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Back in my Army days, you could fly around on "military hops" for free when off duty. As long as you were in dress uniform and the pilots didn't mind, you could board any available flights, mostly transports, and hop from one base to another.
One time, going from the naval base in Rota, Spain to Naples, Italy in a lumbering cargo plane, I had to climb up a long mesh net draped over gigantic tarps covering a load that filled the fuselage and then strap into a flimsy cloth harness at the very top.
The takeoff and ascent was an unbelievable, teeth-rattling experience so rough that I was sure my seat straps would break away from the ribbed framework. The entire body of the plane shuttered and groaned wildly, while the mountainous cargo shifted around and clanked together loudly, seriously straining against way-too-tiny cables that twanged and looked like they were about to snap at any moment. Even with earmuffs, the interior cacophony blended with the turboprop engines created an ear-splitting roar that pierced the brain.
After an eternity, when we finally reached a relatively "smooth" cruising altitude, the pilot came back with a big grin to ask how the ride was. Naturally, I asked him what the hell they were hauling. A question surely expected, his sh*t-eating grin widened as he gleefully peeled back a corner of a tarp to reveal the glistening skin of the unmistakable ordnance.
So, whenever I have a bad experience on a civilian airliner, I think back to the time I rode a load of bombs over the Mediterranean.
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/1myllo/stand-up-louis-ck--the-miracle-of-flight
"Defies logic"? Here is the logic: putin gets Donald elected promising ________. Donald shoots missles at sovereign nation, thus negating our position with the UN regarding the sanctions we now have on Russia and "poof"... all debts forgiven, Putin's cronies and exxon all get to share the trillion in oil in the now ice-uncovered arctic. They win. We lose. Where is the confusion over the logic? I know this statement seems like i'm coming down on you but just making a point related to your question of logic/motive that Needs to be heard by all. There is a motive. Now let's put him in Gitmo
We lefties need to figure out how to end the wars and cope with the terrorists Bush and Cheney created???? Bernie had the answer, progressives always do....vote no on preemptive for profit war. Try voting for the Democrats next time Diane.
A few out of control individuals, deluded by their own money and power have brought us to where we are. Our Democracy has failed to stop the likes of the Kochs, and Murdoch, and for that we are all going to pay a very heavy price.
It's unfortunate that foxmerized righties still don't understand how they've been manipulated by the billionaires. That ignorance spills over in the form of economic and social pain for all of us.
I forgot to say - I really, really prefer Amtrak!
I certainly cannot be called a frequent flyer, but when was the last time you heard someone say “Wow, I just had an wonderful, relaxing flight”?
Recycled air, cramped legroom, excessive baggage costs and wildly varying baggage rules, long lines, rude staff, cardboard passed off as food, and incidents such as the United Airlines treatment of passengers are all the new normal.
Is this the “great again” that Trump was referring to?
And to Legend, BTW: The Louisville flight, waiting for a flight crew, is an example of EXTREME overbooking. Here, you have a whole planeload of paying customers, waiting for a crew that hadn't been properly scheduled. Whose fault is this? And by what logic can you reach the conclusion that the guy that got kicked off the Chicago flight was at fault for United's screwup? I'm sorry, I don't buy it!
I clearly see the bright line that Thom is talking about. Regulations are nothing more than rules that in a perfect world fairly balance the interests of the public in general against the private interests of the business or industry being regulated. Deregulation, on the other hand, equals self-regulation. Self regulation means that corporations like United Airlines get to make their own rules and set their own policies. When they are allowed to self regulate, large corporations have no public accountability. Look at what happened after the 2008 financial meltdown. Not one bankster went to jail, even though their dishonest actions almost destroyed the world economy and cost many Americans their homes and life savings. They are governed by one motive and goal-- maximizing their profits. And when they are left to their own devices, whatever they do to achieve this goal is deemed acceptable.
By deregulating industry after industry, Congress has essentially given the regulatory power that should be belong to the people of the United States to corporate America. This week, we caught another glimpse of how self-regulation works and who it clearly favors. Can we really trust large faceless corporations to act in our best interest? Just ask David Dao.
I have to agree entirely with Mitch51 above. I've flown a trillion miles (more or less) on United and others and watched the quality of service decline steadily since Reagan's bust of the ATC. Just the experience of getting through an airport has become demeaning. If I never see the inside of a passenger terminal again, it'll be too soon. Having said that, and assuming none of this will change soon, perhaps these airlines could be a little smarter about how they exercise their "right" to overbook flights: one way might be to fully book a flight, but not overbook it. Then, instead of trying to bribe people to get off, they could offer last minute discounts to passengers on standby with other airlines throughout the terminal. In an age where everybody is connected in real time via the internet, this would be entirely feasible, even if your original itinerary has you going through SLC rather than SFO. Or hey, even wilder, tell the passengers that the plane will not depart until they deal with the overbooking between themselves, record the video in HD and sell it to the highest bidder as "reality TV".
Another manifestation of creeping fascism in our country so sad
United does not fly it own shuttle airplanes because they do not want to deal with their union pilots on shuttles. So they work with United Express which out of Chicago is Great Lakes Airlines. They have very poorly paid crews that are non union. United acts like they are United Airlines until they lose your luggage, then you are dealing with Great Lakes. Also the personel dragging the passenger off the plane are not United Employees but are Chicago Airport Police. I have close to 2 million miles with United. I would recommend always following any instructions from flight attendants or other crew while on the airplane. If they say get off, get off. If a policeman says get off, get off. Argue later. He obviously resisted and is part of this fiasco. Was someone other than him supposed to get off? United was boarding 4 crew members to get a flight out of Louisville full of people. So this one guy was distrubting a whole flight full of people. It obviously could have been handled better by all involved. But he was being arrested and resisted arrest. Lawsuits to follow. With weather,maintenance and other issues nobody can run a perfect airline. I have been treated very well by United. When flying I always figure that my life is in their control and getting upset about delays (and I have had my share) are not worth an ulcer.
stecoop01 - You are right on!
Thug behaviour is not confined to the US believe me
Put a person in a uniform or grant them a little power and they will enforce their will... right wrong / good bad
You can excuse an animal for its behaviour since it has no self awareness
These humans have no excuse for treating humans as animals
Animals have at least their integrity
Airlines used to be a classy mode of travel....pricey, but very sophisticated with the crew being extremely courteous and interested in your comfort and desire to remain a good customer. Now it's a cattle call....you might get on....you might not...they might have double booked your seat....maybe not...if the flight is full, you may or may not get where you're going....UNLESS you book a first class flight...or through a travel agent. I only fly when I absolutely have to. It's more pleasant to ride the train. Service is a dying art...and it shouldn't be...since we don't manufacture anything here anymore. Service had BETTER start getting better or companies will start to tank.
I believe a great deal of this problem stems from President Bush's Department of Homeland Security and the absolute power it confers on the TSA and it's officers. When you grant absolute, unquestioned authority to small minded, low information, poorly trained individuals there are bound to develop situations where the individual rights and personal safety of civilians will be abused.
It's not just deregulation that is to blame, Thom. There is a general breakdown of civility in our society; we are rapidly becoming an "every man for himself" society. I see everyday in the news and on our roads.
Making Trump president was the final step in making the U.S. a third world nation. Thinking that he is any different than Assad or Putin is pure insanity.
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Tom, I'm sorry if this has already been covered. It is important for people to realize it took only 100 days for Putin to get Trump to bite the bait and bomb a sovereign nation, causing a legitimate dispute of the "sanctions regime" we have in place after Ukraine. IF an MO is needed, it is now dramatically obvious to any news analyst. Trump, Exxon stockholders, and Suck of State win, Putin and cronies in the oligarchy/kleptocracy WIN BIG in the arctic sea. Long Live Global Warming and fissile fuels! We lose! We need to wake prople up now that it has been made obvious.
k. allen:
The problem lies in the fact there is no correct answer to situations like this. Before oil they were a very nomadic people. Now that money is involved the corrective options are very limited. The entire area has become whack-a-mole. Put down one dictator/leader and two more pop up. I was hoping that fracking technology would calm things down a bit but so far that has not been the case.
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