Published Aug 11, 2006
While hearing about the latest round of foiled terrorists and new flight security restrictions, all I’ve been able to think is “thank goodness I didn’t have to fly across the Pacific without my iPod, water, and hand lotion!” I realize this makes me a complete boor.
I guess I should qualify that statement — I would have gone insane flying American Airlines to Hawaii without my book and water and hand cream and iPod. Heck, they even charged for the in-flight meals on that trip. But on my long trip to and from Bangkok, taking China Airlines, I was actually pretty well taken care of. I had two meals on each flight, both pretty tasty (admittedly, I’m a bad judge of how good an Asian meal really is, but I would not have hated them in an inexpensive restaurant in America). There was moisturizer in the bathroom, so I didn’t have to sit there and dessicate in the dry cabin air. There was even a personal entertainment system in the back of the seat in front of me, so I coud listen to the latest Asian hit music, watch any of two dozen movies, or play a variety of games on a PlayStation-style controller (I should note that the interface for this system was hardly good — I had to show the kid next to me how to use it, and another seatmate had to guess that a button labeled “Language” would switch him from English, which he clearly could not read, to a Chinese-language interface). China Airlines even had tea and Cup o’ Noodles available at all times — and, when I got upgraded to business class on my Bangkok-Taipei leg heading home, free wireless internet.
How can American, or any other cost-cutting US airline, survive in a world of no carry-on baggage, especially against international competition like this? I might accept a few hours of boredom for a Southwest-style fare, but you’d better believe that, if I’m paying $hundreds for my flight, even even-tempered ol’ me is going to go ballistic if I have to pay for every drink. But can airlines suddenly charge more to cover food costs? Hardly, in these air-travel-as-a-commodity times — and that doesn’t even consider how much airlines would need to take in to cover the cost of offering an in-seat entertainment system.
I don’t think people will fly and be bored. People will save money and go for Southwest, or spend just a little more and enjoy their JetBlue DirecTV, or fly a European or Asian carrier that can offer a full-service experience, either because they don’t need to make a profit or because they have the low cost structure that comes from being based in a developing nation. Where’s the room in between for an expensive, boring travel experience?
I’d love to see how our domestic carriers get out of this one. It’s a doozy, but it’s just been one kick in the jewels after another for them since 9/11. I don’t think the terrorists can ever beat us, but it may be that they can beat our air travel industry. Until then, I guess I’m taking Amtrak.
This is so ridiculous… “terrorists” — even today, even after my wife was a couple blocks from the WTC — still don’t make my top 1000 of things that scare me. Why do Americans let themselves get played like a fiddle? Over and over again. It must be the stellar education system. http://tinyurl.com/g5d9o
“I would have gone insane”…
Word.
I do not think it is good for the human soul to sit with boredom for hours on end. In fact, I believe it qualifies as torture, something human bodies can stand but shouldn’t have to.
As if they hadn’t already spent enough effort turning our schools into places where we’re forced to sit still for hours on end and be bored — as preparation for being good little worker drones — now they need to re-condition us as adults. I guess too many affluent, bicoastal frequent-flyers were starting to get the idea that the government should be answerable to its people… :-P
Also, I think your most recent link in the linkblog is just going to whatever is the top story of the day, rather than staying pointed at the story you cited in the description…
The most recent link in the linkblog — which is quite relevant to this discussion — should now be fixed. I found another, static story to point to.