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Recent Comments:
The 10 easiest ways to improve air travel this holiday season {Gadling}
Dec 16th 2010 4:09PM Good call!
How much are you really paying for your plane ticket? {Gadling}
Dec 12th 2010 1:15PM @LORI, you're right, because it isn't relevant. This is a discussion of customer cost. The implication of customer cost -- i.e., that the airlines are getting less per fare -- is actually addressed quite clearly, and the cost of jet fuel is merely a subset of that. And flights don't actually cost more (in inflation-adjusted dollars), they cost less ... 20% less than they did 15 years ago.
Federal judge will decide on your right to relax, not airlines {Gadling}
Dec 9th 2010 5:43PM @TRI and @Sabrina: good points. I'm waiting for the day when the airlines decide that the option to recline will cost $4.95.
Making sense of the North Korean artillery attacks {Gadling}
Nov 23rd 2010 1:33PM Brent, please give my best to your brother. I had an absolute blast in Korea, but that was a long time ago. My only advice: be careful with soju; it sneaks up on you!
After Korea, I went to Gordon, but not for long. I had just enough time on my enlistment to ETS from the US rather than do an extended tour.
Thanks for writing in!
Eat like a Boston local at Santarpio's {Gadling}
Oct 21st 2010 5:44PM I spent my three years on Maverick Street thinking the exact same thing (I lived up at the top of the street).
Four reasons airlines blame passengers for their current woes {Gadling}
Sep 14th 2010 12:11PM There definitely are, and an airline industry that can only dysfunction (rather than function) is a huge problem. I actually have no problem with the fees ... and rather prefer that structure. Let me pay for what I consume. This has always made sense to me.
When you look at the fact that some airlines are doing well (with or without fees) and some are not, the problem seems to be a quasi-systemic operational issue. The industry has adopted, in general, an unsustainable operating model. Those that have busted out of the mindset have found ways to succeed, while the companies that are committed to the past continue to suffer. Shocking, right?
It's clear that the industry can't blame pricing (alone), can't blame deregulation, can't blame the economy (any more than any other industry). Something is screwed up about the way these companies work. Route structures, fare structures, compensation all the way up and down the chain ... everything needs to be reexamined carefully.
Maybe it's the over-confidence of a (former) consultant speaking, but I don't think any problem can't be fixed. What is clear, however, is that this one's going to have to come from outside the industry.
Four reasons airlines blame passengers for their current woes {Gadling}
Sep 14th 2010 11:49AM A reasonable disclaimer ...
Your article is just as funny at noon as it was six hours ago, by the way.
Airlines: Take the poor off the plane {Gadling}
Sep 10th 2010 9:13AM @Darren, good point.
What I find interesting, which a few of the other commenters seem to have missed, is that I'm responding to reader and industry feedback. Whenever a gate agent, flight attendant or even a Gadling reader talks about the decline of service and how cheap fares are the problem, it's implied that higher prices -- and thus a more elite clientele -- is the answer. It's amazing that the world doesn't see the elitism in the notion that "flying has become too cheap."
Meanwhile, Southwest and JetBlue deliver a superior experience in the discount space, indicating that reader and industry beliefs that deregulation and lower fares are likely unfounded.
Travel startup giving away three nights at the Wynn {Gadling}
May 12th 2010 10:41AM I've sent an inquiry to the company and will keep you posted.
White Collar Travel: Don't judge a business traveler by his mileage account {Gadling}
Apr 8th 2010 3:34PM @RCB, depends on the airline.
