Flying the Friendly Skies?
I used to fly a lot. A few years back, I became a weekend commuter, flying from my job in Northern California home to Los Angeles, and in the process racked up enough miles to earn two free tickets. Said freebies have long ago been used. Since then I haven't had the opportunity to travel as much.
I'm not sure I'd want to though. While it's statistically safer to fly than to drive, the air travel experience is so much different these days. For one thing, the days when you actually walked out onto the tarmac and entered the plane via stairs is pretty much long gone on most airlines and most long hauls. On shorter trips at secondary airports or on certain airlines at certain airports (such as at Burbank via Southwest) you still have this experience.
Being served a meal, or even a decent snack? Not likely anymore. I've heard of people now having to pay $7 or such for a sandwich, or just having a small 1/32 oz drink (theoretically it's more, but all that ice, y'know) and a handful of peanuts (or more likely, pretzels) is what passes for "service." I can't remember the last time I copped a free magazine courtesy of the airlines. I remember I used to try to get on the plane as early as possible to snag a copy of Time, People, or some other such fun magazine, as opposed to Money or a similar rag. Nowadays I just save a few magazines from home, or visit the library's booksale area and buy a few recent issues of a general magazine, and just take them on the plane with me.
Seat space is a consistent woe, so I don't have to go into that, do I? But I do miss the days when people could actually go to the gate and wait for their friends, relatives, and guests. If you watch any movie these days, you can tell which movies were made pre-2001 by how the airport scenes are set up. The restrictions, parking costs, and other such rules means I now pretty much tell people to just get out of baggage claim and I'll just drive by and pick them up (or drop them off as the case may be).
Additionally, I'm sure those of us who have flown in the last few years have tales to tell about long lines, security checkpoints, and the like. It's bad enough I get pulled over and wanded every so often, but I shudder to think how some people have been treated in recent years, months, and days. Case in point: this article about a 57-year-old middle school principal who is branded a potential terrorist and put on a watch list because she inadvertently left a prohibited item in her luggage? When she protested her treatment, she was essentially told she didn't have any constitutional rights.
Speaking of constitutional rights, I dread a future flight where I certainly might not have any privacy rights. The current system of metal detectors, wands, and the like may be supplemented by machines that essentially x-ray you. I'm not so sure I want the TSA screeners having such intimate knowledge. However, I can certainly predict a rise in TSA job applications from thousands of voyeurs and dirty old men nationwide. I can predict our e-mail spam will soon advertise "x-ray pictures of your favorite movie stars!", thanks to some ethically challenged screener who makes a screen capture and then turns around and sells the image, either aboveboard or as a bootlegged, illicit offering to the porn gods of the internet.
Finally, I'm not so sure I want to entrust my life to an airline that doesn't have my safety first and foremost. Just recently, a federal judge ruled that United can temporarily suspend safety inspections. This, of course, is the same company that dumped its pension plan on the federal government. So much for responsibility towards its passengers and employees. Needless to say, I'll be using another carrier next time I gotta fly somewhere. What's disturbing about this is it sets a precedent. Will other airlines try to jettison their pension plans? Will other carriers decide safety inspections can be kept to a minimum? That road trip is looking better and better all the time. I think I may prefer the friendly skies to be above me rather than below me...
I'm not sure I'd want to though. While it's statistically safer to fly than to drive, the air travel experience is so much different these days. For one thing, the days when you actually walked out onto the tarmac and entered the plane via stairs is pretty much long gone on most airlines and most long hauls. On shorter trips at secondary airports or on certain airlines at certain airports (such as at Burbank via Southwest) you still have this experience.
Being served a meal, or even a decent snack? Not likely anymore. I've heard of people now having to pay $7 or such for a sandwich, or just having a small 1/32 oz drink (theoretically it's more, but all that ice, y'know) and a handful of peanuts (or more likely, pretzels) is what passes for "service." I can't remember the last time I copped a free magazine courtesy of the airlines. I remember I used to try to get on the plane as early as possible to snag a copy of Time, People, or some other such fun magazine, as opposed to Money or a similar rag. Nowadays I just save a few magazines from home, or visit the library's booksale area and buy a few recent issues of a general magazine, and just take them on the plane with me.
Seat space is a consistent woe, so I don't have to go into that, do I? But I do miss the days when people could actually go to the gate and wait for their friends, relatives, and guests. If you watch any movie these days, you can tell which movies were made pre-2001 by how the airport scenes are set up. The restrictions, parking costs, and other such rules means I now pretty much tell people to just get out of baggage claim and I'll just drive by and pick them up (or drop them off as the case may be).
Additionally, I'm sure those of us who have flown in the last few years have tales to tell about long lines, security checkpoints, and the like. It's bad enough I get pulled over and wanded every so often, but I shudder to think how some people have been treated in recent years, months, and days. Case in point: this article about a 57-year-old middle school principal who is branded a potential terrorist and put on a watch list because she inadvertently left a prohibited item in her luggage? When she protested her treatment, she was essentially told she didn't have any constitutional rights.
Speaking of constitutional rights, I dread a future flight where I certainly might not have any privacy rights. The current system of metal detectors, wands, and the like may be supplemented by machines that essentially x-ray you. I'm not so sure I want the TSA screeners having such intimate knowledge. However, I can certainly predict a rise in TSA job applications from thousands of voyeurs and dirty old men nationwide. I can predict our e-mail spam will soon advertise "x-ray pictures of your favorite movie stars!", thanks to some ethically challenged screener who makes a screen capture and then turns around and sells the image, either aboveboard or as a bootlegged, illicit offering to the porn gods of the internet.
Finally, I'm not so sure I want to entrust my life to an airline that doesn't have my safety first and foremost. Just recently, a federal judge ruled that United can temporarily suspend safety inspections. This, of course, is the same company that dumped its pension plan on the federal government. So much for responsibility towards its passengers and employees. Needless to say, I'll be using another carrier next time I gotta fly somewhere. What's disturbing about this is it sets a precedent. Will other airlines try to jettison their pension plans? Will other carriers decide safety inspections can be kept to a minimum? That road trip is looking better and better all the time. I think I may prefer the friendly skies to be above me rather than below me...
posted by Mr. Sandman | 7:05 PM
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