Canine explosives detection beats the crap out of the full-body scanner

from brasscheck tv...



yesterday at dulles, i opted out of the full-body scan and got patted down instead... i wanted to check out for myself what all the fuss was about... no biggie, as it turned out... the guy was very deferential and completely appropriate... basically, it wasn't much different from the pat-downs and wanding i've experienced the rare times i've set off the metal detector... maybe they've taken the firestorm of publicity to heart and are backing off... otoh, i'm not a hot younger woman - or guy - so maybe the deferential part has to do with my mature, grandfatherly appearance...

anywayz...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

If corporate senior management was truly honest...

they would say that they don't want any employees... employees are fundamental irritants, lazy, no-good, lying, worthless sacks of shit that suck up company resources, generate customer complaints and only serve to reduce the amount of money that could otherwise find its way into the pockets of the execs...

when i worked for united airlines, the not-so-funny joke was that the senior execs were in the eternal search for the airline version of the mcdonald's cash register, something so simple that any idiot could operate it, preferably an idiot that would work for minimum wage and not insist on belonging to a union... if you've flown recently, you can see that, with electronic booking, ticketing, online check-in, and airport electronic check-in kiosks, the airlines have surpassed themselves... the "any idiots" are now us, the passengers... the airline employees are only there to prevent serious meltdowns...

the cartoon below is perhaps the best representation i've seen lately of the realities of organizational life... make no mistake... this reality is not restricted to large corporations, the private sector or the united states... it applies around the world to organizations of all stripes... thankfully, there are exceptions but they are pathetically few and far between...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

And here I thought it couldn't get worse than charging for water on USAir

as the brits would say, i'm gobsmacked...

Ryanair May Charge For Toilet Use On Planes
February 27, 2009

Irish carrier Ryanair, Europe's largest budget airline, might start charging passengers for using the toilet while flying, chief executive Michael O'Leary said on Friday.

"One thing we have looked at in the past and are looking at again is the possibility of maybe putting a coin slot on the toilet door so that people might actually have to spend a pound (USD$1.43) to spend a penny in future," he told BBC television.

He said this would not inconvenience passengers travelling without cash. "I don't think there is anybody in history that has got on board a Ryanair aircraft with less than a pound."

O'Leary has a reputation as a cost cutter, expanding Ryanair by offering low headline fares and charging extra for items such as luggage.

Last week, Ryanair announced it was to shut all check-in desks at airports and have passengers check in online instead.

"We're all about finding ways of raising discretionary revenue so we can keep lowering the cost of air travel," he said.

you know what will happen, don't you...? someone, someday will bring an empty plastic bottle on board to pee in... mark my words...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

After having suffered more than a little at the hands of airlines

i can relate, and i'm probably not the only one...

here's a woman who missed her flight... after having worked for an airline, my guess is that she probably was one of those who simply didn't get her ass in gear in time to make the flight... however, i have to confess, after experiencing many years of flight delays and the incredible frustrations of having the departure time repeatedly revised every fifteen minutes, i have considered doing something similar...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

U.S. airlines January traffic data

ain't 'zactly a pretty picture...

The following table lists January mainline operational data for the 10 largest US airlines by passenger traffic, compared with the same month a year earlier:

              --Traffic--   --Capacity--  --Load factor--
             RPMs   % chg    ASMs  % chg     %    Change
American     9.64   -11.7   13.07   -8.3   73.8  -2.8 pts
Delta*       8.87    -2.2   11.81   -1.9   75.1  -0.3 pts
United       7.65   -12.4   10.06  -12.0   76.0  -0.4 pts
Continental  5.78   -10.8    7.81   -6.7   74.0  -3.4 pts
Southwest    5.14    -9.7    8.17   -4.4   62.2  -1.4 pts
Northwest*   5.65    -8.2    7.27   -6.4   77.8  -1.5 pts
US Airways   4.35    -6.2    5.74   -6.9   75.8  +0.6 pts
JetBlue      1.93    -7.1    2.61   -5.1   74.0  -1.6 pts
Alaska**     1.35    -4.7    1.88   -8.4   71.7  +2.9 pts
AirTran      1.27    +4.5    1.74   -3.8   73.2  +5.8 pts

NOTES: Traffic is measured in billions of revenue passenger miles, the distance travelled by paying passengers.

Capacity is measured in billions of available seat miles, reflecting the number of seats available for sale and the length of the flights.

Load factor is the percentage of seats occupied by paying passengers and change is in percentage points.

*Figures for Delta and Northwest include data for regional affiliates.

**Alaska Airlines doesn't include unit Horizon Air.

prediction: more layoffs...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

A reason for hope...? Is something in the air...?

well, in argentina anyway...

yesterday at ezeiza airport in buenos aires, while waiting in line to present my passport at immigration, i noted that the argentine "citizens only" line had cleared and that the agent at the window was checking out the long line of foreigners remaining... he stood up and left his booth... at first i thought he was going for a break, but then i noticed that he had not only left the booth door open, but had walked over to the foreigner line and was looking over the people there... he finally motioned to one couple further back in the line, opened up the restraining strap, and directed them over to his booth... i wondered what had caused him to pick out those particular people until i saw the woman cradling a small baby in her arms... accustomed as i am to uninspired and insensitive customer service, i have to admit i was both surprised and pleased... then, after taking care of the couple with their baby, he continued right on to help clear the foreigner line, definitely not the indifference i've come to expect from argentine government employees...

a few minutes later, after loading my stuff into a taxi, the driver, a pleasant older gentleman, announced that he needed to stop for gas and wanted to know if that would be ok with me... i'm always honored by a considerate request, so of course i said "no problema"... he pulled into the petrobras service station on the airport grounds where all the pumps were occupied by other cars, so he held back a bit to wait his turn... another car jumped ahead of him and, when the space at the pump had cleared, the driver pulled right in... the attendant (yes, they still have gas station attendants in argentina) had obviously made note of the situation and, when the line-jumper got out of his car, spoke to him while gesturing to my taxi driver, clearly indicating that he should give way and let my taxi driver go first... my driver simply smiled and waved for the man already at the pump to go ahead... the man, somewhat bemused at this point, graciously accepted the kindness with a nod and a smile of his own... and, as if that wasn't enough of a display of decency, when we were out on the toll road into the city, the taxi driver offered me a butterscotch toffee...! needless to say, he got a handsome tip, a tip he accepted with his own indication of bemused surprise along with a modest smile...

now that i think about it, maybe it's not just argentina...

i've learned to always check my various frequent flyer accounts online to make sure the proper mileage credits have been posted... possibly because they know i hate them passionately, it seems the airline that consistently fails in this area is united...

a couple of years ago, i carried on a running battle with united for damn near a year to get lufthansa mileage credits posted... because it involved two flight legs, one from belgrade to munich and the other from munich to jfk, it was a considerable chunk of mileage, and i was damned sure they were going to give me the proper credit which, after much hell-raising on my part, they finally did...

so, after arriving in afghanistan, i checked to see if the extremely large number of miles from buenos aires to dubai had been posted... sure enough, the leg between sao paulo and dubai was there but the leg from buenos aires to sao paulo was missing... i followed the instructions for claiming mileage credit from a partner airline by sending them the original boarding pass and all the pertinent itinerary information, and then checked regularly to see if it had been posted... nothing... when i got back to the u.s., i checked to see if the equally large number of miles from dubai to reno had been posted... sure enough, the jfk to reno legs were there but the massive chunk from dubai to jfk wasn't... shortly thereafter, i received a letter from united announcing that the buenos aires-sao paulo leg couldn't be credited for some damn reason or another...

i was now not only very pissed but also dreading another lengthy pitched battle... i girded my loins and called the customer service center where, naturally, the nested set of automated options DIDN'T include the option to speak to a live person... fortunately, i know enough to press "zero" which takes me to a live service rep... when she came on the line, i dispensed with all formalities and immediately asked to be connected with a supervisor... when she asked the nature of my call, i simply said "no," that i just wanted to speak directly to a supervisor... when the supervisor came on the line, i slowly explained the situation and made it clear that any bureaucratic nonsense would be completely unacceptable... the supervisor was looking at all the information i had sent on her computer screen, but patiently explained that they didn't have a ticket number and that, without a ticket number, they wouldn't be able to credit the mileage... i pointed out that, as a contractor, the ticket had been purchased for me, and that i didn't HAVE the ticket number... i also inquired as to why three legs of a five-leg itinerary had been posted but not the other two... much to my surprise, the supervisor told me that she would take it upon herself to get everything resolved and would call me back within a week to ten days... somewhat stunned at this offer of genuine customer service, i accepted and thanked her before ringing off...

now, in argentina at least, if ANY business or service person promises to call you back about ANYTHING, you can pretty well assume it won't happen, so let's just say, even though it was the u.s., i was dubious about ever hearing from the united customer service person again... i had basically put it out of my mind until two days ago when, son of a gun, i answered the phone and it was the very same united customer service person calling to tell me that everything had been taken care of... when i finished picking my jaw up off the floor, i thanked her profusely...i told her what i always tell everyone these days who gives me good customer service - i NEVER take good customer service for granted... what i take for granted is BAD customer service and i'm always delighted and amazed when someone treats me righteously...

do you suppose i'm seeing a trend...?

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

Flying in and out of Tegucigalpa, Honduras

the first time i landed at tegucigalpa in 1987, i was blown away at the airport's location, the approach, and the short runway... the location is carved from the top of a small hill, the approach is surrounded by higher mountains on all sides, the runway is not only short, but ends abruptly at a drop-off that lies directly above a residential area...

my seat mate was a veteran of numerous landings at the airport and, in response to my question about the airport's accident rate, informed me that it actually was among the safest airports in latin america because only the most skilled pilots would even attempt landing there...

A passenger plane skidded off a runway at Tegucigalpa Airport in Honduras on Friday on landing, veered onto a road and smashed into cars and a building, killing at least three people.

The TACA airlines Airbus, which had 142 people on board, lay broken in three parts and spewing fuel. Two people were still trapped in cars underneath the wreckage, an aviation official said.

The plane, arriving from San Salvador, circled the airport several times before attempting to land in heavy fog, survivor Mario Castillo told Honduran television.

"Suddenly we felt a big noise and we were all trying desperately to get out," he said. "The worst injured were the people in business class."

[...]

Tegucigalpa, nestled in hills, is one of the most treacherous airports for landing in Latin America due to its short runway and difficult approach.

ever since that time, i've kept my eyes and ears open for incidents at tegucigalpa and, even though i can't claim exhaustive knowledge, this is the first one i'm aware of...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

Have I mentioned lately how much I hate U.S. airlines?

especially u.s. airlines...?

• walking onboard and catching the SMELL, especially of the "legacy" carriers (american, united, usairways, etc.) whose interiors are often just plain dirty...

• navigating boarding passengers both upstream and downstream in order to grab one of those few wads of synthetic fiber they dare to call pillows that they've conveniently stuffed into one overhead baggage compartment at the rear of the plane...

• blankets...? fuhgeddaboudit...

• trying to get comfortable in a seat designed by a chiropractor with a taste for torture and lots of bills to pay...

• watching the doors on the overhead baggage compartments pop open from the vibrations of the aircraft as it accelerates down the runway on takeoff...

• watching a few pieces of luggage from the suddenly-opened overhead baggage compartments fall out into the aisle, narrowly missing the heads of passengers in aisle seats...

• carrying on a conversation with a passenger from another country who sits there open-mouthed and incredulous when the flight attendant offers to RENT him earphones to listen to the in-flight video entertainment for FIVE DOLLARS...

• attempting to turn on the reading light only to find it doesn't work...

• listening to the flight attendant announce that she regrets to inform us that there's a problem with the in-flight entertainment system and that it won't be available on this flight...

• using the lavatory and finding that an entire plastic wall panel is loose, has pulled away from the wall and is making a flopping noise with every slight movement of the aircraft...

• carrying on a conversation with a passenger from another country who sits there doubly open-mouthed and incredulous when the flight attendant offers to SELL him liquor, beer or wine for FIVE DOLLARS...

• carrying on a conversation with a passenger from another country who sits there triply open-mouthed and incredulous when the flight attendant offers to SELL him the same tasteless, overpriced "food" with questionable nutritional and even more questionable chemical content for FIVE DOLLARS that they used to GIVE AWAY FOR NOTHING...

• pulling down the tray table to find an advertisement for a las vegas hotel tastefully affixed...

• retrieving checked baggage at the end of the flight as i look at my watch for the 50th time and answer a cell phone call from my son asking how much longer it will be before i meet him curbside...

and NOW, i will be able to experience a BRAND-NEW TREAT...

• watching a passenger checking in a second bag, staring open-mouthed and incredulous as the agent tells him it will cost him $25 to do so...

Whether traveling for business or pleasure, airline passengers might want to think twice about how much they bring along for the ride, starting next month.

Five of the seven major US airlines (Continental, Delta, Northwest, United, and US Air) plan to charge most customers $25 each way to check a second bag starting May 5. Of the largest carriers, only American and Southwest have decided not to go along - for now. Airtran is adding a $10 second bag fee for travel on or after May 15. Spirit Airlines already had a $10 fee if paid online, or $20 at the airport.

But the new fees do not apply to all passengers, advises Airfarewatchdog.com. Those buying first-class or business-class tickets, or flying on frequent flyer awards in those classes, will typically be exempt, as will frequent-flyer program members who have achieved upper tiers with their airlines (such as United Mileage Plus Premier customers). Military personnel flying "with orders" are off the hook.

These fees are in addition to those for excess, oversized and overweight bags, so a passenger traveling on United, for example, with three checked bags weighing 50 pounds or less will be charged $25 for the second but $100 for the third.

however, this is one of the very few articles i've read that actually offers some decent advice about how you can go about BEATING this latest airline fleecing scam...

There must be a better way, and there is: UPS, US Postal Service, or FedEx. Flying from your home in Manhattan to a convention in Long Beach? UPS will send your 51 pounds of trade-show samples each way for $59.34, when last checked at ups.com, with four-day service. Or ship that 60-pound suitcase from Miami to San Francisco for $63.78 each way.

Not only will you avoid having to lug your luggage through endless airport concourses, but chances are that UPS will do a better job of not losing your shipment than your airline will (and if UPS does misplace it, at least the company will feel bad about it.)

So tell your airline "No, thanks," next time it tries to hit you with baggage fees. Plan ahead, tell your hotel (or branch office or family) that you're expecting a shipment and to hold it until your arrival, and save yourself some money and a backache.

for the past four years, i've been traveling great distances across three continents and usually end up staying in a place for two to three months at a time... this has led me to carefully select my travel items because whatever i have with me has to serve to create a "temporary home"... this, in turn, has led to essentially making my "home" consist of those things that go with me everywhere... it's not a bad existence, really, and i've not only gotten quite used to it, i LIKE it...

however...

i use one large bag primarily for clothes, shoes and a few toiletries... a smaller bag carries everything else, not the least of which is a large stock of various electronics gear - cables, adapters, gizmos, etc... the combined weight usually pushes 70 lbs... advance shipping internationally is not an option... for one thing, the cost would be prohibitive and, for another, shipping to countries like the one i'm sitting in right now - afghanistan - would not only be prohibitively expensive, but i'd have to pretty much kiss my stuff goodbye permanently...

in short, my friends, unless i'm able to check-in for my first flight leg on a non-u.s. carrier - not likely when my flight originates in northern nevada, more likely when i'm headed back INTO the u.s. - i'm going to have a minimum $25 B.O.H.I.C.A. (bend over, here it comes again) every time i fly...

have i mentioned lately how much i HATE u.s. airlines...?

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

You get the union you deserve - United Airlines mechanics select the Teamsters

i make no secret of my intense dislike of united airlines, specifically the predatory, disgusting creatures that pass for united's senior management... during my 7+ years there, one of the most intensely frustrating experiences (although, perhaps not ironically, also one the most intense learning experiences) of my professional life, i was repeatedly and regularly aghast at the inhumanity and outright vile behavior of those who "lead" that company... their antipathy toward the front-line employees, those who do the real work of every organization, knows no bounds...

united senior management, meet the teamsters... teamsters, meet united senior management...

The Teamsters union, sharply critical of management at United Airlines, won an election on Monday to represent the carrier's mechanics, the airline and union said.

The Teamsters gained majority support to unseat the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), according to a tally of the ballots cast by 6,500 active and furloughed mechanics.

AMFA had represented the United mechanics since 2003 and is expected to step aside once the election results are certified by the National Mediation Board.

"United mechanics will have the Teamsters strength behind them in their fight against outsourcing to foreign repair stations," Teamsters President Jim Hoffa said.

During their two-year campaign to win over membership, the Teamsters union said it would fight maintenance outsourcing and company plans to sell its maintenance base in San Francisco.

i hope the teamsters give united's senior management the ass-kicking they so richly deserve...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

A headline like this could only come from a place that has more money than it can even count

if you have to ask how much it costs, you can't afford it...

Dubai Ruler Orders Creation
Of New Low-Cost Airline

The ruler of Dubai has ordered the creation of a new low-cost airline to serve the growing number of passengers traveling through the Gulf trade and tourism hub, the official WAM news agency said on Tuesday.

"Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum has ordered... the establishment of a new airline company in Dubai to meet the need to service passengers to and from the United Arab Emirates whose number is increasing year on year," it said.

Dubai, one of seven emirates comprising the United Arab Emirates, already has the largest Arab airline, Emirates, and the nearby emirate of Sharjah is home to Air Arabia, the Middle East's biggest low-cost carrier.

UAE capital Abu Dhabi is home to Etihad Airways, and RAK Airways, based in the northern emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, also flies to several destinations. WAM said the new airline would established immediately.

Dubai Airport, the busiest airport in the Middle East, saw international passenger traffic grow 19.31 percent last year. It handled 34.34 million passengers.

Dubai is building a new airport on the other side of town that it expects will be the biggest in the world.

god said, "let there be light," and there was light...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

Pay no attention to 60 Minutes... Carl Ichan is NOT a capitalist hero...

Carl Icahn

yesterday on 60 minutes...

Intimidating, relentless and rich. That, in a nutshell, is Carl Icahn. His investment strategy is simple: find a company he thinks is poorly run and then start buying up shares of its stock. Then, start agitating until changes are made. Along the way, the companies he chooses generally start improving, improving his bottom line over and over.

there's nothing that makes me want to puke faster than watching our worthless news media lionize a super-rich, arrogant, sociopathic, greedy, capitalist son-of-a-bitch like carl icahn... that business about "the companies he chooses generally start improving" is pure horseshit... if they do, it's only incidental to his primary goal which is lining his own pockets... here's what he did to twa...

Under Icahn's direction, many of [TWA's] most profitable assets were sold to competitors, much to the detriment of TWA. Icahn also moved the company's headquarters from New York City to his hometown, Mt. Kisco, New York. Icahn was eventually ousted in 1993, though not before the airline was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1992. Icahn emerged unscathed. TWA moved its headquarters from Mt. Kisco to the former headquarters building of McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis soon after Icahn left.

When Carl Icahn left in 1993, he arranged to have TWA give Karabu Corp., an entity he controlled, the rights to buy TWA tickets at 45 percent off published fares through September 2003. This was named "The Karabu Deal". The ticket program agreement, which began on June 14, 1995, excluded tickets for travel which originated or terminated in [TWA's hub airport] St. Louis, Missouri. Tickets were subject to TWA's normal seat assignment and boarding pass rules and regulations, were non-assignable to any other carrier, and were non-endorsable. No commissions were paid to Karabu by TWA for tickets sold under the ticket program agreement.

By agreement dated August 14, 1995, Lowestfare.com LLC, a Karabu wholly owned operating subsidiary, was joined as a party to the ticket program agreement. Pursuant to the ticket program agreement, Lowestfare.com LLC could purchase an unlimited number of system tickets. System tickets are tickets for all applicable classes of service which were purchased by Karabu from TWA at a 45 percent discount from TWA's published fare. In addition to system tickets, Lowestfare.com LLC could also purchase domestic consolidator tickets, which are tickets issued at bulk fare rates and were limited to specified origin/destination city markets and did not permit the holder to modify or refund a purchased ticket. Karabu's purchase of domestic consolidator tickets was subject to a cap of $70 million per year based on the full retail price of the tickets.

Hence, on most TWA flights, Karabu could buy and then sell a sizable portion of the available seats, leaving TWA to pay for its operating cost with the revenue accrued through the sale of any remaining ticket sales. In other words, TWA was flying passengers who were not paying them, but someone else. This deal left the company powerless. If TWA wanted to increase revenue on busy routes by putting a large plane into service, Karabu could only claim more seats. It is estimated TWA was losing around $150 million a year in revenue with this deal.

In trying to ameliorate the Karabu deal, TWA went in and out of bankruptcy in 1995.

lovely, eh...?

in 1999, i had an opportunity to see first-hand what icahn had done to twa when i was the general manager of an airport operation for united airlines... twa had decided to fly into the airport where i was stationed and we won the contract to ground handle their one daily flight... i got to know a few twa people and heard their icahn horror stories... much more damning, however, was to see the condition of their airplanes...

since their aircraft stayed with us overnight, that meant we had to move it off the gate to a remote pad, bring it back in the morning, and clean the interior before loading the passengers up for the morning flight out... i remember riding in the cockpit one evening as the aircraft was being towed to the remote pad... it was raining and i noticed a small puddle of water had collected between the rubber seal and the reinforced glass of the window on the pilot's side of the cockpit... i also noticed that a few food service napkins had been stuffed in there previously to try to soak it up, and it was obvious that it had been a problem for some time... on top of that, the smell from the lavatories was horrible... airplane lavatories are supposed to be thoroughly scrubbed and disinfected once a month, in addition to being emptied, flushed and cleaned daily... twa was obviously skimping on even the most minor maintenance... very sad, really, and all thanks to carl icahn...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

Evidently, I'm not the only one that thinks United Airlines sucks

i posted on this obscene move the other day... not surprisingly, i'm not alone in how i feel about the disgusting fleece job perpetrated by my former employer...

United Airlines said on Tuesday its new USD$25 fee to check a second bag offers "customers choice, flexibility and low fares," but travelers were not buying the explanation and took to blogs to protest.

The airline's new policy -- the first of its kind among major carriers -- has raised the ire of travelers who already feel fleeced by carriers that charge for in-flight goods and services that used to be included in the fare.

The new bag check fee likely will be matched by rival carriers that currently check two bags for free, experts said.

Within hours of United's announcement on Monday, travelers began registering their displeasure.

"I totally agree this is going to hurt the people that can least afford it and who don't know how to play the system. Kind of like the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer," read one flyertalk posting.

"offers 'customers choice, flexibility and low fares'...??" what a load of crap... i usually do at least 8-10 price comparisons when i'm buying an airline ticket, and united is NEVER in the running at the end... in fact, they're ALWAYS the first to be crossed off my list because their ticket prices tend to be 30% higher than the carrier i end up booking my ticket with... unfortunately, i also know way too much about the inner working of the place, and, if they want me to shut up, they're going to have to kill me...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

United Airlines can go directly to hell

there aren't enough foul expletives in the english language to fully express my feelings for united airlines...

United Airlines said on Monday it will charge some passengers a fee to check more than one bag, a move that may generate USD$100 million annually as the carrier attempts to offset high fuel costs.

The airline is the first major carrier to charge a fee to check a second bag. Some experts have long predicted that carriers would take this step to bolster revenue in an ultra-competitive industry.

"I think this is just the very, very, very beginning," said travel expert Terry Trippler of TripplerTravel. "I think it's going to happen throughout the industry throughout the year."

United's new fee of USD$25 will be charged to customers who purchase non-refundable domestic economy tickets and do not have status in frequent flyer programs at United or one of its partners in the Star Alliance. The carrier will not charge passengers to check one bag.

Previously, the cost to those customers of checking two bags was included in the fare. For all customers, the cost to check up to four more bags will be USD$100 per bag. Previously, the charges ranged from USD$85 to USD$125 per bag.

The cost to check items that require special handling -- large, overweight or fragile items -- will now be either USD$100 or USD$200, depending on the item.

i'm not thrilled about any of the airlines, but united is number one on my shit list...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

Airline employees fed up?

tell me it isn't true...

And you thought the passengers were mad.

Airline employees are fed up, too — with pay cuts, increased workloads and management’s miserly ways, which leave workers to explain to often-enraged passengers why flying has become such a miserable experience.

airline employees fed up...? i'm shocked... SHOCKED, i tell you...! what earthly reason do they have to be fed up...? how can being lied to and stolen from for years, abused by management, customers, and fellow employees, treated worse than poorly-trained monkeys, nickeled and dimed to death over salaries and benefits, and exposed to bankruptcy as a human resources strategy, POSSIBLY outweigh the glorious gift of employee travel...? what a bunch of ingrates..!

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

The airlines and their internet service can go directly to hell

after being nickeled and dimed to death by charges on even the smallest services, the airlines now want to hit us up to pay for wireless internet services on flights... boeing did this a few years ago with lufthansa as its first (and only, as it turned out) customer, and boeing ended up dropping the service over a year ago (see below)... i used it myself on lufthansa transatlantic flights and my principle complaints were, 1) too expensive, and 2) no surprise to anyone, it's almost impossible to work on your computer with the space available on a seat-back tray table, and, when the passenger in front of you reclines their seat, it's absolutely impossible because your screen is pushed into such an angle that you can't even see it...

US airlines, racing to bring the Internet to domestic skies, hope that it will generate not only buzz but revenues.

"If they can charge for it they will. They're looking at every revenue source they can," Terry Trippler, travel expert at TripplerTravel, said on Thursday.

American Airlines says it will be the first major US carrier to feature in-flight Internet access.

The No. 1 US carrier said it will test AirCell's broadband Internet service next year on 15 planes that usually fly transcontinental routes. AirCell Chief Executive Jack Blumenstein said the company can offer Internet access for about USD$10 per user.

"This is rapidly going to proliferate across all commercial aviation," he said.

The airline industry, battered by low-fare competition and rising costs, has derived some stability from a strategy that unbundles products and services that once were included in the price of a ticket.

[...]

Boeing last year was forced to abandoned its Internet foray dubbed Connexion because it failed to attract enough customers.

Trippler said the interest in Internet access is part of a plan for airlines to collect fees anywhere they can and to offer services that spur customer loyalty.

i say, screw 'em...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

United Airlines sucks the big green weenie

after united airlines declared bankruptcy on my birthday, 9 december 2002, wiping out my entire retirement nest egg of employee stock shares, do you have any idea how it feels to read this little pile of bullshit...?

UAL will give shareholders a special payout of USD$2.15 per share, totaling about USD$250 million, United Airlines' parent said on Friday, marking a rare move by an airline to reward investors.

The US airline industry is still recovering from a five-year slump in which it racked up USD$35 billion in losses. During that time, several airlines went into bankruptcy, including United, wiping out shareholders' investments.

"This shareholder distribution underscores our commitment to creating value for our investors," UAL Chief Executive Glenn Tilton said in a statement.

UAL's move is a sign of the industry's financial recovery as well as the pressure faced by airline managers to reward investors. The payout could put pressure on other carriers in the highly competitive industry to follow suit.

yeah, lemme tell you about the "VALUE" you create for your investors... assholes...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments