Flying? Checking two bags? Not so fast, my friend...

I can't do a list of mine, but a quick look at my calendar I may be 3 times that.
Flying sucks.

 

And now Delta and Northwest are looking to merge?

So afternoon short-hops that were previously sorta late can now be monstrously late, with a reduced schedule and higher prices, to boot?

Choking business at the root, since 2008.

 

Hey, they expanded their way into bankruptcy, why shouldn't they be able to expand their way out of it, too? No peanuts for you!

 

I'm driving ten tomorrow to avoid flying. It's that fucking miserable.

 

Flying to some event with Bob Ryan, he came up with the greatest business idea I think I've ever heard. The all-business traveler airline. If you didn't have a note from the company, you couldn't buy a ticket.
That's a service for which many would pay a premium.

 

You really think so, in this economy? Would the beancounters at your paper approve a $500 ticket to Florida for spring training on a business-only flight when they can get a cattle-class fare for $200?

And even if they did, there is still security (take off your shoes, take out your laptop, take off your belt, remove your 3 oz or smaller toiletries, etc), which is enough of a hassle.

Airlines pump most of their customer service resources into their international flights, because that's where they make the most money.

 

As I suggested earlier in the thread, you don't even need a separate airline. Just differentiated business/tourist flights running on the same old
schedule.

And unless your company books all its travel through an online discounter, or has a ridiculous corporate discount, they're paying $500 for a $200 seat right now anyway.

A big part of the problem here is that airlines have a habit of overexpansion, even though the best economic model for every airline from the beginning of time has been as a smaller, limited route operation.

 

Well, that does explain a lot.

If your life is flying, then yeah, I guess it would suck.

 

F_B...

I've been thinking about this overnight.

Yes, our industry can suck at times. But name one that doesn't. Name one that's better now than in the glory days of your youth.

In fact, name a current band that can match the Beetles or whoever you like.

Things change. It's different now. We're paid less and work harder than before. I try my hardest to make the passenger's experience the best they can have. Others don't. I can't apologize for that. I'm sure you've had some experiences that rankle you even now. I know I have.

But when there's weather in the northeast and your plane is delayed, it isn't because we want to keep you in Atlanta. It's cause with an atiquidated ATC system, it's dangerous to put that many planes in the air. But then passengers want us to give them food and hotel rooms or rent a car for them, throwing a fit when we don't do it. Last month, we were on-time 88% of the time, completing 99.4% of our daily flights and mishandling just 0.7% of passengers bags. If you fall in those minorities, it was truly bad luck for you. It doesn't mean we all suck.

Markvid... if you fly that much, you increase your chances of having a bad experience. I don't know what else to tell you. I promise, if you fly into the T gates in ATL, we will try to make it the best for you.

And playthrough, one of those trips was leaving at 9:30 p.m. and hopping on the 6:30 the next morning. I was there for 5 hours. Won $70 after taxies. Not a bad trip

 

The ability to check two bags isn't the main issue for me. I was fucked when they reduced the weight limit.

Having just returned from a trip, I just wish, for once, that airlines gave the passengers at least one extra inch of leg room. Is it really too much to ask? There is no reason that I should be spending $500 to sit in a seat where my knees are in the seat in front of me.