Disturbing post on another forum about evacuations in Mexico

[Sanibel]

This is a narrow storm. I still say the most Cancun will get is 75-85mph winds.

I wonder if some people in here don't know geography? Cancun is 35 miles north of Cozumel...

[Persepone]

I have friends that went to Cancun Friday. I tried my best to convince them not to but I got told, "We booked this trip through AAA and they say it will be okay." They went on to say the "travel agent" was monitoring the storm and would certainly advise them to cancel if they were in harms way. I'm afraid they are about a learn a lesson they won't forget if they survive it. This whole family lives outside of hurricane country and have no idea what's coming at them. People put there trust in the strangest people. They really wanted to go to Cancun so they listened to the only people that told them it was a safe bet. So stupid, so very very stupid.

If it is true that a AAA travel agent said "it would be okay," then AAA should receive zillions of complaints! Any travel agent that sends people into harm's way should be reprimanded/punished.

I wondered last year about all the advertising here for visiting places in Florida (notably Port St. Lucie) that had just been hit by a hurricane. While an influx of tourist dollars would certainly be welcome, I can't see how a place where the Red Cross, etc. is trying to distribute water, food, emergency supplies, etc. could possibly need an influx of clueless people wandering around looking at the devastation.

As I posted elsewhere, I was once in Mexico during flooding (1960s)--and perhaps it was "forecast" and I missed the forecast since I don't speak Spanish--but I was one lone tourist and I'm sure that I was a pain in the neck because I have to say that everyone took special care of me--and they were the ones who needed the care--not me! I can only say that I was mightily impressed by Mexican hospitality in the middle of a natural disaster...

I can't imagine deliberately putting yourself in harm's way by going to a place where a hurricane is forecast. That's what trip cancellation insurance is for! But having "reputable" travel agents tell people that it is "okay" to go to a destination where a hurricane is forecast? Immoral!

[mike18xx]

It always amazes me that the airlines don't send extra flights to get Americans out of harm's way.

Where do they get these "extra flights" from?

I don't know of any airline that has spare operational jumbo-jets just sitting around, gassed up and waiting for an emergency to call them out of their hangers.

Besides: The tourists are going to be fine. Sure, it may be exciting/scary and maybe the windows will break and rain will blow down the hall and they'll get wet inside -- but they'll make it.

It's the locals in clapboard houses that'll suffer.

[Sanibel]

Just the opposite. Almost every major airline has hundreds of aircraft that overnight in some airport. Cancun is only a few hours from the US. All airlines have a slew of on-call pilots ready to go.

They don't send them because no weasel manager wants to risk his neck. It isn't fear of gumming up the schedule with a mechanical problem, because that can happen to ANY aircraft anytime. The reason is they don't want to take the risk of making the effort for the extra effort it would take. They don't want you expecting them to do it in the future...

[HurricaneQueen]

Thanks, Sanibel. I'm getting really tired of hearing these "experts' on the airline industries. Obviously, none of them have been in the path of a killer storm and at the mercy of big industry. Not a very comfortable feeling when you have no control over your destiny.

Maybe if the airlines showed a little compassion, they wouldn't be in the the dire straights they are today. I don't pretent to know the ins and outs of the airlines but common sense says that there are emergency planes at the ready. It's just a matter of the higher ups deciding what is important. A little positive PR wouldn't hurt them!

Actually, at this time it is a moot point. Now is the time to pray for the safety of all of those in the path of Emily. While we are comfortably sleeping in our own beds they are possible experiencing an event that will be difficult to ever forget.

Lynn

[gtalum]

What's obvious is that neither of you iknows the first thing about airline operations.

Sure most jets overnight somewhere. But when, exactly, do you think the airlines do the required maintenance on their jets? Here's a hint: it's not during the day while they're flying.

The airlines do not just have hundreds of jets lying around to be added as extra sections.

[gtalum]

And then you've got flight and cabin crews and scheduling issues to make it even more complicated.

[Sanibel]

Sure most jets overnight somewhere. But when, exactly, do you think the airlines do the required maintenance on their jets? Here's a hint: it's not during the day while they're flying.

The airlines do not just have hundreds of jets lying around to be added as extra sections.

I'm sure we will get in trouble for off-topic, but the maintenance of a single jet sent as a chartered relief flight would only take a short time. No more time than the pilot flight prep. You don't have to be an airline expert to figure that out. That's simply not a real argument considering the time it would take the maintenance crew to ready one or two jets.

The real problem would be contacting those who flew down in order to inform them of the charter. It would be difficult to find, organize, and inform all the passengers. Then you have litigation by those left behind for one reason or another.

Miami, Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas are all major hubs within a few hours flying distance. Especially Miami. There's no real reason why a parked overnight aircraft (of which there are many) couldn't be utilized for a quick evacuation flight. It would be more difficult to do in the daytime in the middle of the day during the height of the schedule, but there is almost always an extra plane available for a cancelled flight. I'm sure there would be one for an emergency.

Another way to do it is send a wide body instead of the narrow body scheduled to go to Cancun that day. All majors almost always have such an aircraft available as back-up. That's if the runway is long enough.