The Unfriendly Skies
I was on the fence about the whole Wright Amendment thing till yesterday, when I got on an American Airlines flight that lasted three hours and felt like a lifetime. It's hard to figure which was worse: the flight attendant who pretty much threw a can of Coke at the poor guy sitting next to me (while he was reading The Bible, seriously) and yelled at everyone standing in line to use the can, or her partner, who went into the galley, drew the curtains and read a book for most of the flight. (Can I have a Dr Pepper with a twist of douchbag?) Really, though--one round of drink service on a three-hour, 30-minute flight? And not even a bag of pretzels? Compared to American's service, Southwest Airlines comes on like the old Legend Airlines with a happy ending; on a recent flight to Austin, which lasts all of 45 minutes (if that), the flight attendents made three drinks rounds and offered plenty o' peanuts and did so with a smile. And I'm not the only one noticing the estimable decline in service: plenty of folks here and here and here have plenty to say on the subject. Most of those folks have far more serious grievances; I coulda stopped for snacks if it meant that much. But the lousy service creates a lousy vibe and a lousy flying experience. So if this is American wants to play, as the surly hometown carrier that expects your service no matter what, fine; be that way. But from now on, consider me a Friend of Love Field. --Robert Wilonsky
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