Travel plan idea blog

I think that privately-run airlines have failed. Our airline industry has been broken for years, can't run on time, and has the owrst customer service of any industry I can think of. After 9/11 the major airlines all screamed that they needed federal money to keep from going bankrupt. I think they should have. It's time to federalize the industry and have a national airline similar to Lufthansa, Swissair, or Aeroflot.

It's horrible that this soldier missed time with his family. And yes, our airlines are horrible.

But name one thing the government has control of that is efficient and service oriented...there isn't one. Federalizing the airlines would be a disaster beyond description.

Good point about the government Barbie - they can't seem to run anything right.

But there must be something they could do to make the airlines clean up their own mess.

Well, I too have been lessoned in what is the current state of the Airline Industry in the USA in the past week. No ! The industry is not broken ! That would be an understatement . It is more like Dead on Arrival ( better yet - Dead with no Arrival ).

I could write a book on my recent experience. Instead I will make it brief. Imagine a great trip, only to be ruined by your trying to get home. And unless you fly frequently, such as businessmen do, only then would you know the tricks and or secrets to working thru cancelations. Something even I know nothing about. Do your homework folks !! Because the industry will leave you hanging with no answers. Why ? Because the system is not set up to give answers. If you haven't experienced this first hand, you will never know until you have. Lesson # 1 - the airlines dont care ! Do I need to repeat this or are you listening ?

Here is what I can tell you . If it isn't mechanical that causes the cancelation ( such as weather ) you are in trouble . This will cost you days if possible and more spent money. It could cost you a lot ! My experience started out mechanical, but got caught up in weather, which doomed it. Because it was deemed mechanical, the airline had to pay for the costs ! This doesn't mean things went well !

First, they will give you vouchers for free food and lodging . Sounds great huh ? The problem is the food vouchers seem to be good at the airport only. Well airport restaurants close early. A lot good that does after waiting in line for hours to receive vouchers, now everything is closed. So they send you off to the Hotel for lodging . Again - sounds great huh ? Well they sent us to a Hotel in the middle of nowhere with no restaurant. The only thing available was a 7-11 next door. This experience started at 4 pm. We are now at about midnight.

The Hotel was a Negative Four Star Hotel. Complete with ( yes I have pictures ) - blood stained pillow cases, black mold on the air conditioner and shower curtains. Filthy carpeting ( not limited to unvacumed, gum stuck to carpets, dust dirt & God only knows what else ), blood on the wall, electrical boxes hanging out of the wall, hollow room doors w/ locks that didn't work, 2" gaps between the bottom of the door & floor, green watered pool, foot long grass ( or weeds - not sure ), cat urine smell, and the worst moldy + body odor smell you could ever smell.

I went thru 3 rooms in my first 5 minutes at the Hotel. Others unfortunate to stay there were complaining also at the front desk. Even though 75% of the place was unoccupied due to being uninhabitable, they managed to send me & other guests into rooms already occupied. Imagine being asleep, and having strangers walk into your room because of negligent employees. The next morning, we ran back to the airport.

Now we were lucky, or so we thought. The airline sent us from Orlando to Tampa the next day to get a flight home to Chicago. After an hour & 1/2 ride to Tampa, we arrived in Tampa only to find mistakes were made in Orlando, and there was no confirmation on that flight home. In other words, your not on that flight - period. Your only choice now - standby ! This means maybe you will leave, maybe one of you or two of you or three of you or nobody. This is a dilemma when you have children !

By the grace of God, luckily we all got out ! Split up on the plane of course. But we were the lucky ones. I felt so sorry for those who would be stuck for another 2-3 days until the arrived in Chicago. Then there is the what if, if you had to connect from Chicago to elsewhere.

All I can say, if your not a savvy traveler, do your homework. I learned the hard way. The airlines have no real plan in place when this happens. You paid them ( usually months in advance ), they have spent your money already, and they will leave you hanging.

Remember this. The US government is quick to use your tax dollars to bail the industry out. But they will do nothing to hold the airline accountable to their paying passengers, who just happen to be the taxpayer bailing them out. And they give your money freely with much risk without accountability. At the end of the day, the Government is responsible. Because they are always in bed with big business.

Let me end in saying this. The airlines like to say, " What do you expect for such cheap airfare ? ". My answer is simple. I may have paid little, but how much do they expect me to pay to be cramped into a seat like a sardine for three hours. I should expect just the little , I paid so little for. Is that too much to ask ?

This is in addition to my recent post on this subject. When weather cancels your flight, be warned ! Weather can affect many airports & cities. You and possibly thousands of other travellers will be calling your airlines 1-800 # looking for answers. The airlines our understaffed due to cost cutting. That means long waits on hold on the phone, possibly getting hung up on. When somebody does finally talk to you, chances are you will talk to somebody in India who is hard to understand, and has no special interest in your dilemma.

I did better by going directly to the airline check in, to talk directly to an airline employee, then those on the phone. If you booked thru a travel agency, call them for help.

Americans complain about air travel but name another industry where prices have gone down over the last thirty years. We can't keep demanding cheaper and cheaper air fares and better and better service. Salaries, security, and cost for terminal leases continue to rise so next time you fly across the country for less than you can drive think about what a bargain that is.

I am flying now for more than 43 years, mostly for business. I have to agree that the airlines are broken. In the 60's, 70's and part of the 80's flying was an experience looking forward to. Now it can become a horror experience. I have stopped flying American Airlines, [the ticket agent claimed that he did not have my reservation and charged me full fare from BDL to Vancouver even so I sat in the seat that I had reserved. No recourse when complaining to AA, just form letters] United [ripped brand new luggage - first trip - to shreds, refused to offer any repair and when I told them that I would stop flying United they offered me two 1000 miles upgrade cupons] and Delta [claimed that they could not issue an upgrade to Business Class on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Hartford CT, 6 months prior to the departure date, up to the date when I departed. I could not help but walk into the Business Class on that flight, about 60% of the seats were free. After I complained Delta informed me that they could not upgrade me at the gate because of their policies and problems with the caterer, they would no have a Business Class meal for me. On another occasion, they were unable to confirm me on a award ticket from JFK-Vienna-JFK 9 months before the requested date. I was a Platinum member at Delta and had more than 800,000 miles on my account.]
On all of these airlines I used to have premium status, unfortunately their policies have changed from positive customer orientated to "the-customer-is-a-necessary-evil" policy. I can feel the pain descibed by C. Marz, I went though the same adventures, lousy hotels, useless vouchers, one hotel minivan for about 150 people to bring them across town in Miami, FL. Passengers sitting in the luggage compartment of the minivan (this was on another trip), no arrangements made from the hotel back to the airport the next morning, the hotel van was not operating due to the early hour, I and others had to hire taxis, etc.
There is one way to fix the system, pay 50% when making the reservation, the other 50% go into an escrow account and get turned over to the airline after they completed their part of the travel contract to the satisfaction of the passenger.
For the time being, I drive distances up to 700 miles, less frustration and I have a pretty good idea when I get there and when I am back at home.

Thomas Ford :
I respect your opinion. In some ways I do not totally disagree with your post. But - it almost seems that you possibly work for the airlines or are an investor though. Remember this, the customer comes first and is always right.

To be direct, I am specifically targeting United Airlines. Why ? Because I live in Chicago. There are two American Icons that I have suported in these tough times. Sears and United. They represent too many jobs in Chicago to just let them die. Enough jobs have been lost. Since Sept. 11th, I have shown nothing but loyalty to United with little in return.

It also just happens that my neighbor was a loyal employee at United, and no longer is employed there. I do not believe I need to be more specific than this. I think you may know why this person or many others for that matter are jobless at United !

The airline industry is in major trouble. Some reasons are their fault and others aren't. But lets be honest here. The fares are cheaper - YES !! But air travel price matches the quality of it's service. It is no better than a school bus with wings these days, and that my friend is the truth. I would be willing to pay extra for more room if it would please the industry, but not at First Class prices.

To say driving is cheaper is wrong. Not at $ 3.50 a gallon at Midwest prices. Do the math. If I drive 1200 miles at an average of $ 3 a gallon, throw in a couple stops at hotels along the way and the extra food to and from my destination, it is the same, no real deal as far as price. You only save time.

My complaint is that air travel is no longer a luxury, so it should be cheaper because more people do it. But air travel in the US is as if we lived in a Third World Country. This is not acceptable. Like I said, I have been loyal to United. I expect the same in return. When they put me up in a Hotel that is a health and safety hazzard to my family & I, I have a real problem with that. I doubt you too would find that acceptable.

What company has a right to take your money, and not deliver ? That is just plain criminal to believe the industry is correct. Remember this, they are surviving off OUR TAX MONEY, not theirs. They have an obligation. If they can't handle it, than they should belly up ! OOPS !! That would give them the right then to short change every honest Tax Paying American. And they may just eventually do that.

I am tired of this trend of American Companies screwing the people that made them what they are. It is not OK, it is not acceptable. Service is the key to business. It is not right to disrespect your customers and employees either!

For the record, United's CEO made how much in salary last year ? Check into it. It would make you sick ! Not bad for an Airline in trouble. Only in America !!

That is only my 2 cents... I am sticking to it !!

Barbie asked to name one thing the government controls that is efficient and service-oriented.

I have had a relatively positive experience with the Post Office.

Honestly, I'm not sure if nationalized airlines would be a good idea or not... but I don't like the current situation. And, maybe because Northwest Airlines has a lock on the Twin Cities market, I certainly haven't noticed fares going down over the years. My annual two tickets to New Mexico with my child to see my grandma (who can't travel) creep closer to $1,000 total each year. This year I used frequent flyer miles for my ticket (naturally one of my travel dates was blacked out and, because I couldn't be flexible, I had to use more miles for a "rule breaker" ticket) and paid a little over $400 for the kid. (This brings up another gripe... why do ticket sites always ask for the age of the kid, when never in this child's eight years have I seen a discount past age 1? Is it just some sort of game to give me false hope?)

On a flight from California to Arkansas via Dallas, we were unable to continue past Dallas due to no available pilot. I was a little upset, traveling with my two daughters, but the airline put us in a reasonably decent hotel, gave us food vouchers, and transported us to and from the hotel. The flight we were supposed to catch the next morning was over booked, and we had to wait for a later flight. It was about this time that I called my father and he told me to be very direct and blunt with the airline because they had screwed up not once, but twice. So, after arriving in Arkansas I called the airline and after a little haggling I got three vouchers for one hundred dollars each. Still not worth all the hassle, but at least its something.
A word to the wise when flying into Arkansas via Dallas: Don't let them book you on the last flight! It is frequently delayed, and often doesn't even leave the ground until the next day.

Excellent point about costs Thomas. I'm sure that when delays happen the people with first class tickets get taken care of first. Why not? They make the airlines more money.

But I still think our soldiers stationed in Iraq deserve 1st class treatment during a short trip to visit family in America. Even if it says "Economy" on their ticket...

The post office is efficient because several years ago they became a private industry.

I have to agree with the poster that said you get what you pay for. You want cheap fares you get no added amenities (including meals or hotels when weather cancels a flight). It's okay to shop at Walmart for cheap prices. Just don't whine about the service or lack of employee empathy.

The Post Office is far from efficient and is only able to do what they do now because for YEARS it ran in the red off taxpayer dollars. Any private business that was in the red as long as the post office would have long been out of business.

You get what you pay for ? Come on guys !There aren't always other options ! When I fly to Florida from Chicago, there are really only 2 real options for direct flights from OHare. United or American . Delta doesn't even fly direct anymore. There is a hole in what you say ! Whether I fly economy, business or first class - whether I pay $120, $300 or $800, if there is a cancelation, you get treated like crap either way at any cost. That is not how to treat a customer.

In my case, United's * TED * was the only option by United to Orlando. Cheap airfare and seats to the destination ARE THE ONLY OPTION sometimes! You don't always have a choice in every particular situation. It is take it or leave it. Every city is not equally serviced by every airline. Everybody's case could be different.

Also to say that the guy who pays more for the seats are the bread & butter to the industry, that isn't true anymore unless they are bumping some poor guy at the last minute to accomodate some overpaying last minute traveler ( and that is always fair huh ? ) If it were true, why are they squeezing more and more people into one plane ? Why not just charge double and make it more comfortable ? I would gladly pay for that if it were an option. So it's cheaper, big deal ! Other than the price of fuel, there should be no reason why the cost should go up. Let me remind you that it isn't a luxury to fly anymore. That is why it should be cheaper. Everything gets cheaper when it has been around long enough. So should air travel.

Nobody cares about whether they eat , drink or snack on a plane anymore. That alone brought the prices down. But no matter what you pay, they have an obligation to get you there, no matter what the laws or rules dictate, I'm sorry !! If you do not fly frequently, they do very little to inform the flying public, until it is to late, of what the truth is.Only business people who fly often know the pitfalls.

The employees & the paying passengers give up everything. And Mr. Tilton, the CEO got more pay over 3 years. Remember, the true whiners are the airlines. Funny how the CEO gets gets richer while the company cries poor ! And yet they manage to fly planes & stay in business with OUR MONEY. It is interesting to note that it was mentioned that labor costs are hurting them, even as they somehow manage to keep the airfares lower. Are we to assume they are making NO MONEY !

My arguement to made is that the industry is in poor shape. Charge me more ! Who cares ! I don't care about prices, I care about reliability. I didn't create the industry, the airlines did ! So don't blame me or anybody else for their whoas. It is their ball and bat - their rules. If they can't stand the game they control ( cause we don't ), they should quit complaining and go home or fix their mess. Not at the expense of their employees or me / you. We keep them in business. REMEMBER THAT !!!!!!

Look I know the airlines are doing less and less for passengers, it angers me. I know you're cramped, hot and hungry. Please folks just don't take it out on the few flight attendants that really care about the people on their planes. Some people hold us personally responsible for delays and weather, ect. Our job is primarily to keep you safe then it's to make you trip more pleasant, ie. beverages, snacks and information.
Here are a few helpful tips...bring an empty water bottle with you, fill it up in the airport. Don't schedule your connecting flight so darn close that a slight delay or problem will cause lost bags and missed flights. Try to create a contingency plan so if things go to hell you can break out the backup plan. Pack a power bar,your meds and a change of clothes in a bag that easily fits on the smallest of planes. Also bring a book. Don't wonder around the terminals with your head up your butt and impede the progress of people who actually have places to go. Just remember Flight Attendants have a job to do, I realize you've heard the safety demo a thousand times but quiet down and give us the illusion that you're paying attention to us. Also when it comes to maintenance, weather or delays we know very little. At this point we become mushrooms we're kept in the dark and fed crap. We aren't in the know because the pilots for the most part still think of us as sky waitresses yet if it hits the fan we're the ones that will safe your life. Yell at the corporate airline folks if you must but the nastier you are to gate agents the less they will do for you... They are vendictive.

Kristi K. - I agree with you 100 %. We as passengers are victims, but the biggest victims in the industry are the employees on the front lines. You people have given up so much, while your bosses get richer. I personally have total respect for you.

I read all of these comments and wondered why no one mentioned Southwest Airlines.The planes are clean,the staff personable and arrive and leave on time.I wish they would serve every major city in USA.I bring my own meals as I need more than peanuts,but they offer a variety of drinks.I choose Southwest when ever I fly in USA.No wonder they are making money.

Donna K. - I can't speak for Southwest. I have never flown them. In my case, I live right next to OHare in Chicago. It's to hard a habit to drive over to Midway for a Southwest flight when your that close. But Midway is looking a whole lot better. Did Southwest ever start assigned seating, or is it still a free for all ?