"So, given that embarrassment -- and it was really an industrywide embarrassment -- you would think that airlines would suck it up and swallow what is really a watered-down pill, if for no other reason than to win back passenger loyalty. Nope."

The problem is that airlines don't have to win passenger loyalty in a LOT of situations, and they know it. Especially in some markets, where there are very few choices. The airlines know that, in several cases, we need to fly. There simply aren't alternative methods of travel. Can you take a train from LAX to HNL? (Sorry, Honolulu) Sure you can take a boat, but consider the costs - not only monetarily but the cost in time spent getting there. Realistically, without spending days and days traveling, can you drive from New York to Texas? And with the gas prices being with they are, would you want to?

The airlines know that they have a product that we need. They are utterly arrogant and careless, and airline "customer service" has become a joke. Until someone steps in - a CEO who actually cares about customers, or the government, or someone else with a brilliant idea - we pretty much have no recourse regarding air travel when it comes to poor service. And being stuck on the tarmac for excessive amounts of time is not just poor service, it's potentially dangerous and careless.

And I am not the one with the brilliant ideas! :)

I see it every day... I'm a travel agent. ;) And believe it or not, I have had someone request a train from Raleigh, NC to Hawaii.

Happy Wednesday!

Reply