Ask the pilot
The worst, most unspeakable, rotten, horrible, terrible, and very bad airlines in the world, according to Salon's readers.
By Patrick Smith
May 14, 2004 | Part two of the Ask the Pilot readers survey. Look here for a recap of last week's winners.
Revealing the choices for worst airlines compels us to revisit the old foreign-vs.-American carrier theme, something we've thrummed nearly to death over the past year and a half or so. Each time the topic seems exhausted, along comes a fresh supply of fodder.
As with last week, we'll begin with an illustrative e-mail ...
"I just returned from a yearlong trip during which I sampled the national airlines of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Ethiopia among others. I have to say that all were more pleasant and less vexing than pretty much any U.S. carrier. Our Kyrgyz Air flight attendant served steamy beef stroganoff with a genuine smile!"
I've been a patriotic enough pilot, really I have, and I try not to sound gratuitous when this subject calls for attention. The idea, obviously, isn't to be cranky or cynical for the sake of it. I think I'm pretty objective, and nothing pleases me more than a pleasant, satisfactory flight on a U.S.-registered aircraft, whether one I experience personally or get wind of second-hand.
This time, all of the work was yours. I sat here hoping for the best, quietly excited each time I opened a letter applauding Delta, United, or American, and wincing ever so slightly when one of those haughty foreigners got the nod instead. That the likes of Singapore, Virgin, or British Airways swept the Americans off the runway, so to speak, was no surprise. What I hoped for, and to some extent received, was a glimmer of hope that on some level the tide is turning, that Stateside airlines are getting the message.
Passengers tend to view Sept. 11 as the datum for their tail-spinning expectations. In many people's minds, some mythical Old World of flying existed prior to the attacks, and some debased new version has sprung to life since. This is only partially true. In terms of its avalanche-like swiftness, the financial devastation of many airlines can be traced directly, if not entirely, to that single day's tragedies. But in whole, things are not terribly different, standards-wise, than what we had on Sept. 10, 2001. Red ink had been pooling for months, and the service trend, for quite some time, had been downward. The Sept. 11 catalyst is only part of the reason mavericks like JetBlue have capitalized so relentlessly.
The legacy carriers continue to lose money and seek out ways to reduce costs and rework their business models. Whether their ongoing distress is the upshot of our population's squeamishness or deeper economic fractures -- or both -- is something I'm not fully equipped to address, but I know one thing: There has been a tendency to scapegoat the events of 2001 (yes, no need to remind me, this extends well beyond the realm of air travel). The terrorists made us do it: safety and service as zero-sum variables. Do you want to arrive safely, or do you want something to eat? In much of the world the expected answer remains a hearty both!
A spade is a spade, and the bottom dwellers of my survey were, across the board, Americans. I'll analyze this more deeply next week. For now, let's get to the podium ...
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