News/Commentary

Fox News’ Bill Melugin not thrilled with American Airlines: ‘Never had this kind of delay before’

May 1, 2023 | | Print Article

Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin was not thrilled with a delay by American Airlines as he was heading back from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles, with the airline claiming it had over-fueled and had to “defuel hundreds of gallons” before takeoff.

“Interesting… I’m delayed in DC trying to fly back to LA because @AmericanAir says they also ‘over fueled’ this plane and even though we were heading to the runway, we are now heading back to the gate to ‘defuel hundreds of gallons’. Never had this kind of delay before,” Melugin noted.

He retweeted Ben Bergquam, the host of Law and Border, who it seems experienced the same excuse on his flight, but with a different solution.

“Well this is insane! About to fly out of Austin, Texas on American Airlines and they started kicking people off the flight because they said the ground crew ‘over fueled’ the plane and now we are over weight. By-the-way, this is while we’re still flying illegals all over the country! …And just an update, we’re still waiting to take off almost an hour late which means I’m going to miss my connection too. …30 mins later after we were sitting on the runway waiting to take off: Now they’re saying there’s an equipment problem with the air conditioning so we have to go back to the gate. What happened to customer service @americanair @RealAmVoice,” Bergquam tweeted.

In an accompanying video, Bergquam explained, “So, on the plane right now and about to take off and… they over-fueled the plane and now they’re kicking people off the plane. That’s crazy.”

Melugin was incensed that there would be even further delays for his particular flight, “And now we’ve just been told when we finally do get in the air after a 2+ hour delay, instead of going direct to LA as scheduled, we are going to have to make a fuel stop in Albuquerque. Complete incompetence from @americanair, but unsurprising as constantly issues w/ them.”

So, they were over-fueled but didn’t have enough to get to Los Angeles.

Former Director of National Intelligence under the Trump administration, Richard Grenell, is not happy with American Airlines either.

Delays are nothing new on airlines these days, but the excuse of over-fueling seems to be a new one.

Although American Airlines claims to be doing better financially, like every other airline in the United States it is besieged by a myriad of problems. The airline had already been accused of retaliating against workers who complained about fumes in its cabins. Add in a fuel shortage and a pandemic and you have chaos. And then there are labor relations.

On Monday, American Airlines pilots voted to authorize a potential strike in the latest woe for the sky giant.

The Wall Street Journal reported, “The Allied Pilots Association, which represents some 15,000 American Airlines pilots, said 99% of votes were in favor of authorizing a strike, with 96% of its members voting.”

The media outlet went on to report that an agreement is hopefully forthcoming, “The airline said Monday that it believes an agreement could come together quickly, with a handful of matters remaining to resolve, and characterized the vote as an expression of pilots’ sense of urgency.”

“The finish line is in sight,” a spokeswoman said for the airline. “We understand that a strike authorization vote is one of the important ways pilots express their desire to get a deal done and we respect the message of voting results.”

It sounds like the pilots have had it with delays and want more pay etc. which is understandable.

“Capt. Ed Sicher, the union’s president, said that while pilots are willing to strike if necessary, reaching a deal for a new contract is still possible. He said pilots had proposed scheduling and work rules that could benefit pilots and make the airline more reliable,” The Wall Street Journal reported.

“The best outcome is for APA and management to agree on an industry-leading contract—achieved through good-faith bargaining,” Sicher asserted.

Pilots at Southwest Airlines are set to begin voting on a similar strike authorization measure in May.

American Airlines had hoped it could reach a deal with its pilots last fall, but union leaders rejected a tentative proposal that would have included pay raises of 20% over two years.

Others bashed the airline as well:

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