Today’s Commercial Airlines Charge Lots of Money to be Treated Like Animals

 

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart

 

My wife and I refuse to fly on any commercial airline. The last time we flew together was in 1998. We traveled to Florida to celebrate our daughter’s 21^st birthday. On the way home we stopped in Denver to visit my brother. This experience, a combination of very bad weather, and the complete lack of customer service, combined with blatant lies from employees of United Airlines, was painful and unforgivable. We vowed never to fly on a commercial airline again.

I wrote a letter to United’s vice-president of customer relations, explaining that I had been an employee of an airline between 1967 and 1976 and informed them that I would never again fly on their airline. I received a return letter containing an apology and two $100 vouchers for future air travel. I returned the vouchers with a short note informing them that I meant what I said and would never patronize their company again.

In 2009 and 2010, I was employed by the 2010 Decennial Census and was required to fly several times. Each trip was worse than the last for me. I vowed that when this temporary job was completed, so was my air travel.

Our government is the primary culprit here. Corporations are greedy and will attempt to gouge every dollar from their passengers. For as long as I have been writing about politics, our government has proven to be more concerned with the profits of corporations than the welfare and safety of the majority.

In the 1970’s our corrupt government removed all regulations related to air travel. This action withdrew customer protections and the beginning of the end of reasonable and affordable air travel for everyone.

Earlier in the 21^st century, our government allowed the major airlines to merge. Fewer companies resulted in a lack of competition, and this resulted in higher air fares and accompanying costs, fewer flights, and overcrowding. This is a short summation of air travel in 2023.

When I was first employed in 1967, the industry was growing quickly. In a very few years our airline was one of only a few which flew propeller aircraft. All of the major airlines in Los Angeles now exclusively flew jet aircraft with the exception of a few routes between a selected number of small cities.

I experienced all of the major changes over nearly 10 years, all negative, and these continue today.

I arrived at work about 6:30 one morning in 1973. Starting January 5, 1973, the FAA instituted universal physical screening of passengers, and everyone had to pass through metal detectors and have their bags searched. 10-foot walls had been constructed in the departure area, dividing passengers who were waiting for later flights from those whose flight was soon to depart. There were three openings. A private security agency, “Wackenhut,” was hand searching all carryon baggage, including purses. Metal detectors had been placed on the exits, and alarms on the doors. No one was allowed outside these doors unless they were employed by an airline.

After the attacks on 9/11, in another overreaction by an incompetent and corrupt government, congress passed the Transportation Security Act on November 19, 2001. Another government agency and another failure which cost taxpayers millions of dollars unnecessarily and made air travel far more uncomfortable.

My personal experience is simple. In 1973 the security at our airports was far more efficient than what is happening today. I was part of a crew which identified a would-be hijacker who was arrested before he boarded one of our flights. Hand searching prevented anyone from possessing any possible weapon when they boarded our flights. The cost was about ten percent of what another inefficient government agency costs today. This is your government at its worst.

Today’s airlines rape their customers, charging them exorbitant fares, and requiring additional payment for an extra bag, and even a soda. They added more seats to make more profit. This resulted in extremely uncomfortable seating. If you refuse to suffer for 3-4 hours you must pay a higher fare which allows you to sit in “business class.”

The process of going through security checks is time consuming and often an invasion of privacy. Many women have reported feelings of embarrassment after being groped by TSA employees.

Random checks by TSA management have proven that this agency, like the DEA and ICE, are complete failures, creating situations which are guaranteed to produce disasters in the future.

No one can be blamed for feelings of mistrust related to our government. These old men and women in Washington continue to fail us. Without a functioning government which cares for the future of our country and refuses to bow to corporate greed, and the greed of their own constituents, the United States no longer exists.

Whenever the government is in control of the average citizen there is great failure. Everyone complains about the IRS. This is the greatest example of complete incompetence. The Tax Code is composed of 6,871 pages. Most of it contains the ways in which corporations and the super-rich can avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

What a country!

Op-ed by James Turnage

Find my nine novels here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/James-Turnage/author/B00LOCJ2Z2?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true