2 posts tagged “travel”

I've only flown on American Airlines once, when a colleague from Hong Kong made her first--and I just found out: miserable--visit to the US. The only other flights I'd been on prior to that was on China Airlines, Singapore Airlines, JetBlue, Cathay Pacific, Southwest and United Airlines. I can easily say that the service and experience on American Airlines is horrible.

AA is a partner airline on Asia Miles, the frequent flier program of which I'm a member (as part of the OneWorld Alliance, any flights I take on AA will accrue as part of my Asia Miles). I was making my First Major business trip that spanned Europe and Asia, and the flight on American from Los Angeles to Chicago was the second to last of a total of eight flights. After making it through a 12 hour flight with another hour waiting for luggage, I made my way to the AA ticketing counter, where this lady completely refused to offer assistance, even when I was next in line. She went to the aid of another gentleman that was in another line next to me and said she could only help those in that particular line. But after I got all checked in, I spied her helping the person standing in line behind me.

I was surprised to hear of a "complimentary refreshment beverage" while on board as you had to pay for pretty much everything else. But what really bothered me was when the flight attendants would come by not 5 minutes after serving drinks/food with a trash bag and wearing gloves asking for trash. I have never seen flight attendants don gloves when picking up after a meal on long haul flights; they only do so when they're sprucing up the lavatories. It's not that I mind the gloves so much (well, maybe a little), but the entire timing -- at least give the person who paid $8 for that sandwich some time to eat it for heavens sakes!

So now American Airlines announces they will be charging $15 per checked bag starting June 15, with another $25 charge for the 2nd checked bag. My immediate reaction was: of course. But this shouldn't be that shocking as airlines around the world have already been charging for excessive / overweight baggage. What I'm curious about is whether that $15 charge is limited to a certain size of luggage. I can easily recall the number of times that the carry-on compartments on flights become so jammed packed, someone carrying a purse or slim briefcase couldn't stow away their items. AA's new fare for checked bags makes for a great incentive to travel light. Take only what you need and chuck the rest. My point of view may be slightly different when considering vacation travel instead of business travel, but the idea remains the same, particularly with vacation travel as you're bound to pick up various tchockies to take back home. I think the its just bad timing, coming after all those delayed/canceled flights awhile back.

Nevertheless, if you ask me, I'd only fly AA as a last option, member miles or no.

Change is difficult to adapt to for some, and when it comes to in-flight comfort--especially for long haul flights--I can easily claim that I'm not one to relinquish a good reclining seat. On my last flight to Hong Kong/China via the ever punctual Cathay Pacific Airlines, I was a bit befuddled to find that when pressing on the little lever on the arm rest to recline my seat, no reclining action ensued. The only resulting action from pressing said button was to trigger movement on the seat base, causing it to slide forward so you ended up in a slouchy position. The seat back remained in its rigid 45 degree position.

According to Cathay Pacific, such changes are attempts to enhance the Economy Class flying experience. "The exclusive LEAP Live Back™ feature uses office chair technology to provide active support of the spine in all positions....Our new seat creates a fixed living space that no longer interrupts the space behind when you recline...The recline button enables the seat bottom to slide forward while the back recedes into the shell."

Office chair technology? Fixed seating? Receding seat back? For a fourteen hour flight? Well, it's no wonder my last flight wasn't the most comfortable. At least there'll be plenty of space to put my food, hang my coat and securely stow my flight literature. Now let's just hope the movie selection is entertaining.