Flying Rant

Posted by Jamie
March 3, 2005

Subject really says it all. This is definitely a rant. I’m writing this on a plane. I’ll post it after I land and get to the hotel when I will be a rejoicing with glee at no longer being confined to my 9 cubic feet of space. I’m on a business trip right now and being reminded minute by minute why flying is such a horrible experience.

I’m flying coach, as seems to be the case most of the time these days. I don’t fly enough to be gold or platinum anymore and upgrades come far and few between to those that are just silver frequent flyers. Honestly though, I would rather not get the upgrades and fly less frequently. It’s not a very good trade-off.

Just now while getting my laptop out I had to lunge to the rescue of my poor screen. I had opened the computer on my seat tray and pushed myself back as far as I can in the seat so I had some hope of using the it. Just as doing this the person in front of me decides to recline and my computer was being squeezed in this vice. I kindly (I hope) asked the person to not recline, they were okay with this, so now I can actually try to do something productive for three hours. Here’s an idea, let’s all just agree that you CANNOT RECLINE IN COACH! Deal?

While typing the last paragraph I’ve been nailed by the beverage cart TWICE as it went down the aisle. No “excuse me” from the attendants or anything. After all, we are just cattle right?

<Pause>

Just as I get settled in and start typing, tunes going on the laptop and feeling comfortable the guy on the window has to get up. Yeah. I’m typing now while standing with the laptop balanced on the top of the seat. Oh, and even more amusing. After I write about my experience with the seat reclining a guy in the row next to me just had his laptop taco’d by a recliner in front of him. He didn’t ask him to stop though. Is that more considerate than me or just being a push over? You pick.

This plane is 100% full. If the airlines cannot make money in this market, I don’t know how they ever could. Maybe if they spent just 1% of effort actually trying to make customers more comfortable they wouldn’t be thought of as the Greyhound of the Sky.

Grrrrr…

,
Dear Diary

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Comments
Comment by John Murphy on March 3, 2005 @ 7:34 pm
Nice rant. I remember the "fly the freindly skies" era of friendly stewardesses, and roomy seats. Of course, flying was more expensive back then. I think I’d prefer paying 15 - 20% more for a flight for a commensurate improvement in service and elbow room.
Comment by Joel Powell on March 3, 2005 @ 8:17 pm
I am sure they would gladly take the 15-20% increase, but I am sure it wouldn’t come with any increase in service and or elbow room. I feel for you Jamie, anything over a couple hours in coach is nearly unbearable.
Comment by Dan Schlagel on March 4, 2005 @ 12:32 pm
Ah, cattle… I know the expereince well. March right past the folks in first class with copious free space and their *nice* flight attendant. When you feel as if it couldn’t get any worse stop, take a deap breath and remember that Jamie v.2005 is having a way better time in that 9 cubic feet of space than Jamie v.2000 (and the laptop is way cooler too)
Comment by Bernie Fleitman on March 5, 2005 @ 3:06 pm
Total empathy. It seems like every trip these days comes with an unpleasant experience ranging from minor discomfort to considerable (like lost luggage) to major (emergency landings are no fun; trust me on this one, I know).

Somewhere along the way, the airlines seem to have lost sight of the fact that they are primarily a service industry. Would it be so hard for the airlines to attempt to make flying pleasant? I realize it’s a cutthroat business what with high oil prices, etc., but that seems all the more reason to try.

And don’t get me started on the annoyance of the so-called security screening…..

Comment by Kaye on March 6, 2005 @ 6:13 pm
Enjoyed your rant. I actually found it a bit humorous. I like the idea of no reclining seats. Maybe you should write a letter to Northwest and see if you can ‘win’ the price for the best suggestion of the week. How would they remove the reclining feature? I sympathize with you.
Comment by Bob Strootman on March 7, 2005 @ 12:51 pm
As a dutiful Northwest employee I’m torn between trying to explain the economics of why the Legacy carriers are losing money versus making fun of you for your misfortunes. I’m leaning towards the latter.

And you told me about this "work trip" of yours. You deserve sympathy from no one. I’m going to find out who that flight attendant withthe beverage cart was and give her a cookie.

Comment by Jim Bernard on March 10, 2005 @ 12:04 am
Dude, it’s all about Sun Country. Humphrey terminal rocks, first class upgrades for fifty bucks, a meal on every flight, and the planes are empty! Come fly the Sunny skies and quit all the NW BS. You may get miles but you are treated like cattle.
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