What is the deal with curbside check-in? Why should you tip--pay--for curbside checkin when you can just walk an additional 50 feet or so and be at the main ticket counter indoors and out of the weather? Whose idea was this curbside racket, anyway? And why are people willing to give their luggage and money to these people who would quite literally scare them if they walked nearby on a street? Politeness, "customer service", doesn't appear to be a hallmark of that line of work.
And the TSA? Don't get me started! Dang it, you just did, so here I go. The most effective way to prevent terrorists from repeating the September 11th attacks occurred when cockpit doors were armored and locked. How many terrorists has the TSA stopped? Surely they have an estimate! And how much is it costing us to stop freakin' zero terrorists??? Interestingly enough, the inspecting folks I saw at Kansas City were not TSA, but a private company. At least, I saw no TSA markings on any of their uniforms.
And lastly, Southwest Airlines. They do the first-come, first-served seating by organizing passengers into 3 categories: A, B, and C. A boards first, C boards last. So people arrive early so they can be the first in line in their respective categories--but these lines form as far as possible away from the chairs in the waiting area! Why can't they arrange the chairs in some manner so that people don't have to sit on the floor while waiting in line (sometimes for hours) to get the best pick of seats on the plane?
Now, about those seats. They're on the planes and hence don't directly relate to airports, so I won't discuss how my shoulders are broader than the 16" they give my ass to fit into those chairs....
Darren, something about SWA you may not know. You can print out your boarding pass online on the day of your flight. What that does is guarantee you a place in the "A" Group and a better seat!
ReplyDeleteI know that, and if fact did it. But you still have to sit on the floor in the A line if you want to get a decent seat. Keep in mind that some good seats on the plane may already be filled if the flight is coming from somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteI'm only saying that Southwest could do a better job organizing their gate areas so that their customers do not have to feel like herded cattle--which they are on the flight anyway. But sitting on the floor? Put some freakin chairs there.
Southwest Airlines is "cheap" for a reason..... and seem to have become the "greyhound" bus of today. Someday, I fully expect to find livestock on some SWA flight from San Diego or Phoenix to Chicago. But, hey, were the peanuts good ?
ReplyDeleteWe didn't get peanuts. We got pretzels. Pretzels are cheaper!
ReplyDeleteActually, on one leg we got these small boxes of snacks. In it were three packages--one of Fig Newtons, one of Wheat Thins, and one of Cheese/Cracker sandwiches. Not a meal by any stretch, but compared to peanuts/pretzels, not bad!