I hate to fly. It’s mostly an irrational fear of turbulence
and crashing… little stuff like that.
But in recent years, the whole experience of air travel has turned from uncomfortable
to unbearable.
Getting to the airport is
expensive and slow. LaGuardia Airport is
just a complete mess what with reconstruction.
And arriving there 2+ hours before departure seems like such a waste of
time, until you encounter the long check-in lines and TSA inspections.
No, what really bugs me
about air travel is getting crammed onto a plane with little room to move and
then enduring my fellow passengers’ behavior like caged animals. Those conditions really bring out the best in
us, don’t they?
Enough has been written
about recent air rage incidents and airlines dragging passengers off of
over-booked flights. But the issue goes
beyond discomfort to a question of real safety.
Connecticut’s own US Senator
Richard Blumenthal has co-sponsored the SEAT Act,
or “Seat Egress in Air Travel” Act. The
bill would force the FAA to provide minimum standards for seat width and pitch
(the distance between rows). If passed
it would stop airlines from cramming more and more seats on already crowded
planes.
The proposal has less of a
chance of passage than I have of getting a free upgrade to First Class, but at
least somebody is finally talking about “the 300 pound gorilla” sitting next to
me in coach: there are just too many
people being crammed onto airplanes.
The FAA requires aircraft manufacturers
to prove they can evacuate a full flight in 90 seconds with half of the exits blocked. Of course, these certification tests are done
with company staff who know what’s going to happen (a escape drill) and what’s
on the line (their jobs).
But that’s not how emergencies
happen in real life, so I don’t trust those tests. Evacuating a full A-380 with 873 passengers
of all ages, some of them drunk or disabled or grabbing their laptops, is not
the game I want to play.
The global airline industry
is expected to make a profit of $30 billion
this year on record passenger loads. And
some of the most popular airlines are the ones with the lowest fares because
they cram the most possible fare-payers onto every flight.
To me this sounds like a
disaster in the making. But given the
FAA’s shoddy record on aviation safety, this is not surprising. They are more “cheerleader” for the industry
they regulate than watch-dog.
As always, it will probably
take an otherwise survivable crash that could not be evacuated in time to save
lives to bring about a change. We are a
nation that seems to lurch from crisis to crisis, though simple preventatives
are right in front of us.
Meantime, good luck this
summer traveling in coach. Better read
that seat-back safety card and watch the evacuation demonstration as you curl
into your seat for that 6 hour flight.
As for me, I’ll be traveling
on Amtrak and stretching my legs.
Reposted with permission of Hearst CT Media.
I am one of the Ancients. I remember back in the 1950s and 60s when you dressed up for a flying trip. It was a rare thing, and you saved your money for that experience. You arrived at the airport 30 minutes before the flight, checked all your baggage (no carry ons except purses and briefcases), and waited for the flight to be called. No security issues back then, and the cockpit was kept open. Pilots or First Officers would invite the children up to the cockpit, and give them a pin on badge as "Junior Pilot". The DC-7 flew at around 250 mph, maybe 12000 feet. Full meals were included with the ticket. The flying time was much longer than today - but you didn't arrive frazzled and stressed. But with today's "arrive two hours before departure", today's total travel time is likely the same as 50 years ago. Except 50 years ago that extra time was spent in a waiting line with your shoes off. It was inside the plane, in a relatively wide seat, with comfortable leg room, and a view from the window that had no equal.
ReplyDeleteToday, just about everyone can fly whenever they want. Fares are much lower, and flights much faster. We fly to wish Aunt Molly a happy birthday. We fly to lie on a sunny beach. We fly to "do the museum". We wear cutoffs, flip-flops, and t-shirts, and we fly wherever we want, in less than comfortable conditions.
But do we really need to do all that flying? When I first flew in 1956, it was a fantastic, long-awaited experience to be relished once a year at most. Today it's an all too frequent, and all too uncomfortable, bus trip.
Flying is safe - but not necessarily healthy for the soul.
Publius