A new low in air travel......

[Cellar Hound]

I know I may be speaking into the abyss here but has air travel degraded to a low enough level? I’m waiting for another late flight to take off again.

As I sit here and think of the fact that they charge so much for checked baggage that everyone drags their bag to the gate.

Invariably, a quarter of the way into boarding the flight, the people with seats in the back of the plane start putting carry-on bags in the front of the plane so they don’t miss keeping their bag on-board.

Then.....the people with seats in the front of the plane realize there is no space for their bag up front so they walk 10 rows back to find a spot for said bag. They then swim like salmon upstream to find their original seat in the front of the plane.

The passengers perform this dance while the flight crew advertises over the intercom that passengers need to quickly find their seats in order to take off on time. The pressure builds until all 125 sweaty passengers are now in their seats........or somebody’s seat anyway.

Then we sit on the tarmac [insert 45-minute time gap]

We then take off to arrive late and pull up to within 20 feet of the jetway..........no guy with flashlight to allow us to move forward. [insert 20-minute time gap]

Then the salmon upstream process is reversed so everyone can collect their bag.

We get off the plane feeling victorious because we actually arrived.

I realize there are many good people that work for the airlines. I also realize that running the operation is more complex than meets the eye. I would just hope that someone would step back and realize that the process is broken.

Sorry for the rant.

Signed,
Lonely on the Tarmac

 

[billwill]

Been there done that years ago, understand your frustration. It all started when they deregulated the airlines. Went from not bad to a flying greyhound bus.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

I have arrived at the age that the flight crew all look like junior high school kids. Difficult to take them seriously. All I can do is strap into my seat and place myself in the hands of a benevolent God, sometimes hold my breath until the panic impulse passes.

Then there are the airport terminals, crowds of rude and demanding people with no courtesy at all, and employees that treat the travelling public like cattle on the way to the slaughter chute.

50 years ago travel by airliner was an event! We prepared for the trip, we wore our best clothes, we behaved ourselves like grandma was watching everything we did. Now people show up in ragged sweats and shower flip-flops, throw tantrums to get what they want, hog every overhead bin, and demand special treatment every minute (and the passengers are worse).

 

[Cellar Hound]

You are heard...

I have arrived at the age that the flight crew all look like junior high school kids. Difficult to take them seriously. All I can do is strap into my seat and place myself in the hands of a benevolent God, sometimes hold my breath until the panic impulse passes.

Then there are the airport terminals, crowds of rude and demanding people with no courtesy at all, and employees that treat the travelling public like cattle on the way to the slaughter chute.

50 years ago travel by airliner was an event! We prepared for the trip, we wore our best clothes, we behaved ourselves like grandma was watching everything we did. Now people show up in ragged sweats and shower flip-flops, throw tantrums to get what they want, hog every overhead bin, and demand special treatment every minute (and the passengers are worse).

I hear you Lobo...

All true..... Sad but true.

 

[Muss Muggins]

. . . Then there are the airport terminals, crowds of rude and demanding people with no courtesy at all, and employees that treat the travelling public like cattle on the way to the slaughter chute. . .

I’ve oft wondered which group came first, but then I fly again and remember . . .

 

[wood714]

I've never been on a plane of any type.

I drive 12.5 hours to Cincinnati to visit family and friends, they fly here in about 2 hours.

Not worried about crashing, but I like my space. Couldn't enjoy even 2 hours shoulder to shoulder to someone I didn't know. Hell...wouldn't want to spend time like that with a lot of people I do know.

I would fly if I could score a seat like this, or afford a private jet.

 

[LVSteve]

Well, the crew are at fault for letting those sitting at the back dump their bags at the front. Furthermore, if the airlines actually enforced their carry on size rules, then there would be no problem getting all the carry ons onto the plane. I have noted that US travellers are shocked that European airlines actually do this. (Insert gags about Air France stewardesses and their sense of humor bypass here).

Oh, and then there is standing up when the seatbelt light is lit on a British Airways flight. You probably won't do that twice.

 

[swsig]

The posts above say it all. Even though I've flown hundreds of thousands of miles, I haven't flown in eight years. One of my fondest wishes is to never set foot on an airplane again. I feel for those who cannot avoid that now-dismal experience.

And I'm not the only one in my family who feels that way. My cousin is a retired senior captain for a major airline. Despite his airline pass, when he doesn't want to travel with his RV, he takes the train.

 

[Kanewpadle]

The TSA and GREED have turned flying into a miserable experience.

Our daughter and grandson just visited. When they left, the TSA idiots made her wake up her son, take him out of his stroller, and break in down so they could inspect it.

If all of the airports would operate in the same manner consistently, things wouldn’t be so bad.

 

[robrossk]

I too have flown hundreds of thousands of miles and hope to never fly again (at least on the domestic cattle cars). That said, I was blessed as I flew 1st or Bus class most of the time (international travel).

 

[ordnanceguy]

There is a race to the bottom in air travel, and there's still a long way to go.

Southwest Airlines just announced that it would permit miniature horses on its flights as "emotional support" animals. I am not kidding. And they're not kidding either. The next time you fly Southwest be prepared for a small horse to be sitting in the seat next next to you. Good luck fastening that seat belt. Hiyo Silver, Away!!!!

Southwest Airlines allows mini horses in service animal policy update - Business Insider

 

[jimmyj]

Does Folks still travel by trains ?

 

[THE PILGRIM]

And then there’s Dale Jr.
He owned a Private Jet, taking you and your family exactly where you need to go.
Bad day in Tenn, folks!
The good new is - Everybody got out.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. gives 1st public statement after family survives Tennessee small plane crash | Fox News

 

[LVSteve]

Does Folks still travel by trains ?

I would, but they closed the train station in Vegas a year before I got here. Oh, but then there's all that vacation the average US employer gives you to travel by train... wait! What?!

 

[Sistema1927]

There is a race to the bottom in air travel, and there's still a long way to go.

Southwest Airlines just announced that it would permit miniature horses on its flights as "emotional support" animals. I am not kidding. And they're not kidding either. The next time you fly Southwest be prepared for a small horse to be sitting in the seat next next to you. Good luck fastening that seat belt. Hiyo Silver, Away!!!!

Southwest Airlines allows mini horses in service animal policy update - Business Insider

Sure hope that they require diapers on those equine flyers.

No way, no how, is one of them going to steal any of my precious leg room.

 

[GypsmJim]

I was a road warrior for 40 years. The places I had to go were basically all serviced by one carrier, so with that many frequent flier miles I always sat in 1st class with free upgrades.

If I had to use a different carrier, my experiences were just like above. In fact its been that way for 25 or more years - just getting worse all the time.

Now that I'm retired, we almost always go to cities that are serviced by Southwest. I pay a few bucks extra to get on first, and sit where we like and never have a problem.

 

[ladder13]

There is a race to the bottom in air travel, and there's still a long way to go.

Southwest Airlines just announced that it would permit miniature horses on its flights as "emotional support" animals. I am not kidding. And they're not kidding either. The next time you fly Southwest be prepared for a small horse to be sitting in the seat next next to you. Good luck fastening that seat belt. Hiyo Silver, Away!!!!

Southwest Airlines allows mini horses in service animal policy update - Business Insider

Just saw a segment on emotional support animals including pigs, monkeys, and some sort of mini possum amongst others, being allowed on planes with a “doctors note”
My flying days are numbered.

 

[M29since14]

I can’t add a worthwhile thing to what’s already been said. Unfortunately, all true. I hate driving long distances, but after my last couple of flights I think I need to reevaluate just how much I actually hate it.

 

[FlyTyinFool]

Poor horse...
Stupid human!

I'd probably get hauled off by TSA.
There's no WAY I could keep my mouth zipped.
No amount of free booze will make up for that!

 

[Chuck24]

Even 1st class has been downgraded to miserable. If I ain't driving, I ain't going.