Anybody have a report on the inaugural flight this weekend from JFK to Bonaire?

It arrived...a bit late due to delays in incoming connecting flights...(3 hours)

which airline?

Pat: I think they're talking about the new Delta non stop.

We-l-l-l-l. I have a lot to say.

The flight was about 3 hours late in leaving JFK. About half of that can be attributed to weather. The other half can be attributed to waiting for connecting flights (delayed due to weather). I have absolutely no problem in them waiting because if someone missed the connection, he or she might never get to Bonaire during Christmas week.

HOWEVER, when I inquired whether they might at least give us meals for free, and was told the stewardess had no authority, I asked that the message be relayed to the captain. He came on the intercom and said they couldn't provide meals because the delay was weather related. That tells me that corporate Delta has a tight rein on spending (and making passengers comfortable). It also tells me that the captain was nowhere near as creative as he could be.

The delay was a decision by Delta not to lose revenue. With the money saved, they could have at least offered us meals for free.

No, they couldn't. They did sell the meals -- and they ran out. The planners did not assume so many people would buy meals, because they didn't plan for a delay.

Could they have adjusted things when they realized we would not leave the gate for almost 2-1/2 hours past the planned schedule? Sure. They could have quickly ordered more meals and put them aboard. But they didn't.

But what about water. Water ran out in the toilets about 1-1/2 hours before landing. Why?

A Delta employee explained that after the flight arrived from its previous stop, the company forgot to put water on the plane, so it took off with 1/4 of the normal amount. This meant limitations on water for people to drink, and they had to stop making coffee.

When the staff realized that someone had forgotten to put water on the plane, it was so late that they would have had to go back to the gate and lose their takeoff slot again.

The lack of adequate water, of course, can cause health problems. I don't know whether it did.

Delta has become a penny=pinching airline, with poor use of its maintenance checklists, and a lack of imagination as well in recognizing problems and solving them creatively.

And no champagne on the inaugural flight!