This Should Offend Most Air Travelers

[db5]

As my wife and I boarded a flight from LA to Atlanta she commented on how slovenly dressed and unkempt most of the passengers were; quite a change since we started flying 40 years ago. As the flight attendant served beverages she said she overheard the comment and in her 30 years as a flight attendant she was saddened at how things steadily deteriorated. Just before letdown into Atlanta she came down the isle with a large plastic bag and about every third row said, “trash, trash”. When she came to our row I caught her eye and said, “That’s not very nice.” Without pausing she grinned and replied, “I calls ‘em as I sees ‘em.”

[joshh]

HEY! I resemble that remark...

[frank81]

Call me old fashioned but I think there is a minimum threshhold for leaving the house, and its one button somewhere on your clothing and one thing that needs either buckled or tied. That's not asking much.

I also appreciate it when I board a flight and there is a stewardess, not a flight attendant, that chooses to wear the formal uniform and smells nice and smiles.

[dusty]

As my wife and I boarded a flight from LA to Atlanta she commented on how slovenly dressed and unkempt most of the passengers were]

Do you agree with yours wife's comment that the passengers were slovenly dressed?

Whether you do or not, I would say that your wife also calls ‘em as I sees ‘em.

[Ed in Tampa]

While I will be the first to agree dress and personal appearance has steadily fallen in the last 30 years or so. I wonder if the what you are seeing on the plane is not the result of the past treatment by the airlines.

I once flew everywhere and loved it. Over the years I kept getting the feeling I was considered as little more than a cash cow and treated as such.

I had to learn to be handled not helped, I had to learn to accept whatever the airline offered and not to expect more. I had to learn to that if the airline could figure a way to make one more buck on me they would.

Since I have first started to fly I have seen the airlines and personel severely change. At one time I was treated as precious customer but soon I was being treated as a cash cow.

I have witnessed passengers forced to sit in seat against bulk heads that actually made them lean forward a whole flight from Tampa to New York. I have seen seats shrink ( and yes it is the seat and not my expansion) where my knees are firmly pressed into the seat in front of me, my hips are pressed on both sides and the arm rest is touching my rib cage.

I have gotten on the flights where I paid $675 round trip and a family of 6 on the same flight flew round trip for $400 (kids flew free and spouse was half price of discounted fair of the husband). Needless to say I was ticked.

My solution? I refuse to fly. The Airlines will go out of business if enough people say enough we ain't going to take it anymore. Why do we allow ourselves to treated as cattle by people we are paying?

[dickg1]

Ed In Tampa,
Boy oh boy do I agree with you. What you failed to add is the demeaning personal frisk and inspection before you get on the plane. I refuse to fly for all the reasons you cited plus my addition, and I was an Air Force pilot in another life. If we travel now we go by Amtrak, private auto or boat. The pre-flight frisk is deamed necessary for security reasons - baloney! The Israeliis don't frisk, but then again they don't have a need to be "politically correct". They look at each passenger attempting to board, look for certain signs and pull some out for interrogation - and they have an excellent record on El Al.
Dick

[joshh]

The pre-flight frisk is deamed necessary for security reasons - baloney! The Israeliis don't frisk, but then again they don't have a need to be "politically correct". They look at each passenger attempting to board, look for certain signs and pull some out for interrogation - and they have an excellent record on El Al.
Dick

Don't forget the new whole body scanners are operated by someone who has absolutely NO training in radiation safety or correct dosage. At a minimum they should be required to employ radiologic technologists to operate those machines. They can frisk me all they want, but there is no chance in hell some un-trained monkey is going to irradiate me...

They call it "safe backscatter" but that simply means the energy wavelength is such that it won't pass completely through you and is mostly absorbed in the skin. Can anyone say melanoma? The "safe" term means the dose is below some arbitrary acceptable level. Who set that level and were the properly educated to do so?

An average flight submits a person to the same radiation as 2 chest x-rays from added cosmic rays. Add the scanner to the mix and a frequent flier has a real risk of being effected by the radiation.

[fredsheldon]

Hi, I have the best job in the world. It hasn't always been that way. Ever since I was promoted to operate the Full Body Scanner at Bush International Airport my job has become much more interesting to say the least.

[Ed in Tampa]

Body scans? I have a buddy with a "likeable" personality that has had 2 or 3 body cavity searchs. I don't know why they pick him other than he can be an A$$ at times (no pun intended).

I don't know the law on this, if they pull you out for a body cavity search must you allow it? I understand to fly on that flight you would but could he refuse and travel another way?

[frank81]

I would be cool with all that security if A) it actually accomplished something and B) it was applied consistently and universally. Oh yeah and C) they hired mature adults.

First flight I took after they got real strict was out of a tiny airport with 5 daily flights. Got everything except the happy ending, toiletries thrown away, and a freshly cleaned suit balled up on the dirty floor and then shoved back into my bag. Of course the agent acted like they were 12 years old the entire time. Return trip from O'Hare was anything goes.

The most recent flight I took I forgot to remove the can of compressed air I keep on an outside, clearly visible pocket of my laptop bag I use for work. I told the agent sorry, obviously I forgot to remove it and if I can't take it just throw it away. Turned into a 15 minute ordeal of her doing what I can only guess is trying to start an arguement that I wouldn't indulge. Finally had to call the supervisor over to put an end to it.