Common Sense and Air Travel

[Honkie]

I know this is an odd topic, but I thought I would report that today I ate my in-flight "meal" using a real, good, old fashioned stainless steel fork AND KNIFE. Given the food is usually prepared to the texture and consistency of boot sole, it is about time that they stopped adding insult to injury and gave you a proper knife to at least attempt to eat it, rather than the pathetic plastic things that break under the slightest force!

Hooray for common sense!

The food was still crap though, can't have everything.

cheers

H

 

[mickeyd]

The food was still crap though, can't have everything.

LOL . What airline were you flying that allows you to play with sharp objects at 30k feet?

 

[MasterBlaster]

Some of the sharks were interviewed by CNN after the plane crash. Their comment was that they thought that the people swimming in the water were pretty good eats.

They had no complaints at all about that airplane food.

 

[Honkie]

LOL . What airline were yoiu flying that allows you to play with sharp objects at 30k feet?

Flew on EVA - only a short flight from Hong Kong to Taipei, aircraft was a B747

Out and back in the same day.

Left home at 9:30am
Check in at 10am
Depart 11:10am
Arrive Taipei 12:45pm
Through Immigration, in Taxi and in office downtown by 2pm
Meeting for 2.5 hours
In car at 4:30pm, at airport by 5:15pm
Check in, Immigration, board and in the air by 6:10pm
Arrive Hong Kong at 7:45pm
Through airport, onto train by 8:10pm
Walk in the door at home at 8:45pm

 

[Outtahere]

A friend of mine just took a short trip, took a 6 hour train ride out, flew back. She figured with all the time spent at the airport for baggage checks, late departures and other annoyances she would have arrived home about the same time and with less stressed if she took the train back.

She said the food was better on the train too!!

 

[Honkie]

What are you complaining about. We don't even get food anymore. Most all of our airlines are in Bankruptcy protection.

I flew to Belize last week from Minneapolis and all I got was a small bag of Pretzels!

I never expect much from airline catered food, if it's a longer flight I usually bring my own. This flight was only a little over an hour so it wasn't a problem:  but the coffee, juice and fruit were all pretty good. Suprisingly the "house red" on the flight back was quite palatable too.  

Didn't get a small bag of Pretzels though, I must complain about that.  

Cheers
H

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

My last few flights (pre 9/11) when I wasnt bumping myself into first class, I packed one of those soft-side six pack coolers with all the drinks I wanted. Stopped at trader joes on the way to the airport and grabbed a couple of their prepackaged meals or salads, like a middle eastern plate or a seafood louis.

Between that and my 10" dvd player (stop that) I got a lot of looks...

 

[Honkie]

A friend of mine just took a short trip, took a 6 hour train ride out, flew back. She figured with all the time spent at the airport for baggage checks, late departures and other annoyances she would have arrived home about the same time and with less stressed if she took the train back.

She said the food was better on the train too!!

I presume this was a US internal flight? So why so long at the airport?

Mine was an international flight, so I had to pass through an Immigration Control 4 times and still didn't spend more than 2.25 hours in the airport IN TOTAL.

 

[Outtahere]

I presume this was a US internal flight? So why so long at the airport?

Because for the next month there will be some state that has school vacation, this week it's MA, next week it's NH.

 

[Honkie]

Because for the next month there will be some state that has school vacation, this week it's MA, next week it's NH.

So are the airports are trying to operate way above their design/throughput capacity during peak times or they usually well below capacity during regular periods and don't bother to staff up when the holiday rush kicks in?

Just curious

Cheers

 

[ladelfina]

Is anyone here well-versed enough about the airline industry to explain why the "hub" system is still alive? It seems to have outlived any possible efficiency.

Does it persist only to create the illusion of expediency ("12 flights a day to wherever") to business travelers who may like the 'option' of different arrival and departure times?

I just find it alarming that an airline would propose that I fly from Boston to Rome via Chicago, Philadelphia or Atlanta!!! [During much of the year there are no direct Boston-Rome flights].

Twice the number of takeoffs and landings and airport fees. Twice the congestion. Increased delays and inconvenience for everyone. Am I missing something here? 

Wouldn't making a lot more of these flights direct alleviate the situation? I would pay more for a direct flight; it would means saving several hours of the now-horrific flight conditions. Last time I flew my knees were touching the back of the seat in front of me, and I'm 5'4"!! I don't know how a taller person manages it.

 

[MJ]

What are you complaining about. We don't even get food anymore. Most all of our airlines are in Bankruptcy protection.

I flew to Belize last week from Minneapolis and all I got was a small bag of Pretzels!

When I took EVA to Bangkok last year, I ate more food than I needed or wanted. The food wasn't half bad for plane food.

 

[justin]

Ladelfina - cost. Conventional wisdom is operational efficiency is best achieved with the hub system. It's easier to fill a plane full of people from the US to Rome when you fill it with folks from Boston, Philly, Detroit, etc. and send them all to Rome on one transatlantic flight. The alternative would be less frequent flights and/or smaller jets from Boston. It's all about the $$ $$.

 

[ladelfina]

Hmm. I vote for less frequent flights, but I don't have a vote. I still wonder about a real breakdown, 'cause with 50% more flights don't you have 50% more airport fees, more gate staff, more security staff, more baggage handlers to lose your bags move your bags around.. etc.?

You must be right, but I wish there were more options.. If there were one or two direct flights per week, they could easily fill those flights. Anyone who needed to fly on a given day could opt for the stopovers.

I also wish you could pay for space by the inch! 

 

[justin]

[quote ]
I also wish you could pay for space by the inch!

You can... it's called business class or first class. Or charter jet.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I also wish you could pay for space by the inch!

I'm gravely pleased that I dont have to.

 

[ladelfina]

Well, I meant in the sense of not paying 10x the fare for 1.5x the space, obviously.

 

[Sheryl]

I wish people had to pay by the pound for all the crap they haul onto the plane and try to cram into the overhead bin while blocking the aisles. That would sure speed up the baoarding process.

 

[justin]

I wish people had to pay a nickel for every complaint they had on here.

 

[Nords]

I just find it alarming that an airline would propose that I fly from Boston to Rome via Chicago, Philadelphia or Atlanta!!! [During much of the year there are no direct Boston-Rome flights].

We can fly to Guam from Hawaii cheaper if we go through Narita than if we go direct.

However I don't think all those extra frequent-flyer miles make up for the Narita layover.

 

[riskadverse]

My wife had a plastic knife confiscated by security. She had put the meal in her carry on instead of eating it on an earlier flight. It seems that you are not able to take plastic knives onto a flight but they will issue them with meals. Thank God for the TSA.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Come on riskaverse...we're paying more but its made up for by the security being not as good!

I feel better when a grandma in a wheelchair has her nail clippers confiscated, but we let the guy who looks like a terrorist and has fuses sticking out of many of his clothing items on board. It shows we're sensitive and that we really care!