Maybe the future of air travel is the airline gasses you upon take-off, so you sleep soundly in your obscenely tiny seat upright until 30 minutes before landing when they wake you with a shot of real fresh air, thereby saving the need to feed you or have you use the lav on that 12 hour flight. Just think,they could reduce the number of crew on board (saving weight), replace the galley with more tine seats (more revenue), and adopt auto-pilot flying, thereby removing the need for two pilots.

(Written on 2018年06月08日)(Permalink)

Yeah, the view was cool, although once AA 191 crashed at ORD in 1979, I think the day of nose cameras also died. As I recall, the DC-10 camera was located on the nose wheel assembly, while the camera on L-1011's was positioned above the captain's head looking out the window. The nose wheel view was great for just a moment, but my memory was the camera did not move to correct for the plane's angle of descent / ascent.

(Written on 2018年06月08日)(Permalink)

What I find ironic is that UA couldn't / wouldn't place these four oversolds onto one of the two later Southwest flights out of Midway. A forty minute cab ride and $ 400. bucks could have averted this publicity disaster. Or, should we take from this incident a new post-modern Trumpian world where wealth and power overrule the the rights of all.

(Written on 2017年04月10日)(Permalink)

Not a right, but it surely is my expectation, particularly if you are sitting next to me taking up half my seat. Or was that you in first I passed on the way in?

(Written on 2014年10月10日)(Permalink)

So, I gather you would prefer to pay a cnote more for premium economy versus a cnote for taking off quicker. To me, this is a perfect example of degrading a commodity product to the point where it literally and figuratively pains the customer, so that you can then charge him a cnote to get back into his original seat. Is that your definition of free-market capitalism at its best? If so, I vote for an alternative, as your form of capitalism sucks.

(Written on 2014年10月10日)(Permalink)

It's the same old adage, you get what you pay for. Premium economy is the old economy, and there is no comparison in the good old days to today's economy. It's called steerage for a good reason. And if you treat them like cattle, expect no difference in their behavior. Frankly, I'm mixed on this issue. While the free market (frankly, when was the last time we saw a free market in America?) sorts out some of this issue, airlines (and their investors) have created and sold more ways to reach into your pocket. Add the consolidation in the airline industry that has all but eliminated competition, and you end up with few alternatives other than to pay up or suffer. I think the issue of safety will come up more as cramped passengers express their anger either toward their fellow passengers or toward the crew. When it becomes a safety issue, then government will intervene. It may also be hastened by our fine elected officials who can't snag a first class seat home for the weeken

(Written on 2014年10月07日)(Permalink)