Airlines Seek FAA's Help to Deal with Weather Delays

On the heels of storm delays that battered JetBlue Airways Corp., the trade group representing the nation's airlines said Thursday that the government should "promptly" call a meeting of government officials and air carriers to figure out how to tackle weather delays.

The Air Transport Association, which represents most major passenger and cargo carriers, said the Federal Aviation Administration should allow delayed flights to come back to terminals so passengers who want to exit planes can do so without forcing those planes to lose their place in line for departure.

In addition, the association said the Transportation Department should make sure that airlines and airports have plans in place to that passengers of delayed flights are not stranded at airports without adequate food, water or restrooms.

"We believe these steps offer the best course of action," the association's president, James C. May, said in a prepared statement. "A rigid, national regulation would be counterproductive, and could easily result in greater passenger inconvenience."

An icy winter blast helped lead to over 1,000 canceled flights for New York-based JetBlue and tales of woe from some passengers who were stuck on planes for hours. It's stock has wobbled since the Feb. 14 storm hit.

Shares of JetBlue closed down 3 cents to $13.13 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, where shares of UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines, closed down $1.20 to $43.39. Shares of AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines, closed down 51 cents to $38.02 on the New York Stock Exchange.

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