Look into the government's Registered Traveler program. Fliers who enroll in this new program agree to supply personal info and submit to a background check, in exchange for an ID that allows them to pass through expedited security lines at the airport. Road warriors who have VIP status with their airline often get access to express security lines, anyway, and wouldn't need it. And so far, just a few airports and carriers participate, so it makes sense only for certain travelers. But this program is likely to grow quickly, and for people who travel once or twice per month, the cost--about $100 upfront, plus a $28 annual fee--might seem quite reasonable if it takes one long line out of the usual airport experience.

Be a low-maintenance traveler. Flights go more smoothly for people who do what they're supposed to. Check the Transportation Security Administration's website before your trip for the latest baggage rules. Use a regulation-size carry-on. Pack snacks. Most important, with so many things that can go wrong, arrive early, and have a backup plan. "Time is your friend," says Stempler. "Getting there late only puts you at a disadvantage." And no traveler wants to start a flight like that.

American Airlines Cancels Flights

Business trips and vacations were disrupted for tens of thousands of travelers Wednesday as American Airlines canceled more than 1,000 flights -- nearly half its schedule -- to fix faulty wiring that could cause a short-circuit or even a fire and explosion.

Executives at American said safety was never compromised, and they suggested the nation's biggest airline was the victim of suddenly stepped-up scrutiny by federal regulators.

American estimated that more than 100,000 travelers were booked on the canceled flights. Many had to scramble to book new flights and were stranded at hotels far from home.

The airline had already scrubbed 460 flights on Tuesday after federal inspectors found problems with wiring work done two weeks ago, during the first set of shutdowns.

A top executive said the cancellations would be a "significant" cost to American, and shares of parent AMR Corp. fell 11.1 percent, down $1.15 to $9.17.

The issue stems from an order that the Federal Aviation Administration gave airlines in September 2006 -- and gave airlines until last month to meet -- about the bundling of wires in the backup power system for the fuel pump of the MD-80 airplanes. The fear is that improperly bundled wires could rub, leading to an electrical short or even fire. However, no serious incidents have been blamed on the bundles, the FAA said.

American officials thought they had fixed the problem last month. But this week, FAA inspectors found problems with the work done on more than a dozen planes. American said it had no choice but to ground all 300 of its MD-80s to deal with the wiring bundles.

American operates about 2,200 daily flights, more than one-third with MD-80s. Nearly half the cancellations were concentrated at two airports, in Dallas and Chicago.

At New York's LaGuardia Airport on Wednesday, hundreds of passengers stood in check-in lines or milled about, using cell phones to get updates on their flights. The airline offered free doughnuts, coffee and orange juice, but there were few takers.

"They should be able to predict these kinds of things," said Laura Goodman, whose flight home to Dallas was canceled. She said would miss an important meeting because the airline couldn't rebook her until Thursday.

New Yorker Michelle Soss had hoped to steal a few days in Albuquerque, N.M.

"I covered my kids' schedules, I covered my work schedule to get away for a few days," she said. "I don't know if I'm getting anywhere."

American's cancellations came after similar delays at Southwest, Delta and United. Last week, hundreds of travelers were marooned when Aloha Airlines and ATA Airlines shut down and filed for bankruptcy protection.

Alaska Airlines said Wednesday it canceled 14 flights to inspect the wiring on its nine MD-80s.

For travelers, the bad news might not be over. Daniel Garton, American's executive vice president, said flights would be canceled Thursday -- he said it was too early to say how many -- and possibly on Friday, too.

A return to normal operations depends on how quickly mechanics can inspect and fix the wire bundles. As of Wednesday morning, only 30 MD-80s had been cleared to fly by the FAA.

Garton acknowledged that the bundling of wires had not met FAA standards, but he said "these were not huge errors" and posed no threat to safety. He said the agency used to give airlines "latitude" in interpreting safety regulations, but no longer.

The FAA began looking more closely at airlines' compliance with safety directives in recent weeks, after it was criticized for letting Southwest operate planes that had missed inspections for cracked fuselages.

In the past few weeks, the FAA levied a $10.2 million penalty against Southwest and conducted new inspections at all U.S. airlines, leading to flight cancellations at Southwest, Delta and United.

FAA spokeswoman Diane Spitaliere said inspectors found problems with the wiring bundles at 15 of 19 American MD-80s that it checked this week.

The 2006 safety order from the FAA directs airlines in how to pack and stow wiring to a hydraulic pump in the wheel well to prevent the wires from rubbing together.

According to the FAA, shorted wires could ignite fuel vapors and cause a fuel-tank explosion that could destroy a plane.

The explosion of TWA Flight 800 off New York's Long Island that killed all 230 people aboard in July 1996 was blamed on fuel vapors ignited by wiring. But it was a Boeing 747, not an MD-80, and investigators believe the disaster involved different wiring from the bundles now under scrutiny.

Brian Stirm, an aircraft-maintenance expert at Purdue University, said airlines had plenty of time for the inspections and that even an untrained mechanic could spot a problem.

The cancellations could hardly come at a worse time for American. Its parent, AMR Corp., is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings in two weeks, and analysts are forecasting a loss of more than $300 million. High fuel prices and the downturn in the economy are hurting the industry.

American officials said the company would give $500 travel vouchers to anyone stranded overnight. It also paid for hotel rooms and meals for an undisclosed number of passengers.

Bob McAdoo, an airline analyst, said passengers might soon forget the debacle, especially since several other major airlines have canceled flights recently. But he said passengers who missed big events like weddings might avoid American again.

Kathy Neer of Santa Fe, N.M., was caught up in both waves of cancellations to and from a vacation in Paris. She and her husband were stranded in Dallas on Tuesday on the final leg of their journey home. American gave the Neers a voucher for a hotel room and seats on another flight home Wednesday.

"They say our flight is leaving at 3:55 p.m., but do you think we trust them?" Neer said. "After being burned twice, we're a little skeptical."

Alitalia Accepts AirFrance KLM Bid

Alitalia's board on Sunday unanimously accepted Air France-KLM's bid valued at $1.1 billion in a move to save the struggling national carrier.

The Air France-KLM offer values the airline at 139 million euros ($216 million), far less than expected, based on a share swap of 1 Air France share for every 160 Alitalia shares. The Franco-Dutch carrier also said it will pay euro608 million ($946 million) for convertible shares.

Air France said it will inject euro1 billion ($1.56 billion) in capital once the deal is complete.

Alitalia's board issued a statement accepting the offer after a meeting that went some 16 hours into early Sunday. Air France said it was "happy" with Alitalia's decision.

Air France has said it wants to have union approval before the deal is completed. It also must be approved by the Italian government, which is selling its 50 percent share, as well as the stock market regulator and EU competition authorities.

Air France said it expected to have government and regulatory approvals within the first half of 2008.

Air France said it plans to relaunch Alitalia with an industrial and restructuring plan that will allow the Italian carrier "to rediscover the means of its development and to consolidate its status as a national leader." Alitalia will maintain its national identity within the Air France-KLM group, the carrier said in a statement.

Air France said it expected to be profitable by 2009.

Alitalia has been losing euro1 million ($1.56 million) a day, and its cash reserves were down to just euro282 million ($439 million)at the end of January, nearly a 25 percent drop from a month earlier.

The outgoing center-left government of Romano Prodi has been trying for more than a year to sell Alitalia. It's decision to enter exclusive talks with Air France-KLM has been met with opposition by unions concerned about jobs and backers of Milan's Malpensa airport, which would lose its status as a hub. Air France intends to maintain just one hub for Alitalia, at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport.

Opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi, who is favored to win national elections next month, recently said he could accept an Air France-KLM purchase of Alitalia if the Italian carrier maintains its national identity, backing down from his opposition to the deal.

Extreme Delays: Which Flights Are the Worst

Extreme delays that leave passengers trapped on airplanes for hours may seem as random as the weather. But those on-board nightmares that have garnered so much attention are more predictable than you think.

An analysis of extreme-delay data from last year shows clear patterns: Certain airlines and certain airports were more prone than others to long delays before takeoff and very late arrivals. Even certain flights had repeated trouble with very long delays.

When storms are forecast, for example, you might be wise to pack some food and tote your own water if traveling on Delta Air Lines Flight 133 from New York's Kennedy Airport to Los Angeles International Airport. That flight sat for more than three hours waiting to take off after pushing back from a gate on seven different days last year, according to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. That was more than any other flight.

Delta's Flight 31 on the same route had "taxi-out" times longer than three hours on six occasions, as did Continental Express Flight 2450 from Syracuse, N.Y., to Newark, N.J. Eight other flights ended up with taxi-out delays of three hours or more five different times.
Airlines say some flights simply end up at the end of long lines more often than others because they try to depart at the airport's busiest time. But it can be more than just unfortunate timing. Airline operations managers can juggle departures because of factors like which crews may run out of duty time first, which planes are more urgently needed for their next scheduled flight, which flights have the most high-dollar business travelers who they least want to be canceled, and which flights are headed to destinations with late-night curfews -- where airlines can be fined for flights arriving after a certain hour.

Delta says its flights sat in the JFK "penalty box" -- a remote parking area for jets -- on days when thunderstorms west of New York caused air-traffic controllers to suspend westbound departures for long periods of time. The carrier will cancel flights headed to airports with weather trouble to thin out arrivals, but is more reluctant to cancel departures in bad weather cities because those flights can wait on the ground, said Neil Stronach, vice president of operations. The result is occasional long waits.

"We don't cancel to manage departure banks unless there's bad weather in the place we're going," he said.

ExpressJet, the airline that operates that Continental Express flight, says Syracuse is the closest airport it serves to Newark -- so close that Flight 2450 has a hard time getting a space in the stream of airplanes headed for Newark. "Unfortunately, the way the air-traffic-control system is designed, flights from close proximity get unfairly penalized," said spokeswoman Kristy Nicholas.

Another factor that affects extremely long sitting: Airlines are less likely to cancel flights that move on to other hubs in their systems rather than turn around and go back to the same airport they just left. If a plane is going out and back to the same hub, canceling the trip just impacts those two flights. But if the aircraft is scheduled to move on to numerous cities, canceling that flight could disrupt many more customers. As a result, aircraft that aren't scheduled for "turns" are more likely to sit and wait long periods before the flight gets canceled. (Unfortunately there's no way for travelers to get this information about their flight.)

Extreme delays are rare, but the problem escalated dramatically last year, becoming the focus of Congressional hearings and legislation. The number of flights with taxi-out times of more than three hours totaled 1,598 for the first 11 months of 2007, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. (The agency hasn't released December data yet.) That's a 23.4% increase over the entire year of 2006, and December 2007 clearly added to the total for 2007 with widespread delays over the holiday season.

It's important to note that those 1,598 flights are only part of the extreme-delay problem. BTS doesn't record flights that land and then sit for prolonged periods, or flights that divert to another airport and sit.

What we do know is that of those taxi-out problems for planes waiting to take off, they often are bunched up at a few big hub airports.

JFK had 316 flights that waited more than three hours to take off last year after pushing back from a gate, according to BTS data. Newark had 202; Dallas-Fort Worth had 159, and Philadelphia, New York LaGuardia and Chicago's O'Hare each had 100 or more. Many big airports performed much better, such as Atlanta with only 31, Boston with 20, Detroit with six and Minneapolis with five.

Certain routes out of those problematic airports found themselves more often in taxi-out jail than others. From JFK, 60 of those 316 flights that sat more than three hours were bound for either Los Angeles or San Francisco. Planes flying the other direction didn't have the problem -- not a single flight in Los Angeles or San Francisco waited more than three hours to take off for JFK.

Why? To be sure, there are lots of flights from JFK to LAX and SFO, both heavily traveled routes. But airline officials say they are loath to cancel those high-revenue flights, often full of business travelers. Better to wait it out than try to rebook a big planeload of people.

Other routes with repeated problems: New York LaGuardia-to-Chicago O'Hare had 20 flights sit waiting more than three hours, and 14 in the other direction; Philadelphia-to-O'Hare also had 20 flights with taxi-out times greater than three hours, and five headed from O'Hare to Philadelphia.

Certain airlines also were more willing to wait than cancel. JetBlue Airways customers were the most likely to suffer taxi-out more than three hours, based on the percentage of the airline's flights that suffered three-hour taxi-out nightmares, followed by Continental and ExpressJet.
JetBlue also had the longest average delay last year, according to FlightStats. When a JetBlue flight was late, it arrived 67 minutes past its scheduled arrival time at the gate on average, according to FlightStats.

JetBlue says JFK, its home base, struggled with lengthy delays last year on stormy days, and delays were exacerbated for flights that departed in the early evening when international flights to Europe were also trying to take off.

Flight-crew and curfew issues can affect JetBlue's departures, a spokesman noted. Flights destined for airports like Long Beach and San Diego in California, both of which have late-night curfews, can move ahead of other aircraft, leaving others to wait longer, so that the airline doesn't get fined for curfew violations, spokesman Bryan Baldwin said. "We might prioritize different departures based on a variety of factors," he said.

JetBlue also says it has shifted its strategy to cancel more flights in advance to reduce long delays rather than trying to operate every trip, no matter how long it takes