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Airline pilots and their extremely rigorous training
Rathke A few of you may have had the privilege of visiting the flight deck of a commercial airliner, and found yourself fascinated by the myriad levers, buttons, and other mechanisms surrounding the captain and co-pilot. After seeing that instrument panel, have you ever wondered what kind of training a pilot has? Of course, they must have a flight license, but how do you study for it? How long does it take? Are there other requirements along with flight training itself? Here's a quick…
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Here, on this site, how to avoid carry-on baggage fees.
My flying rant is now up on the Flightster blog in case anyone is interested.
http://www.flightster.com
This is great if you're flying from Beijing or Seoul, but would you book seats on a discount airline on a long or overnight flight to Japan?
"Airline fees, once merely irritating, have blossomed into a major source of airline profits and a growing headache for travelers.
Passengers have grudgingly paid for checked baggage, ticket changes and onboard meals. But fees to board early, access a wireless Internet connection in-flight, or fly on standby have emerged recently. And... 'We've not even begun to touch the bottom of the barrel with airline service fees,' said Stuart Klaskin, a Miami-based airline consultant.
'It's a successful formula for restoring airlines to profitability,' said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com. 'If they hadn't done it, we would have had fewer airlines....'
Kate Hanni, founder of the airline passenger organization flyersrights.org wants the DOT to issue a rule requiring airlines to publish on their Web sites a comprehensive fee guide that is accessible to consumers before they enter the personal information required to purchase a ticket.
'At least then you'll be able to compare airlines,' she said....
'Any fee that the consumer doesn't revolt over is going to stay, [Michael] Boyd [of the Boyd Group] said."
But will consumers revolt?
Max, here's the problem with the airlines, especially the American legacy carriers: They've fired thousands of staffers, downsized the peanuts, created fees for everything from carry-on bags to Coca-Cola, and crammed every seat, yet they're still a lousy investment. They don't dare treat us better without fomenting a revolt among the shareholders.
Moreover, they don't have to. They've learned that when we have to get from A to B, we have to get from A to B.
So it still comes down to this: How much more $ are we willing to spend to get a more civilized flight experience?
IMHO when rail travel is good it is the BEST way to travel, bar none. We just have some catching up to do, that's all.
And Ed, how much would I be willing to spend for a more civilized flight experience? I don't think I should have to. I think the airlines should provide it now, with what I'm paying now.