I've been away from home for about the last week, so I haven't had the time to sit down & put together anything "irrelevant & crappy" recently, but my travels & recent news have me thinking about something else. The state of air travel.

It still amazes me that after 9-11 & all the money that was spent on "Homeland Security", the level & quality of said security at any major airport. American taxpayers spend about $5 billion a year on the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA), and it's largely a clusterfuck of "Epic Fail" proportions. I mean don't you feel safe by the crack TSA security staff, whose prior experience was probably working at McDonald's, worrying about whether you have more than 3 ounces of toothpaste or the content of sippy cups?

But I did not come to pick on the TSA tonight. No, it is the shittiness of the airline industry that has drawn my attention. So, for the question of the night, which airline is the worst to fly?

Cross-posted at Facing South

Have you filled out your bracket at the Consumerist blog yet?

   American Airlines has moved to charge for checked bags.  This is not a cost effective move.  Consider the effect of passengers, they will simply carry on more bags. It seems clear that there is a profound confusion in airline management over what kinds of services they are providing and what their customers should pay for.  On the one hand, passerngers  who are checking their bags are subsidizing those who are carrying theirs on the plane.  Planes are delayed due to the excessive time taken as passengers wait in the aisles for bags to be stoed before the flight can depart and after landing.  Staff are always engaged in helping passengers with large baggage lift them into the overhead compartments.  To eliminate these waiting times and differential use of staff time, (and, of course, time is money for all of us), the airlines should charge for carry-ons and also should charge for all luggage weight.  

Long, long ago -- the 60s -- when I was but a tyke, I looked forward to summer for one reason:  the big vacation.  For our family, it was almost always the same thing:  we'd fly to Southern California to spend time with my grandmother in La Jolla and then to my great uncle's place in Anaheim.  And Anaheim meant Disneyland.  

For a middle class kid from the Chicago suburbs, jetting out to a beachside hotel in San Diego was so cool.   We had to wear our Sunday school clothes on the airplane.  Flying was a special event, and was treated by us and everyone else accordingly.

Alas, times have changed.  And it's still getting worse.  Let's go look for your lost luggage below the fold.

When the FAA got caught with its pants down having failed to inspect Southwest 737s properly (and threatening FAA inspectors who pushed for proper inspections), the reaction of the FAA was to shut down air transportation for many hundreds of thousands of Americans for safety inspections not mandated by air worthiness and which could have taken place over time (not disrupting travel and destroying airline schedules and revenues.)  Two things to ponder.  Herbert Kelleher, founder and chairman of Southwest, is a top individual donor to Repbublican causes, with a lone a donation to Lieberman in 2005 (the exception that proves the rule.) Kelleher contributions  There was pressure from on high to not inspect Southwest 737s; some inspections were 8 years overdue.  Inspector testimony  Let's connect the dots.  When the Administration was found endangering passenger safety by cutting a political contributor slack, it reacted like Chicken Little to change the story - to hell with the consequences (and too bad if those AA and UA executives also gave Rethugs money because who can argue with the people keeping us safe?).

Yesterday, on my blog (Women, Unions and Our Stories), I wrote about Dick Dauch and outrageous executive pay.

As the economy continues to slow, the housing crises continues to develop, home prices continue to fall, gas prices continue to go up, and the cost for just about everything in our lives rises from rice to wheat to a glass of milk...well it's on this vein that Warren Brown at the Washington Posttook the owner, Dick E Dauch, and his top executives, to task for, well, being complete asses...

more on the flip

The Krongard brothers have demonstrated their remarkable lack of ethical standards, with one at State investigating Blackwater's killings while the other works for the company. But was their another conflict even more sinister?

WikiScanner discovered that American Airlines changed their Wikipedia entry to state that Flights 11 and 77 never flew on 9/11.

Original entry was:

Two American Airlines aircraft were hijacked and crashed during the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack: American Airlines Flight 77 (a Boeing 757) and American Airlines Flight 11 (a Boeing 767).

New entry is:

Two American Airlines aircraft were hijacked and crashed during the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack: Flight 77 (a Boeing 757) and Flight 11 (a Boeing 767). Although these flights were daily departures before and a month after September 11, 2001. Neither flight 11 nor 77 were scheduled on September 11, 2001. The records kept by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (www.bts.gov/gis/) do not list either flight that day.

Hi folks, long time no diary.

I was inspired to write this - my first diary since the cat food scandal - after being through the wringer during a business trip this past week.  I was one of the "lucky" people who was stranded this week thanks to massive incompetence on the part of American Airlines (who can officially go to Hades in my book) and mother nature (damn her and her rain!).

I only fly about once every 4-6 months, and it seems that the experience gets worse every single time.  This week I was simply blown away by the inconsistency and incompetence displayed by TSA employees.  But more importantly, my travelling companion inadvertently "smuggled" an illegal item onto one of our flights...

(warning: if you are one of those folks who's pretty little eyes can't deal with cursewords, you might want to just close your browser tab and move along to the next diary)

Hello Kossaks.  Sorry this diary is so short.  I just though I should let you all know what American Airlines thinks of us.  

If you click on the thumbnail above, you can see a full size rendering of the 747-8. The plane is Boeing's answer to the Airbus A380, which has run into design problems & delays. The almost 40-year-old 747 design will be updated with tech from Boeing's upcoming 787 Dreamliner. You can see the interior of the new 747-8, with its big comfy seats, by clicking here (although it helps if you can read Norsk).

Looking through the pics, I wondered where the hell the piano bar from the 70s went? And I don't expect to see anything as comfortable as those seats being used by Northwest or United. This brings me to the diary topic: Shitty Flying Experiences

What's the worst experience you've ever had & which Airline was responsible for it?

The threat from the crew to land the plane--citing security concerns--if the two men didn't stop "arguing" with a flight attendant seems highly exploitive and abusive, as well as condescendingly expressed, provided that events were accurately reported in this week's The New Yorker. At the very least, Mr. Wagner's insinuation that the two men were making passengers uncomfortable demands a clarification of American Airlines' relevant policies.

Please read the rest of the diary after the flip; it may inform your e-mail to AA.

Give me break! This article from The New Yorker is another example of what the Religious Right is doing to this country. Apparently a stewardess on American Airlines did not like the fact that two men who are in love would dare show affection for each other at 45,000 feet.

http://www.aa.com/...

and go to the blue 'Email AA Customer Relations' and click on it.  

Fill out the basic information and then let them have your undying support for this move.  This is HUGE, and IF we could get them to drop their ads from ABC, ABC would definitely feel the pain.

Pass this on to everyone you know.  What great press this would get, and let's see ABC try to back pedal their way into getting AA's advertising business back!

Annie

ABC's Path to 9/11 got a lot of pre-broadcast buzz for its controversial treatment of the Clinton administration, but it managed only a third-place finish for the night.

But that's not what I want to focus on in this post mortem - I want to talk about the Democratic Party players who didn't come to the table when they were needed...

Looks to me like we're not the only ones pissed off.

Adweek

American Could Pull Ads From ABC
September 12, 2006
By Richard Williamson

DALLAS American Airlines is prepared to pull its advertising from ABC in order to protest its portrayal in the network's recently aired movie The Path to 9/11, according to a source. The carrier also said it is considering legal action against the network.

http://www.tvweek.com/...

ABC's airing of its "Path to 9/11" docudrama last night has drawn its first lawsuit threat, and the surprise is that it's coming not from angry Democrats but from an "outraged" American Airlines.

There is no public figure rule in Britain!  Jurisdiction of British courts will be upheld.  It is very easy to win libel and defamation cases here for anyone who suffers harm to reputation by a false and defamatory publication or broadcast.  As a result, there is no reason at all why anyone slandered in the terror porn of "Path to 9-11" should not sue for libel and defamation here in Britain.  

Go for it!  Sue in Britain!  We have great courts, great laws, and 67 Britons died in the Twin Towers on 9-11!