Flying traitors: Why air travel is un-American

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Boycott airlines at your own risk... I can't understand why Christopher Elliott is always so excited to boycott the airlines.  If we drive all of the airlines into bankruptcy, the they will just cut capacity so that only business travelers can afford to fly... I guess if this happens, the nobody gets treated unfairly.  We leisure travelers can just drive!  This article (and the many others similar to it) are just nonsense, written because it is cool to bash the airlines.

I don't think this article was writ en to bash the airlines but see me when I get back from my trip tomorrow to Manchester, NH...my opinion might change. 

Seriously....my husband just recently tried to book a flight with a carrier to Las Vegas.  When he booked it through the carrier directly...he was told it would be one stop in Cleveland.  When he got his confirmation email it stated that it was in fact two stops....from Myrtle Beach to Laquardia in NYC....to Cleveland and then to Las Vegas....but because all they are doing is picking up people in NYC and he does not have to get off the plane...they are only booking it as one stop.  That is insane....especially if one is making a cross country trip....and to top it off...my husband is physically disabled.  That is too much traveling to be doing in one day.  I don't even want to talk about the problems he is having trying to get his money back. 

First of all....if we had people taking these reservations that speak English fluently...that would be a big help.  It is so frustrating when you have to keep spelling a very basic name like John 4 or 5 times because someone does not understand....and they still manage to get it wrong when your confirmation comes up.

Then there is basic customer service skills that are lacking when you get to check in...airlines know that they have got you....with flights being eliminated....you have a very limited window of opportunity to get where you need to go.  And if your flight is delayed or cancelled by weather or other forces....what can you do?  There are thousands who are in the same predicament.    The attitude is take it or leave it...that is the rule and if you don't like it try to find something else....but the problem is...there is no one else who can help.  So at the very least....treat your customers like human beings.

Third....I cannot understand for the life of me why the airlines are struggling?  Paying to check baggage...no food, no pillows, blankets, you have to pay for your drinks now...paying for what seat you want....listen, I know fuel is expensive...but if the demand for the service is only going up...and flight routes are going down....why do the airlines continue to struggle? 

It's sad to say....but when I travel tomorrow...I fully expect to be problems.  That is sad...because I remember a time when it was a pleasure to fly....now, I dread it...not because I'm scared of flying....because I am not looking forward to any time that I head to the ticket counter to check in....

I don't have a problem with giving amenities to the frequent flyers, however their entire family (which aren't frequent flyers) should not be treated the same.  Only the individual that earned the miles should. 

I totally agree.  Pick a time frame and everyone boycott and send a clear message to airlines.

We had attendants repeatedly tell us not to get up on a flight to Europe.  When I explained that doctor had told my Mom to get up and walk around, still she would not let her. She went to bathroom 2x and even then was told to get back to the seat each time.  There was no turbulance and other white passengers were not bothered.  Asked for water and never got it.  Had orderered vegetarian (religious reasons) got meat dish which could not eat. Asked for extra nuts or anything else they had said no.  I mean a flight from hell.

I think when you fly, the real prejudices come out and people get mean. May be they thought we were muslim, which we are not, we are brown colored though.

I now fly whenever I can.

I don't think attendants should have guns.

I partially agree with this article. Fliers, regardless of where they're sitting, should have access to water and clean bathrooms. They should be free to get up and move if they've been sitting for hours and if they have to be on the plane more than 5-6 hours, they should get some sort of food.

But leisure travellers have decided to shop based solely on price. I know because I've seen my mother choose one airline over another because of a price difference of $0.46. This puts tremendous pressure on airlines to do whatever they have to to make sure that when you do your search on Expedia or Travelocity, theirs is the lowest price on screen. To make up for that, they add on lots of fees and other back end charges that don't show up. People call it a bait and switch (it may well be), but ask yourself honestly do you consider total costs, or automatically choose the lowest one and hope for the best? Most people do the latter.

For instance, I went to London with old friends for a week this spring. They found an uber cheap flight on United.  I opted to pay $300 more to fly British Airways. Sounds like a lot of money, but really it isn't. Both of my friends had their suitcases destroyed by the gentle minstrations of United. Since they had to replace the bags in London, that was well over $100 each (lousy exchange rate) in baggage costs. They were seated in middle seats on overcrowded flights and didn't sleep, so they lost the first day jet lagged, tired and grumpy in the hotel. I was on a much less crowded flight that allowed the passengers to spread out and be comfortable. I spent my first day siteseeing, it was a bonus day in the city (which would have cost $169 if I had to pay for an extra night's hotel), so really my total extra cost was less than $30. And I had a much better time.

Is it really so unAmerican to point out that people get what they pay for? If you're trying to go to Tahiti on the same budget as Toledo, OH, expect some issues to crop up.

Don't know if you realize that part of the AIG bailout had to do with the airlines.  They don't own their own planes.  AIG buys the planes and leases them to the airlines.  This would make sense if AIG paid to maintain them but they don't.

Adding the cost of profit for leasing to AIG to our tickets.

Another in the long list of WTF things that they do.

Let them fail and let better businesses run them.

My husband and I just spent 15+ hours traveling to and from Denver to Rome, Italy and it was misarable compared to what I remember traveling used to be.  $5 for a little 'snack' on the 3-5 hour flight from Denver to the international hub - a snack we didn't buy because it wasn't worth the $.  Then we didn't have time to buy something during the transfer and the meals served on the long distance were pitifull compared to what I remember getting on just domestic.  Even worse was the size of the seats - yeah I am overweight but even if I was still my college weight of 120 lbs I still would have found it a tight fit.  As for my husband, he's about 6 feet surely not THAT tall and he had no room for his knees, especially when the chair in front was reclined.  I'm 5'4 and I remeber a couple of flights where even I thought I had no knee room.  There should be a minimum seat size and distance based on the size of 90% of Americans.  I don't know what that would be, but it has to be larger than what I've encountered on airlines recently. 

The comment about what's next - locks on the seatbelts may not be the joke it sounds like.  I heard something about a security idea being floated about all passengers being forced to wear bracelets that when activated by the crew would give the passenger a strong electric shock and disable them.

A friend also told me that a friend of his had an IPOD confiscated by customs because they thought that it contained illegal music on it.  No warrent, no evidence.

I am 64 and retired from a job that kept me on planes most of the week for years. Its true; it is not that it is almost un-American but  rather that one is treated like a non-American. We are now literally prisoners w/o rights and harassed by the plane crew under the convenient veil of the Patriot Act. we are stripped of our rights. And I agree; most frequent fliers paid the fare with their employer's money not theirs. I hope that with the end of the current president's term we can re visit the Patriot Act and pass the American Act like the one the British have that says we will not be made prisoners of our own fears.

Mr. Elliott makes a valid point - just flew British Airways for the first time and the service on that flight was amazing when compared to American Airline which i had always flown.      Airlines may be in financial trouble but taking away all the basics including basic (reasonable) comfort seems a bit extreme - it is as if passengers are being punished for the mess that these airlines now find themselves - I am tired of feeling victimized everytime I fly.

What really strikes me as un-American is the way so many politicians try to polarize people.  And in his own petty way, Elliott is just exemplifying that problem.  What a silly article.

I can't for the life of me imagine why any self-respecting citizen of the free world (never mind this "free" country) would submit to being treated like a prisoner and pay through the nose for the privilege, all because they perceive that they might be saving an hour or two of travel time. Give me my car (or a nice rental car) and an open road any day. I can travel at my own pace, pack the car with anything (and everything) that I want to take with me. I can leave when I want and know within an hour or so what time I can expect to arrive at my destination. I don't have to take my shoes off, put my personal items in little plastic baggies, stuff my clothes into the smallest suitcase known to man, or hope my earrings don't set off some alarm system. And, despite high gasoline prices, I save money over the exorbitant cost of an airline ticket.

Saving time flying? It probably takes you one to two hours to drive from your home or office to the airport. Add another 45 minutes to one hour to park your car and ride a shuttle to the terminal. From this point, you should have left yourself 2 hours (minimum) until your flight is scheduled to depart. Hopefully, your flight will depart on time, because you already have at least 5 hours invested in this debacle (and you've had to take off your shoes, empty your pockets, put all your personal items through x-ray, get frisked and walk through a metal detector.) If your flight is on time and you don't get left on the runway to rot, you have another 2 hours of flight time before landing. At the other end of the flight, you can get delayed again either in the air or on the ground. If not, you can expect to wait about 45 minutes to an hour to get your bags. By the time you get in your rental car (free at last!) your minimum time invested is 8 hours. How long would it have taken you to drive?

look into amtrak, yes they have some access issues but its a great way to travel cheap and usually quicker than driving

Whiny ass Americans...if you don't like it...don't fly.....if you think it's not fair...start your own airline and see how easy it is to stay in business. If you want the upgrades, dig in your wallet and pay for them, nobody is stopping you. Take away the incentives for the successful and you have certain total and complete failure of the system....keep it up libs, but be careful what you wish for.

I would not say flying now is un-American but rather "low grade" when it comes to flying within the Continental U.S. After flying for more than 30 years the fun has been taken out of air travel. I would much rather jump in a car now and bear the high price of gas than deal with the totalitarian attitude that has been instilled under the guise of "security". I miss the days where you could just stand at the gate and watch people leave for their mysterious destinations and watch the joy of those who arrived. Air travel used to be the privileged way to get around but now it's like riding that South American bus we've seen so many times in the movies where you're having to fend off the chickens and roosters of the neighboring peasant farmer. Overall I feel that it's because the Airlines and the Feds have taken the humanity once again from something we hold dear.

What a bunch of whining drivel.  I fly first-class - on my own dime - not a corporate one.  Now that I am in my 60s I have arrived at an economic state that I can do that.  I pay extra because I think the perks are worth it.  I've flown coach a lot over the years, and I don't think it's so bad.  Everyone in the plane gets to the same place, and that's the object.  We pay a basic fair to get there, and extra if we want nice stuff en route.
Maybe you think the distinctions and restrictions aren't fair -- but they are just.  Get over it.

What a bunch of whining drivel.  I fly first-class - on my own dime - not a corporate one.  Now that I am in my 60s I have arrived at an economic state that I can do that.  I pay extra because I think the perks are worth it.  I've flown coach a lot over the years, and I don't think it's so bad.  Everyone in the plane gets to the same place, and that's the object.  We pay a basic fair to get there, and extra if we want nice stuff en route.
Maybe you think the distinctions and restrictions aren't fair -- but they are just.  Get over it.

I'm with you.  Quit whining and get over it.

Airlines and Hospitals: two places where technical safety experts have unparalleled authority.

And if either one fails you, the other can't help.

depends on how you define "american". We're currently living in the greatest disparity in wealth and income since the Gilded age.  Every day in every city and down in America there are vast differences in treatment and quality of life. This includes the way people are cared for to how they process through the judicial system. If anything, the airlines are but a small microcosm of what's has been the standard in America for a very long time.

I believe Mr. Elliott has made some good points.  I only have one point to make.

When a passenger flying Coach has to pay for a glass of water, the airlines have gone too far. 

Does this make me a whiner? No matter how one looks at the airline industry, it's really shocking how much the service and treatment of Coach passengers has declined.

I'm planning a trip before Christmas to Spokane, WA. from San Diego. I may take the train.

Let's see, that's 6-8 hours of travel versus 37 hours of travel..... Why?  Last time I flew, I was a nervous wreck BEFORE I got on the plane. The security screeners were yelling at the (cattle) passengers.

And then it is into a tiny seat where the person in front of you has their head right in your lap. You don't dare get up to go to the ladies' room, as it would disturb 2 ROWS of passengers.

Extra luggage, meals??? I haven't even gotten to that yet.

In other words, if gas was not so high, I'd drive the 30 hours, rather than fly. At least if you take the train, you have room to put your arms on the armrests!!!!!!

I agree with the part about the lack of privacy and unreasonable searches while traveling, but you have the government to thank for this, Mr. Elliott, not so much the airlines. And the people for being passive and complacent enough to allow this sort of infringement of our rights. As far as the difference in flying experience between first class, and coach, you get what you pay for. I can't afford to fly first class, but I wouldn't deny those who can the opportunity to do so. In truth, I miss the days when flying used to be a glamorous experience. These days, you can still get that experience - if you pay for it. And there is nothing wrong with being able to do so.

To the gentleman who now flys first-class...

When you flew cattle car in the past, please remember there were meals and drinks.

When you last flew "economy," did you pay for a glass of water?