[Squidster]

The author fails to mention labor costs (pilots, attendants, ground, mechanics). Another example of union power.

They are all depressing to fly. United, American, Delta. Southwest is the most honest about its bare-bones service. US Air is a nightmare.

I used to fly USAir quite a bit. I was stuck in coach against the window. Sold out flight. No entertainment (DCA-PHX). This was after several hours delay for mechanical reasons. They charged for coffee! FAs were rude (again, union members).

As all airlines are morphing into one big union workshop, they will all suffer from lousy food, rude workers, and the other downside to union shops.

I don’t object to unions per se. I would like a choice: unionized vs nonunionized. But that is not how unions and government want it.

[dirtboy]

This guy needs to fly Southwest more. They don’t promise much service, but they do deliver what is promised quite effectively.

[ASOC]

Ever had a chance to fly Aeroflot? You might want to revise your standards for “bad”.

[Mr. Lucky]

Most Delta employees are non-union.

[Dr. Sivana]

The author fails to mention labor costs (pilots, attendants, ground, mechanics). Another example of union power.

Pilots are paid a fraction of what they used to get. Conditions are worse, too. Stewardesses have also been subject to givebacks.

There are also far fewer regs (not-security related) than there were in the '70's.

The truth is there are still bargains for fliers who meet a certain profile. Airlines are still recovering from massive losses. Legacy carriers (United, American) are still carrying expenses from the higher paid professionals from an earlier era.

Airlines go bankrupt regularly, and Irarely hear of one that has a wiz bang year (Southwest hadd one when they bet on the price of oil going up and locked in a good rate on fuel)

I blame all of the post 9/11 kabuki theatre for much of the expense and nearly all of the irritation. Also, planes, and the infrastructure supporting planes are expensive. We subsidize our airports (even past our ticket fees) from the small Murtha airport in Pennsylvania all the way up to O'Hare and JFK. Other countries DEFINITELY subsidize their airlines.

For anything under 1,000 miles, cars are the most efficient way to move in the USA.