AltantaBob

Airlines: Lowering the Standard Is Never the Best Choice

First off, its the regional airlines not the major airlines that are having this problem. And once again, the burden is at the traveling public. It's capitalism at work and they get what they pay for. The public doesn't want to pay more than $150 to go coast to coast so the airlines were forced to decimate pilot contracts over the last few years. Pensions were wiped out, pay cut over 50%, and benefits severely reduced. Now people are crying foul. The fact is that until they are willing to pay more for a ticket, this will be the byproduct.

Why U.S. Airline Service is So Bad

Blind allegiance to a frequent flyer program doesn't contribute to a lack of quality. Money does. People are paying the same amount for a ticket as they did in the 1980's. That's NOT adjusted for inflation. Meanwhile, new aircraft cost in upwards of $200 million and fuel nearly 5x more expensive. The public doesn't want to pay much for a ticket and since the fixed costs are pretty much the same for all airlines the product suffers since there isn't anything left over. We are after all, the country that would prefer to suffer at Walmart just to save a dime than pay for quality service. We did it to ourselves.