We've Lost That Loving Feeling |
Friday, April 10th, 2009
Air travel use to be something special. Children were treated like royalty, often getting to meet the captain and receiving special "pilot's wings." Snacks were handed out like treats at a Mardi Gras party and drinks flowed almost a freely. Food was always served if you were flying during meal time - even if the flight was a short one.That has all changed. The days when passengers felt like flying was a special occasion that required exceptional behavior and even the finest clothes is long gone. Part of it is the fault of the dress down attitude of the culture today. Most of it is the fault of the airlines. The quality of the treatment has dropped significantly in the last few decades and the attitudes of the passengers have dropped as well.
The airline has packed more people and more seats into each flight. This cramps the flight experience in more ways than just space. It taxes the attendants making it almost impossible for the needs of all the passengers to be met. More passengers mean more opportunities for nightmare stories. And more passengers mean more pressure on the storage space, bathrooms and other amenities of the flight.
Any doubts that flight experiences have gone "south" will be quickly removed by a visit to www.flightsfromhell.com (a website devoted to those stories you never wanted to hear and still can't believe actually occurred).
Add the cramped conditions with a bunch of strangers the rising costs of fees and you have a perfect recipe for disgruntled passengers. Airlines blame the economy for the decline in air travel. It is just as likely that the airlines are suffering because the airlines have lost sight of the concept that passengers are customers not cargo and the money is moving to industries that care and aren't afraid to show it.
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