the working room

Flying: Greyhound Buses in the Sky
Friday, December 21, 2007

I envision a time when a new paradigm changes the airline industry in America. The US Congress will stop bailing them out and allow them to go out of business. International competitors will be allowed to co-own or fully own our airlines.

Cheaper isn't working.

The price of flying should go up substantially, by as much as 125% in some cases. The airlines run by American companies are Greyhound buses in the sky. The problem is the cost of flying is too low. People respect higher costs: they behave better.

A complete overhaul of the entire industry should occur.

The stress of the strip-and-search, 2 hours plus wait before boarding, small tight seats, narrow aisles, morbidly obese passengers, loss of luggage, recycled polluted virus-laden air, and 12 hour delays on the run way make flying a national nightmare.

The major changes needed.

Security and safety is poor - it's an illusion. The comfort level needs to be improved. Airplanes should emulate hotels in the sky. The time spent in a hotel is probably less versus all the time spent on line at an airport, boarding, the flight, and getting off the plane.

People shouldn't be allowed to bring any luggage aside from carry-ons. Get rid of the luggage handlers. Let third party companies take care of that. Carry-ons should be weighed, ex-rayed/scanned and that's it. No nonsense about skin creams, body oils, nail clippers and the like. Flying shouldn't feel like a high-security prison.

Next, no one needs to strip off shoes, hats, scarves, etc. Frankly, it is a waste of time. There should be people walking freely past a scanner with all their items, and that's it. Anyone who exceeds their "load", or an alarm goes off (quietly), then suspicious people gently and politely get pulled to the side. Otherwise, keep it moving.

I'd like to see the size of the average airline seat increase dramatically. Then, have aisles with more room. Last, but not least, get rid of the stinky virus-laden air they recycle now, and use air that always fresh and clean.

Flight Attendants should have their names and roles changed. Their new roles should be divided into two groups: Air Security and Air Hostesses.

No more seven hour runway delays! The moment that last person boards the plane (and they must be on time), within ten minutes it is airborne! No excuses! Runway delays - outside of weather - are due to too many planes, overbooking, and the ancient air traffic control system the USA has. Time for modernization and change!

Flying is horrendous. In this age of modern technology it should be simpler, easier and less stressful.

Labels: airlines, flying, Greyhound buses