JUNE 18, 2008

I Love To Talk About Why I Hate Airlines!

Let me start by saying I’m not a frequent flyer. I take trips every now and then, but I usually only take about 3 trips a year by plane.

After a recent honeymoon trip (see photo of cruise emergency drill) filled with many logged hours in the air, I feel the urge to write about my disappointment. Every time I get on a plane, I feel like the experience gets worse and worse. The regulations. The security lines. The problems… everything. Basically, I dread flying now, not because I’m worried about my risk of dying in a crash (which is apparently 1 in 11 million), but because I’m worried that I will have to add something else to my list of hellish airline incidents.

The first annoying incident came courtesy of a crazy security lady at the Huntsville, AL airport whom I encountered when visiting my dad over Christmas. For some reason, she thought I was smuggling something on my back (I swear I wasn’t hunched over or anything) and made me go to a special security area to be checked. Despite the puzzled looks and disapproving head shakes I noticed on other passengers making their way to their departure gates (I look innocent! I could tell they thought it was ridiculous too), I was left feeling as if I had done something wrong.

Now, on to the honeymoon airline story. My husband and I planned our honeymoon (which began with a flight into Rome) last November and carefully chose flights that gave us a brief layover at Heathrow Airport. We got a call three days before our trip in May informing us of a “change in flight times” on our return trip which would force us to leave three hours earlier than we had originally planned. When we asked for more information, we were given the runaround. When we asked to speak to management, we were told to submit a comment online. We hung up and tried calling back to get some answers. None were given. To make a really long story short, everyone we spoke to told us to speak to someone else and when we did, we were told that they had no authority to do anything. The only choice we were given was to get a full refund (last minute flights to Rome would have cost us double if we were to purchase them three days before our trip) or to deal with it. So, we had to deal with it. Ultimately, it wasn’t an enormous deal, but it was still a pain.

It seems like every time I fly I add an airline to my “list” and make a mental note to avoiding flying with them in the future. With higher prices for tickets, checked luggage charges, long lines, canceled flights, humiliating security incidents, more expenses (like American Airlines’ recently announcing it will charge for the first piece of checked baggage), horrible food, and bad customer service, I am left confused and annoyed. The worst part is, the airlines will continue to get my money. I am too selfish to give up my vacations just to make a point! I am like so many other Americans who are unwilling to give up their relaxation time despite our unhappiness with the airlines.

We have been so saturated with new regulations and fear messaging since September 11th, we have become flexible with the airline industry and have put up with much more than we would otherwise. Instead of us just expecting longer lines and more stringent security, we are becoming tolerant of horrendous customer service. I hope it gets better soon. In the meantime, I’ll keep you posted of my future adventures in airplane land.