Respect Found Abroad or Sardines on a Dreamliner

Hopefully this blog doesn't turn into just a rant on the airline industry, but I have recently returned from a round trip to South Korea, work related I promise, and would like to share some observations.

First, I was utterly disappointed in the new 787 Dreamliner. While the aircraft itself operated just fine, and carried us safely to our destination; the advertising for said aircraft would lead one to believe that all the seats would be the ultra-nice lay-down style seating. We were, after all, sitting in this plane for over twelve hours. Not only did I not get seated in one of these fancy seats, but they make you walk past them (demeaning?) on your way to the super cramped economy section were we sit shoulder to shoulder sardine style for the entire flight. The recline option is a joke, and if you want to sleep the flight away you better be dosed on sleeping meds. Question: why wouldn't the airlines want to make these international flights as pleasant as possible? I realize it is all about how many people we can cram on the plane and per ticket pricing, but at what point do we as customers "require" the airlines to make the flights more physically comfortable.

This brings me to point 2. My employer, who shall obviously remain nameless (I can't afford to be fired right now), seems unwilling to pony up for the seating which would actually allow us to sleep and arrive on site rested and ready to work. Ding number two for the start of the trip.

Third Observation, and maybe the most pertinent for today; the people in Tokyo and Busan (South Korea) were extremely pleasant, seemed respectful to all, and actually appeared to be glad to be at work. During a flight from Tokyo to Busan on Japan Airlines, I was amazed at how happy the flight attendants appeared. They genuinely appeared to enjoy their jobs, and to be glad to be assisting their customers. This was refreshing, and would be nice to see more of this in the US. During my stay in South Korea, I did not see any signs of crime or conflict among the locals, in fact, I was told several times by expats that you could leave your wallet outside on the curb and it would be there in the morning, all contents in tact. The level of courtesy and general respect displayed during everyday interactions was surprising and made me ponder what has happened to my home country. At what point did we as a country/culture become so negative in our daily interactions that it would take me travelling to the other side of the planet to realize just how differently we behave. Don't get me wrong, I love the US, and what we stand for as a people and nation, but it sure would be nice to be welcomed into my own country with the same level of respect and courtesy as I was when entering a foreign country as a stranger.

Just my humble opinion...

Carry On Luggage Reward

First, why should you, or anyone for that matter, be interested in anything I have to say? Am I in any way more special than you, or do I have some insight into the universe that you don't have access to? No. Not at all. This is merely a suggested outlet to my continuous frustration with the world around me - call it continually being bombarded with reminders of how ignorant we are as humans. My much-more-insightful-than-I am-wife, suggested that I post my thoughts and oh so humble opinions, as they tend to be correct about 97.32% of the time.

With that being said, here we go....

It occurred to me the other day, while waiting for other passengers to stuff and cram their obviously too large carry-ons into the overhead bins, that perhaps those of us who choose to check our luggage and only bring one item onboard with us, should actually receive a thank you from the airlines. Rather than being punished with insanely costly checked luggage fees, why not offer those who check their luggage priority boarding status, or a discount on their checked luggage fee, or maybe a discount on their next flight?? Any number of methods could be thought of to reward those passengers who are actually aiding the airlines in being able to board the planes quicker and with less clutter in the passenger compartment. After all, isn't that what they are trying to accomplish by those carry on fees? Or are they really just sticking it to us every way they can?

Just my humble opinion....