Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007 —

Since 9/11, air travel has (necessarily) become more challenging, but nothing prepared those JetBlue passengers for what happened last week. Eager to spend some time away over Valentine's Day, passengers were forced to sit on the runway, within the aircraft, for 11 hours. And, after all that, they went back to the gate and were disembarked -- no nearer their holiday destination.

David Neeleman, CEO of JetBlue Airways, has said that he deeply regrets what happened, but some passengers now want more than an apology. In tonight's program, my colleague Chris Bury follows Kate Hanni, an advocate for airline passengers, as she tries to drum up support in Washington for a passengers' bill of rights. She wants to ensure that airlines are prohibited from holding travelers for long periods of time and believes that airlines should be forced to provide basic amenities when delays occur. But the airlines are a powerful group, and Kate Hanni faces a challenging task.

Speaking of challenges, tonight's program will also include the story of Tyler Perry, an African-American media mogul who has found a way of making movies that make money without having to sell his moral commitments. Perry's story begins in the trauma of abuse that he says he suffered at the hands of his father. His screen-writing skills, discovered by accident, were then used to help him climb upward. "Nightline's" Vicki Mabrey conducted a challenging and thoughtful interview when she spent time on the set with Perry.

The team is still discussing our endpiece for tonight's show, and so I'll sign off with that as a surprise to come. I do hope you'll join us at 11.35 p.m. ET.

Martin Bashir, "Nightline" co-anchor
and the rest of the "Nightline" team.

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