So it's 5 am. I was to be on the plane this morning at 6:20 am. But thanks to some improperly done wiring inspections for MD 80 planes FAA has been forcing American Airlines to ground and recheck the entire fleet. They cancelled 550 flights Tuesday and it appears this will be repeated today. The AA web site claims that this is all to ensure my personal safety. The vacuous nature of this statement is self evident. Either they have been flying me in unsafe planes for years or this is mostly a administrative snafu. In either case my personal safety has nothing to do with it. And most certainly grounding all planes with lack of evidence of actual problems has the smell of politics and bureacrats then any sound thinking. This reminds me of the so called TSA whose job it is to block and tackle us with people who have been left behind by public education as we struggle to make our way to the planes. Do they really make us safer? Nah.
Lastly, I have flown almost 2 million miles with AA. I am one of the diminishing geese in their stable who lays golden eggs for them every year. I use their web site to book all my travel. My reservations cost them the least in middle men margins and cost of processing. Do you think I received a call, an SMS, an email about this screw up? Last night? This morning? The answer is no, nada, zip, niente. Now some tech specialist may tell me that on page 63 of their web site I could have signed up for this. He would only further underline the reason why the airlines are in such trouble: they think their primary job is to fly planes, when actually it is to serve their customer. A 2nd rate book web site does a better job of serving their customer.
So how should it have gone this morning?
9 pm last night - warning SMS of possible problems
4 am this morning - SMS telling me that my flight has been cancelled and that a new proposed itinerary has been sent via email
4:30 am I get up . Get my email and approve the change. I go back to bed and sleep till 8.
12:00 pm I head for the airport, auto check in, walk through fast pass security lane where I don't have to stand pitifully with a platic zip bag with toilerities and be called "bro" by 12 year old TSA employee in oversized pants.
At 1:00 the flight has been boarded. Upgrades and stanbys have been sorted in advance by a computer and not hoarded like cattle to be told 5 min before departure that plane has checked in full.
While taxiing for take off I'll be handed some water and maybe a blanket. I won't be shown how to buckle my seatbelt and be told that flight attendants are here primarily for my safety.
My flight will have flight attendants whose average age will be below 70. They will serve drinks and snacks. They will hand out pillows and blankets. They will ask me regularly if I would like anything else and generally perform duties that have nothing to do with my safety (save an occasional aspirin). And they won't congregate at the galleys discussing the state of their pension fund and their contract negotiations.
When we land, I'll get my bag and be on my way. Now is that so hard? First airline to do this wins by default.
As is, here it is 6am and I am on hold waiting to change my reservation.
That's really unfortunate. I guess it's hard for new competition to enter the market and pressure beheamoths like Airline industries, since the capital overhead to get started is so enourmous (I hear that neither planes, nor fuel, are cheap).
Posted by: Ethan Vizitei | April 10, 2008 at 11:59 AM