Hey, Airlines! Are things really that bad?

I recently that airlines are slowly starting to turn a profit. As I was waiting for a family member to get in town, I found a couple of areas the airlines might be cutting corners to return to profitability.

The fact that no one was manning the information booth at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday didn't irk me as much as the fact that the flight I was waiting on wasn't even listed under the arrivals section. Were it not for a visit to the AirTrans website, I wouldn't have even known at which terminal or gate to wait. The DFW Airport site was also no help at all. All flights were supposedly listed, but the one I wanted, according to the site, didn't exist.

I know times are tough for airlines and airports, but are they really so tough that they cannot provide an easy means to get information about a flight?

And before you answer, I wonder if your company's website provides an easy way for customers to get your contact information (including a phone number). It's worth looking into, especially if your company name is "Amazon.com." - Cam Beck

Comments

[Paul McEnany]

Have you seen that ad for Virgin airways about them trying to break into America? Let's keep our fingers crossed, maybe they could set a good example...

[Cam Beck]

If I understand the situation correctly, the U.S. government requires at least the president and 2/3 of board members who control and run airlines to be American, and Virgin has, as of yet, failed to meet that standard. Question if you will the wisdom of such a policy (as well you should), but it should be easy enough to prove, once they are in compliance.

The policy in question smacks of protectionism.

I don't want to raise false parallels, but the government is constantly telling us we need protection (antismoking laws, seatbelt laws), which usually means we must cede more authority to the government at the expense of our own liberty. These protections usually serve only to prevent the market from naturally correcting itself when companies engage in substandard behavior or use otherwise flawed processes.

It's a shame.