A million reasons why I think you can find me another flight

UPDATE: Even the ever mild mannered super model Naomi Campbell is getting p.o.ed by all the problems with air travel these days.

In a recently flied lawsuit, a New York lawyer is suing Delta for One Million buckaroonies for ruining his family vacation. Now I'm not one to support totally frivolous lawsuits, BUT, while this case seems a little out there, I do think it has some merits, and represents the frustrations of the flying public everywhere. The reason I kinda agree with the guy is the outrageousness of the timing and the airline's response. He and his family left for his trip on December 20th, hoping to get to Argentina for his mom's 80th b-day. After he missed his connecting flight in Atlanta, he was told that Delta could not get him to Argentina until JANUARY 8TH! I mean c'mon, there's absolutely no way that the airline could not have found a few seats on one of their own planes or another carrier for over two weeks.

Again, we come back to the theme of customer service. These airlines are so worried about saving their financial asses in the short term, that they can't see the forest for the trees. I mean if they had put this guy and his family on another flight that day or the next, on a Delta plane or some other airline; or in first class or business class within a day or two, they would have solved the problem and probably gained a customer for life. Instead they screwed him to save a few bucks and in return got a million dollar lawsuit and a crap load of bad press.

Outsourcing our safety

Now I'm not one of those folks that automatically assumes everything outsourced to a foreign country is inferior. However, when it comes to airline safety, it would seem that the folks charged with protecting us, the FAA, should have ready access to those maintaining our planes. However, as the Today Show discussed this morning, airlines outsourcing of plane maintenance abroad makes FAA inspectors virtually powerless to adequately inspect these planes and ensure that proper maintenance practices and procedures occur. Here's a brilliant idea, how about taking the few trillion we've spent on the 6 year war in Iraq, a war that has cost the lives of tens of thousands, and spend a fraction of that money to protect the lives of millions in the traveling public. Radical idea huh?

The rich get richer...the rest of us get screwed

UPDATE 2: United has followed AA in accessing a bag fee to us sorry saps in economy class. It's a matter of time until the rest follow. They keep blaming this on rising fuel costs. If and when fuel prices come down they better give us back our "perks." But I have a suspicion that we'll never see free bag checks again.

UPDATE: According to an American Airlines press release, the fee is $15 for the first bag, EACH WAY of a round trip flight. So it's really $30 for one bag and $50 for the second. So a year ago traveling with two checked bags cost us bubkiss, now it will cost $80.

American Airlines just announced they will begin charging $15 for the FIRST checked bag on a flight, on top of the previously announced $25 for a second bag. As outrageous as the premise of this announcement is, given that you now have to pay for EVERYTHING on a flight, the fact that they will NOT be charging elite frequent flyer members and those with "premium" tickets is even more insane and insulting. Ok, so the folks that can most afford an extra $15 bucks, the corporate execs., the celebrities, the generally well off, get a pass, while the rest of us, with our credit card debt, our energy costs, our food price increases, must now subsidize an industry that is in a decline of its own making. Typical.

Just when you thought you could relax

The amazing thing about my fear of flying is that I'm only scared while in the air. When I'm on the ground, taxiing, landing, whatever, I'm straight shits and giggles. That's why the most recent story regarding the real "danger zone" of flying being when you're on the GROUND was disturbing to say the least.

I mean seriously, in an age in which I can see, in real time, everything from the weather in Sri Lanka, to the location of an ex-roommate's apartment in San Francisco, to what's on Tuesday's menu at our new favorite restaurant in Paris, we have a lot of technology out there, and yet somehow pilots and air traffic controllers can't see each other on the ground. It's absolutely pathetic. Somehow our government justifies spending 1/2 a trillion a year on the defense budget to keep us "safe", while the real risk to our lives is taxing out on runway 2E at Laguardia. What a country.


P.S. The flying experience on the honeymoon to Paris/Italy lived up to all the hype: AirCanada was amazing, the most relaxing and dignified travel experience of my life; easyjet, no frills but they had the most beautiful (male) flight attendants we've ever seen; and Lufthansa, efficient, orderly, very German.