Well hats off to Mitchell Burns - who sued Delta in small claims court and won! I’m inspired to follow his lead - the next time an airline treats me this way - canceling a flight for bogus ‘weather related’ claims - I plan to file a complaint in small claims court for whatever it costs me to get to my destinations PLUS damages for the inconvenience, pain and suffering.

This just proves that we DON’T have to put up with the airlines’ irresponsible, insensitive behavior anymore - time to force them to step up to the plate and do right by their customers. It is every person’s right to file a claim in small claims court, and if enough of us do that it will certainly get their attention!

New Airline Rules

Attendant:  Welcome aboard Ala Carte Air, sir. May I see your ticket?

Passenger:  Sure.

Attendant:  You’re in seat 12B. That will be $5, please!

Passenger:  What for?

Attendant:  For telling you where to sit.

Passenger:  But I already knew where to sit.

Attendant:  Nevertheless, we are now charging a seat locator fee of $5. It’s the airline’s new policy.

Passenger:  That’s the craziest thing I ever heard. I won’t pay it.

Attendant:  Sir, do you want a seat on this flight, or not?

Passenger:  Yes, yes. All right, I’ll pay. But the airline is going to hear about this.

Attendant:  Thank you. My goodness, your carry-on bag looks heavy. Would you like me to stow it in the overhead compartment for you?

Passenger:  That would be swell, thanks.

Attendant:  No problem. Up we go, and done! That will be $10, please.

Passenger:  What?

Attendant:  The airline now charges a $10 carry-on-assistance fee.

Passenger:  This is extortion….. I won’t stand for it.

Attendant:  Actually, you’re right, you can’t stand. You need to sit, and fasten your seat belt. We’re about to push back from the gate. But, first I need that $10.

Passenger:  No way!

Attendant:  Sir, if you don’t comply, I will be forced to call the air marshal. And you really don’t want me to do that.

Passenger:  Why not? Is he going to shoot me?

Attendant:  No, but there’s a $50 air-marshal-hailing fee.

Passenger:  Oh, all right, here, take the $10. I can’t believe this.

Attendant:  Thank you for your cooperation, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you?

Passenger:  Yes. It’s stuffy in here, and my overhead fan doesn’t seem to work. Can you fix it?

Attendant:  Your overhead fan is not broken, sir. Just insert two quarters into the Overhead coin slot for the first five minutes.

Passenger:  The airline is charging me for stagnant cabin air?

Attendant:  Of course not, sir. Stagnant cabin air is provided free of charge. It’s the circulating air that costs 50 cents.

Passenger:  I don’t have any quarters. Can you make change for a dollar?

Attendant:  Certainly, sir! Here you go!

Passenger:  But you’ve given me only three quarters for my dollar.

Attendant:  Yes, there’s a change-making fee of 25 cents.

Passenger:  For cryin’ out loud. All I have left is a lousy quarter? What the heck can I do with this?

Attendant:  Hang onto it, sir. You’ll need it later for the lavatory.

Personally I think this is so far beyond outrageous that there isn’t even a word for it.

Yes, I know they are whining about this record-breaking cost of fuel and their need to recoup costs, but nickel-and-diming their customers will only backfire on them in the long run, or more likely, in the short run.

What’s going to happen? We talked about this as soon as the news broke, and our first thought seems to be the same as what is on many other folks’ minds………travel lighter and go carryon only. This will, of course, have disastrous consequences as the overhead bins will not be able to handle all of the extra carryon baggage, and flight attendants will be forced to conduct more gate-side checking of bags which will delay flights somewhat. This will begin a nasty downward spiral, as AA will then be forced to restrict carryon baggage to one per person (no more “one plus a laptop case or purse”…). With charges for checked bags and too-restrictive limitations on carryon bags, travelers will begin to abandon American Airlines in droves.

This can only end badly for American Airlines unless they reverse this retarded decision quickly.

Why do I think it’s a retarded decision on their part? Because there ARE other things they can do to offset their rising fuel costs without negatively impacting their customers or raising their fares.

They can get together with the other airlines and negotiate lower fuel costs by cutting out some of the greedy middle-men. This approach has been mentioned in the right circles before, but never taken seriously because of the pressures brought to bear by these same greedy middle-men (futures speculators) and the oil company lobbyists. The folks who are making obscenely huge profits on this don’t WANT fuel prices to come down and don’t CARE about you or your financial hardship or other problems.

Oil is the ONE THING our country cannot - at this point in time - do without, so it’s the ONE THING that NEEDS better regulation in terms of pricing controls and government oversight. I’m NOT anti-capitalism, but we have a disaster coming our way and the only way to avert it is for the government to step in and put a halt to the rampant speculation that is driving the cost so high. A few people should NOT be allowed to rake in billions at the expense of an entire nation.

So what can you do? Start by traveling lighter and going carryon only. This will send a message to the Airlines (are you LISTENING American?) that they need to step up to the plate and come up with better ways of dealing with rising oil prices than by gouging customers. AND WRITE TO your congressperson, senators, representatives, etc..

New York, Nov 20 (Reuters Health).
Before you snuggle up to that airplane blanket during your next flight, perhaps you should think again. It may be carrying bacteria and fungi, according to workers at a major airline laundry service.

Royal workers in several locations report being instructed to repackage used airline blankets and headphones without cleaning them and ship the items back to the airlines for passenger use.

 Along comes an Economic crisis……….. and Poof, - its all gone……. and Delta and Northworst “Executives” get a bone us.

 You want to explore your sado-masochistic side, fly one of these 2 airlines in the next few months.   I gave up idol chatter on a US Airways flight when an ex-America West flight attendant blew a gasket when I asked her how the merger was going……….And all I wanted was to pee.

This will PALE in comparison………These employees are going to be scared, scarred and realllly pissed.   

Unless someone in the pilots union has a picture of Bush and a goat……….this is going to happen………

Avoid Being Stranded at the Airport

Trapped at the Airport: What to Do

If you don’t want to take the time to read both articles in full (each has multiple pages), here’s the gist of them:

1. Book through a Travel Agent - and yes, online Travel Agencies are every bit as good as bricks-and-mortar agencies, but be sure you get to speak to them (via a toll-free number). Travel Agents are able to check many flights on many airlines at once, and help you reschedule or rebook quickly if your flight does get delayed or cancelled, but they do this as part of their service when you book through them. It’s what you’re paying for, so don’t expect to book a ticket yourself directly at the airline’s site, then call a Travel Agent when you get into a situation needing help - if you didn’t book through them to begin with, they’ve made no commission on you, and won’t make anything for helping you, so don’t be surprised if they are ‘busy’.
2. Book a flight early in the day. It will be much less likely to be subject to delays or cancellations, and if that does happen there would be a number of later flights as options for rebooking, so it’s less likely you’ll have to overnight at an airport somewhere.
3. Travel Insurance is good, but be sure you know the details of your policy - some don’t cover airline flight delays or cancels, some do, so check the fine print.
4. If your flight does wind up getting delayed or cancelled, BE NICE to the gate agent(s). It’s not their fault, and since they are the ones who can help you get on another flight, you want to be FRIENDS with them. How motivated to help you do you think they will be if you yell at them? Not much, hum?
5. If your flight is cancelled, the airlines will generally try to get you on a later flight of their own. However, you can ask them if they will transfer your ticket to another airline with an earlier flight - many will do this as they have “reciprocal arrangements” to help each other out. But you have to ask for it if that is what will work best for you.
6. Use your CELL PHONE number - not your home phone number - when you book online, since the airlines use automated notification systems to let you know about schedule changes and cancellations. It won’t do much good if that message is left on your home voicemail while you’re on the road.
7. Sign up for “alerts” when you book - if the airline you’re booking with doesn’t offer it at their own website, you can sign up at FlightStats.com - using your cell phone number, to be sure you get the most current flight information available.

And here’s a last tip not shown on the above articles: ALWAYS carry a few essentials in your carryon in case you’re stranded without your luggage. Just a few basics - toothbrush, toothpaste, a comb, maybe a clean shirt or t-shirt, etc. Whatever you couldn’t make it through a night without should be with you, not in your checked bags.

Doing the right thing? You mean, making sure the planes are safe before we get onboard? Yeah sure, I definitely prefer my flight being canceled to playing russian roulette with my life. But I EXPECT them to do the right thing EVERY DAY - not just when they’ve been ‘caught’ with their pants down because the FAA didn’t want to be exposed for more dereliction of duty. The FAA is supposed to ensure that our nation’s air carriers make “doing the right thing” their top priority.

So American gets no praise from me. More like “what were you waiting for - a lawsuit?”………

Jeeez…….I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Enjoy! 

The annual Air Quality Rating survey released Monday found that overall the industry did a poor job last year. There were more lost bags, more bumped passengers, more consumer complaints and fewer on-time flights than in the previous year.

The rate of consumer complaints was up 60 percent. US Airways had the most complaints last year. Southwest had the fewest.

All these problems are making travelers grumpy, the annual survey said.

The past year “was the worst year ever for the U.S. airlines,” said Brent Bowen, a study co-author and professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Aviation Institute. “Overall operational performance and quality declined once again to the lowest level that it’s ever been.”

The industry posted declines last year in every area of the Airline Quality Rating, amid rising fuel prices, safety problems and bankruptcy filings that shut down three carriers last week alone.

The rate of consumer complaints, for example, more than doubled at US Airways and Comair, and rose for 15 of the 16 airlines included in the study. The exception was Mesa Airlines.

On-time arrivals dropped for the fifth straight year, with more than one-quarter of all flights late, according to the survey. The rates of passengers bumped from overbooked flights and bags lost, stolen or damaged also jumped in 2007.

“The trend is bad and it doesn’t look like it gets any better,” said Dean Headley, an associate professor at Wichita State University and co-author of the study. The survey results mesh with the spate of problems that have beset U.S. carriers, starting with surging fuel costs, Headley said.

ATA, Aloha Airlines and Skybus stopped flying just last week because of financial pressures. Major airlines have slashed jobs and passenger amenities while adding fees for second bags, traveling with pets and booking tickets by phone.

It is not surprising that people responded to higher prices and more frequent delays by complaining more, Headley said.

Six airlines — Frontier, Northwest, SkyWest, Southwest, United and US Airways — showed declines in every area in the survey, although Southwest still had the best on-time arrival mark at 80.1 percent.

The Dallas-based carrier also had the lowest rate of consumer complaints, 0.26 per 100,000 passengers.

Still, the airline has not been immune from problems. It is fighting a record $10.2 million fine from the Federal Aviation Administration for continuing to fly dozens of Boeing 737s that hadn’t been inspected for cracks in their fuselages.

American, Delta and United airlines recently canceled flights to perform unscheduled inspections of certain aircraft, and US Airways found problems on some Boeing 757s after a wing part on one of its planes fell off during a flight.

The Airline Quality Rating study, compiled annually since 1991, is based on Transportation Department statistics for airlines that carry at least 1 percent of the passengers who flew domestically last year. The research is sponsored by the Aviation Institute at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and by Wichita State University.

The other airlines in the survey were AirTran, Alaska, American Eagle, Atlantic Southeast, Continental, Jet Blue and Mesa.

Among the study’s conclusions:

_The rate of consumer complaints about Mesa dropped by one-third and the airline also showed improvement in its rates of bumping passengers and mishandling bags.

_More than one-third of Atlantic Southeast Airlines flights were late, the worst on-time performance in 2007. The airlines also bumped passengers more often, at a rate of 4.5 per 10,000 passengers.

_JetBlue and AirTran were far ahead of their competitors in avoiding bumping passengers from flights, at 0.02 and 0.15 per 10,000 passengers, respectively.

_AirTran had the best baggage handling rate, at 4.06 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers.

_American Eagle ranked last in baggage handling with 13.55 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers.

But really this post is about the FAA. What is UP there? They are funded by US - the taxpayers! They do NOT work for the airlines - they work for us! So how DARE they allow this to happen? Why does it take whistle blowers to make us aware that we were even at risk? Heads should roll at the FAA over this, and rightly so. Upper management - the top dogs over there - should be held accountable, but also any person - from the top right down to the file clerks - who are found to have had knowledge of what happened should also be held accountable. Everyone. Personally I think they should be executed, but I realize that’s a bit harsh. Jail terms would probably suffice. Every single person who works at the FAA should get the message that we won’t accept anything less than their complete and total commitment to keeping air travel safe for all of us.

So HOW do we do this? Here are some great resources for letting our elected representatives know how we feel (I’m going to turn this into a static page from the menu as well):

• US House of Representatives - Contact Your Congressperson
• Contact Elected Officials: USA.gov
• Congress.org Home Page (use the box in the upper left to find your federal, state, or local officials)
• How to Write to your Congressman - ignore the ads at the top and scroll down a bit for a good article on how to write an effective and appropriate letter
• US Senate: Senators Home Page

After seeing this story on CNN.com (as well as on both our local and national news the last two nights), I’m really concerned! I realize that the journalists involved in this investigation, as well as the subjects interviewed (primarily pilots and air marshals), are doing what they believe will help by shining a light on what is a dire problem, thereby embarrassing our government into stepping up to the plate and doing something, but who knows when that “something” will be implemented? And in the meantime we are not as safe as we thought we were!

Now, it would of course be GREAT if suddenly several thousand more strong, capable men would volunteer to serve as air marshals until we get this worked out, but I am sure it’s not an easy job and I wouldn’t expect anyone to do it for very long for free.

So what can we do? I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but here goes…..write a letter to your Congressmen/women, Senators, Representatives, etc. Tell them we want more funding for the TSA! We want more Air Marshals! I know I do.