Why Does Flying Suck so Much

In theory there are laws and regulations. In practice, enforcement is up for the highest bidder.

I see the guy has fallen into the trap of conflating "immigrant" with "illegal immigrant." He lost some cred there.
 
dilettante said:
In theory there are laws and regulations. In practice, enforcement is up for the highest bidder.

I see the guy has fallen into the trap of conflating "immigrant" with "illegal immigrant." He lost some cred there.
Click to expand...
Regarding your last sentence: so has most of our media, so I would give him a little break.....
 

The guy in the video is a notorious political pundit. Often he has an opinion swaying agenda that makes his motives suspect.

"
portrait.jpg
Robert Reich's writes at robertreich.substack.com. His latest book is "THE SYSTEM: Who Rigged It, How To Fix It." He is Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center. He served as Secretary of Labor in the Clinton.
 
Last edited:
OldFeller said:
The guy in the video is a notorious political pundit. Often he has an opinion swaying agenda that makes his motives suspect.
Click to expand...
It's good to be aware of both agendas and hidden agendas, but it's also fair to consider his points on their own.

As to his first point consolidation there is no argument the lack of competition hurts consumers. It's happened and happening in every industry.

Perhaps because it happened a while ago he does overlook deregulation of industries like transportation and another major one is power generation and supply where what were utilities became for-profit companies. The rate payers no longer had a voice and the companies mindsets changed from long term investments to short term profits. Anybody remember Enron?
 
oldaunt said:
Regarding your last sentence: so has most of our media, so I would give him a little break.....
Click to expand...
I agree. It does show that some of the propaganda is working though. People need to be diligent to escape the cultural engineering being done through mass media. Even YouTube is more infested every day, making places like Rumble better to find a broader range of viewpoints.
 
The thread title caught my eye. Would you believe that I have flown over The Atlantic ocean many, many times. Would you also believe that I have never seen the inside of the aircraft's toilets? Call it psychosomatic, but for me it's very real, I hate the experience. After boarding the plane I get in my seat, a window seat so that I don't have to move to allow anyone access, my seat belt goes on and there I stay until we land. All food is declined, I would decline the water too, but taking a few sips lessens the nagging. I hate flying!
 
I should have realized as soon as I recognized Reich. Biden and the airlines are fighting a war on several fronts.

The video is a political piece. There is truth there but a lot of omission as well.
 
In my reality flying is never done without Xanax. One little pill then into to my seat and I will cause no further problems. I can even negotiate my way to the ladies room and back if needed. My husband, all thru the terror I felt would be sleeping like a baby leaned on a pillow in the window seat. I doubt he would even wake if I was screaming try to open the emergency exit.

He was always the adventurous, try everything, go anywhere type of guy. I never saw him flinch until the doctor said cancer. Even then he thought he could beat a terminal diagnosis. I am glad he had that strength but it also kept him from making any kind of closure for those of us that would be left behind to pick up the pieces.

The one thing I have learned is I can get on a plane, if something goes wrong at least it will be quick.
 
I've taken many flights, over the past 60+ years, and things have changed a lot in the past couple of decades. When I first flew, back in the 1960's, air travel was almost a luxury. People dressed nicely, and behaved themselves. Seating wasn't quite as cramped, and the food service was quite good.

In recent years, it seems like we almost always wind up seated near someone who stinks of booze...especially coming back from Las Vegas. The meals are little more than a quick snack. A passenger in front of us leans the seat back so far that it's almost impossible to make a bathroom trip without "waking them up"....at which point they seem to get offended when asked to raise their seat for a couple of minutes. People seem to try to cram half their life's possessions in the "over head" and take forever to do so, making the boarding and exit a total PITA.

We've almost reached the point where we no longer have much desire to do any traveling, by air.
 
We pay for premium economy, an oxymoron if ever there was one! It’s what economy used to be. We get more leg room, a guaranteed space in the overhead, and free liquor. Totally worth it! The bad news is that airports are crowded, lines are long, even with Global Entry and TSA Precheck. It’s crazy. There aren’t enough gate agents either. We had to print out our own boarding passes and luggage tags on our last trip. Travel is crazy these days.
 
Yes, flying these days does suck compared to many years ago. The TSA screening delays, the narrow aisles, the small seats, the extended time getting off the plane because everyone has carry-on luggage to avoid fees, etc. etc. I'm a Million Miler on American Airlines, mostly due to business travel, but I still hate them.

Still, I wouldn't hesitate to get on a plane if I reached a great destination with scenery completely different than what I'm used to, time with family, a different cultural experience or memories that I will never forget. The flights are a nuisance but for me they are a small part of the bigger picture.
 
CarolfromTX said:
We pay for premium economy, an oxymoron if ever there was one! It’s what economy used to be. We get more leg room, a guaranteed space in the overhead, and free liquor. Totally worth it! The bad news is that airports are crowded, lines are long, even with Global Entry and TSA Precheck. It’s crazy. There aren’t enough gate agents either. We had to print out our own boarding passes and luggage tags on our last trip. Travel is crazy these days.
Click to expand...
We've tried Premium Economy on flights to Europe and... you're right... it's like what Economy used to be. I've never been able to sleep and we've experienced days of jet lag so I won't scrimp anymore. Now we buy Business on the way over when we really need to sleep and Premium Economy on the way home when sleeping isn't important.
 
The last two years I went to Europe and flying does suck. Coming home from Ireland a few days before the flight left they offered me premium economy on both flights for a total of 152. I took it and it was so much better and I actually was able to sleep having the extra room. This year my friend and I are taking a 12 hour train ride to go on vacation.
 
CarolfromTX said:
We pay for premium economy, an oxymoron if ever there was one! It’s what economy used to be. We get more leg room, a guaranteed space in the overhead, and free liquor. Totally worth it! The bad news is that airports are crowded, lines are long, even with Global Entry and TSA Precheck. It’s crazy. There aren’t enough gate agents either. We had to print out our own boarding passes and luggage tags on our last trip. Travel is crazy these days.
Click to expand...
we've had to print our own boarding passes and luggage tags for many years now...
 
Capt Lightning said:
Mrs.L and I would like to visit Canada, but the thought of long haul flights really puts us off. This is why we restrict our holidays to Europe and Scandinavia. We can tolerate a couple of hours of discomfort to get to our destination, but that's about it. Still, if flying is bad, airports are hell on Earth.
Click to expand...
that's what destroys the holiday.. the airport experience.. both ways.....
 
Let me start by saying that ......... I do not fly.

But I have heard many,many stories, have heard all the stories on the news etc.

And IMO the reason flying sucks is because .... all of you / all that do, continue to do so.

Stop ! ... When the ticket counters are empty , as are the the planes themselves .... the airlines will ask why ... and pay attention to the reasons ......... jmo
 
I haven't been on a airplane since the 1980's. But I enjoyed the three times I was on a plane when I went from New York City to London, and then back home again. My only complaint was the meal that was served by British Airways. I thought that they could have done better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top