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Why Airline Travel Sucks
An industry insider brashly explains why air travel has gotten so bad. (www.fastcodesign.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
I won't fly between Boston and Washington (and points in between) due to this very issue - unless a day trip. Lots of bottled rage I think on both sides and I don't feel the flight service crew are particularly proud of the services they offer. Understaffed and underpaid crews is my impression and of course I don't see anyone enjoying their flights anymore.
Remember the days when the saying, "Getting there is half the fun" was actually true? TSA and the airlines have eliminated that now, and I wonder if anyone knows how much it's really affected the tourism industry. It's got to have had some negative impact and I wonder why the tourism industry doesn't seem to be putting any pressure on the airlines over it?
Over the last 20 years, US businesses have pushed we business travellers to coach and have travel booking systems that enforce the cheapest tickets. Also, boarding status has become the only perk (sit in economy + (not much) and get on early enough to get overhead bin space. Having lost status on United (by reducing my utter dependency on them as my only carrier), I now fly the airlines that are most covenient and purchase the seat extras (buy economy + with its boarding preference). International carriers the same. In effect @dav555 you can "pay $300 ... instead of $200. That 33% more is called premium economy (BTW it was $411 on Virgin Atlantic SFO>LHR). Everywhere else I look in life you get more when you pay more. Same game flying.
I fly all the time so I guess I know what to expect, what I might get and what I must tolerate to get from point A to point B in far fewer hours than on rail or road. Are airlines perfect? Of course not. Do they have their share of self inflicted and externally inflicted problems? You bet but in all fairness, their customers are certainly not free from fault in making the experience dreadful.
There was a day when a simple flight cost three times what it is today on a schedule not very flexible and to locations not very accommodating. Things changed with deregulation not just with the airlines but with the industry and customer base. There are a lot more flights to choose from going to a lot more destinations for a pretty economical price. The trade off is comfort, customer service and amenities. You also get the folks that simply can't grasp the concept that you can't bring a gallon of water on the plane, pass through a metal detector wearing ten pounds of jewelry and wearing boots that take thirty minutes to unlace.
Is it fair and just? Probably not but if you're like me who spends way too much time at airports, you deal with it just like a trucker who has to share the road with drivers who shouldn't own a skateboard, roads that would destroy a Jeep and vehicles that can't hold a lane......
PS - No clue about all the stories of "TSA groping". I cruise though TSA well over 150 times a year and short of waiting for afore mentioned passengers, have never had a problem. Some locations are better than others, some lines painfully longer than others and some agents who seriously need a better outlook on life but it's hardly enough to get a rise over.
There was a day when a simple flight cost three times what it is today on a schedule not very flexible and to locations not very accommodating. Things changed with deregulation not just with the airlines but with the industry and customer base. There are a lot more flights to choose from going to a lot more destinations for a pretty economical price. The trade off is comfort, customer service and amenities. You also get the folks that simply can't grasp the concept that you can't bring a gallon of water on the plane, pass through a metal detector wearing ten pounds of jewelry and wearing boots that take thirty minutes to unlace.
Is it fair and just? Probably not but if you're like me who spends way too much time at airports, you deal with it just like a trucker who has to share the road with drivers who shouldn't own a skateboard, roads that would destroy a Jeep and vehicles that can't hold a lane......
PS - No clue about all the stories of "TSA groping". I cruise though TSA well over 150 times a year and short of waiting for afore mentioned passengers, have never had a problem. Some locations are better than others, some lines painfully longer than others and some agents who seriously need a better outlook on life but it's hardly enough to get a rise over.
The government is too munch involved in the airline business and you know what happens when liberals try to run things, they screw it all up!
Still remember those pleasant flights in the sixties with unique Pan Am.
I avoid travelling like cattle in todays airliners.
I avoid travelling like cattle in todays airliners.