Wednesday, August 18, 2010

August 18: Airlines Do Have Service Problem

By Sylvia Gurinsky


A flighty flight attendant sliding down an emergency chute aside, there is a problem with the airlines. And it's been increasing ever since President Jimmy Carter decided that deregulating them was a good idea.


Since then, air travel has evolved from a relatively enjoyable pastime to something akin to herding cattle.


Years ago, comedian Tim Conway got big laughs on "The Carol Burnett Show" when he was in a sketch about "no frills" air travel. It looks less and less like fantasy, however, as passengers increasingly have to pay more money for less service and fewer nonstop, direct flights to a large number of locations. And that's without the security checks.



"Just deal with it" isn't good enough anymore. The fraying relationship between passengers and crew (who don't make the decisions, they just enforce them) could eventually lead to a genuine tragedy. The issue of customer service is one that needs to be addressed soon.

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