Brit takes a poke at U.S. airlines
yesterday, i posted about united airlines' glenn tilton whining about u.s. carriers becoming "marginalized" and calling for the federal government to allow more consolidation in the industry... the ceo of british airways shares that view but with a slightly different take...
(dontcha love that ever-so-british phrase, "hoovering...?")
what the brits, the americans and everyone else who champions privatisation and deregulation in the transportation industry fails to understand is that basic public transportation - bus, both intra and inter-city, rail, and air - are part of the common"wealth" of any country and must be treated as such... insuring reliable, available, cost-effective means of getting from place to place for its citizens IS part of government's responsibility... i'm not saying government should pay for it, but government should damn well make sure that people can get where they need to go without either risking their lives or having to pay an arm and a leg for it... if consolidation is allowed to forge ahead unchecked, you better believe we'll be paying a lot more than an arm and a leg, particularly if fuel prices continue to rise... Submit To Propeller
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British Airways Chief Executive Rod Eddington said on Thursday that US bankruptcy laws were distorting competition for transatlantic airlines by propping up struggling carriers.
"America, the land of the free, is turning itself into the land of the free ride," he told a meeting of industry officials.
"They (airlines) are operating in protected markets. They are hoovering up public funds and they still can't make a profit."
(dontcha love that ever-so-british phrase, "hoovering...?")
what the brits, the americans and everyone else who champions privatisation and deregulation in the transportation industry fails to understand is that basic public transportation - bus, both intra and inter-city, rail, and air - are part of the common"wealth" of any country and must be treated as such... insuring reliable, available, cost-effective means of getting from place to place for its citizens IS part of government's responsibility... i'm not saying government should pay for it, but government should damn well make sure that people can get where they need to go without either risking their lives or having to pay an arm and a leg for it... if consolidation is allowed to forge ahead unchecked, you better believe we'll be paying a lot more than an arm and a leg, particularly if fuel prices continue to rise... Submit To Propeller
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posted by profmarcus at
9/23/2005
