A quick word for those manning our airports:

[hedgehog]

The people at the ticket counter, the baggage handlers, the TSA people, the pilots and the flight attendants do not control the weather. If the equipment that was going to be used to fly you from Newark to Cincinnati is grounded by a storm in Atlanta, they can't produce a replacement out of thin air. If the crew has to be replaced because they've hit their maximum working hours, would you rather be delayed or fly with exhausted pilots?(Take note that this is a situation that tends to arise when the weather is really, really bad.) It costs an airline lots of money to fly planes in circles around airports waiting for the weather to clear. Are you really in that much of a hurry to put down in the face of a thunderstorm or snow squall?

I expect this Winter to produce some spectacular weather displays. Plan ahead, allow for disruptions and don't blame the working people for things they can't control. Also, write your congress critturs in favor of improving passenger rail!

[VMI Dem]

1. My response: stop over-booking the fucking flights.

:hi:

[HopeHoops]

2. It isn't just the airlines. I had an appointment with a specialist (doctor) - similar story.

There were four people in the waiting room with appointments for the EXACT same time with the same doctor. I finally got to see him after sitting in an uncomfortable chair (broken back was why I was there) for an hour and a half. He spent less than ten minutes with me.

Flying sucks moose cock, by the way. I'll avoid it whenever possible, but I had to do it for a LONG time as part of my job. And I will not go into one of those full body scanners (even though I have no problem walking around nude in public) just to piss them off. The anal cavity search is just flat out not going to happen.

[hedgehog]

3. LOL! Here's what happened to us Thursday: At Midnight EDT we got boarding passes

at the counter in Manchester, England for our 4PM flight out of Newark later that day. While we were in the air, the 4PM flight was canceled, so all the boarding passes were kaput. Later, the flight was reinstated, and people whose earlier flights had been canceled were re-booked to the 4PM flight. Naturally, the people flying ion from overseas had no info on this. The poor guy at the gate had to deal with a mess of people all holding legitimate boarding passes, but about 30% of those passes weren't in the computer. Then, to top it off, because of the weather, three people had to get off so extra fuel could be carried!

The airlines lose money flying empty seats. We all want cheaper fares. Shit happens. If you must, write a nasty letter to your congress critter and/or the CEO of the airline. Just don't take it out on the poor guy trying to make it through another day's work.

[HelenWheels]

4. I'll second that and add stop treating your customers like shit

I'd also like the airports to stop doing the fake security procedures, virtual strip searches that aren't effective, the fake pat downs that aren't effective, forcing people to leave their valuables open to theft to take part in these fake searches.....

and when you screw up don't give me a worthless voucher and then threaten to have me arrested because I tell you I want something different. (I was calm and polite but that didn't stop the asshole from threatening me. He could have said this is all I'm allowed to offer you so it politely could have gone to the next step of asking for a supervisor - which I was also denied)

[hedgehog]

5. In the last three weeks, my husband and I went through

screening at seven different airports in the last 3 weeks. Sometimes we went right through, sometimes one of us got pulled over for further screening. Sometimes it was because of something that showed up on the screen, sometimes a random pat-down. He had to give away a small pocket knife inadvertently left in carry-on luggage. Guess what? No one smuggled weapons on board our flights. Works for me.