I saw an op-ed in the New York Times over the holidays from a former TWA flight attendant that got me so riled up, I had to write a response. I sent it in to the NYT, but it was way too long to be considered as a letter to the editor, and my email to the op-ed team went ignored. So, I thought I would post it here, especially since some similar discussion has been brewing in the comments section lately. This is what I sent.
Ann Hood’s op-ed entitled “Up, Up, and Go Away,” published last week was difficult enough for me to read that I thought it worthy of a response. The days of glamorous air travel in coach are, as Ms Hood noted, certainly long gone. And with their disappearance we’ve also seen a decline in customer service, but there’s a good reason for that. Deregulation enabled fares to plummet, and people have been hooked on a cheap fare ever since. Until that changes, we won’t see a dramatic increase in customer service.
I should certainly hope that service was better back in the old days. Planes were half full and there were more flight attendants onboard. That means that each flight attendant could devote more time to each individual onboard; enough to serve elaborate dinners. Schedules weren’t nearly as demanding on flight attendants either, so they could enjoy their longer layovers more than they can today. They really did get to travel instead of simply passing out from exhaustion in some random hotel for a few hours until their next flight.
Once the industry was deregulated in the late 1970s, it all began to change. Why? Airlines could finally compete on price. That was prohibited in the past, so airlines did their best to compete on product. But once that restriction was lifted, fares went down quickly.
A TWA timetable from 1962 shows that a 707 could get me nonstop from LA to New York in roughly the same amount of time it would take today, but all those fancy amenities were quite costly. A roundtrip fare would have cost me $290.20. That’s about $2,000 in today’s dollars. Were I willing to take the “slow boat” and fly a prop across the country, I could get it for the bargain-basement price of $224.90 roundtrip, a “mere” $1,500 today.
If the airlines still charged those rates today, I wouldn’t be traveling very often and neither would most Americans. The industry would be a lot smaller, but I’m sure service would be outstanding . . . for those who could afford it. Instead of keeping fares so high, the airlines realized that if they brought fares down, they could get more people onboard. Today, flying is no longer a luxury enjoyed by elites. It’s something that’s within nearly everyone’s grasp.
As fare competition increased, the airlines began to look toward costs so they could continue to push fares lower. Now flights were more full, and the number of flight attendants onboard shrunk to reduce costs. Airlines also worked hard to get more productivity from their flight attendants to keep costs down. The days of the glamorous airline job ended when the craving for low fares grew.
Today, most people flying domestically in coach choose their flights based on price and schedule. Until people begin choosing airlines based on product and service, even if costs more, we aren’t going to see airlines willing to go above and beyond on that side of the business. So for now, we’ll continue to hear horror stories from time to time when things go wrong.
While the news constantly reports when things go wrong, we never hear when things go right. If an airline has fewer than 7 out of 10 flights arriving on time, it’s considered terrible performance. This fall, as a result of good weather and reduced flying, airlines had some of the lowest cancellation and highest on-time numbers they’ve had in years. Yes, when bad weather rolls in, things get bad quickly. But would a smile or some peanuts really make you feel better at that point? I doubt it. Getting where you need to go as quickly as possible is the only thing that matters then.
I’m not saying the airlines are perfect. There are always things they can do to improve. But I can fly somewhere exotic once a year and domestically a few more times during the year without breaking the bank. I’d much rather be able to fly somewhere with a surly crew than not be able to fly at all.
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45 Comments on "Why I’m Glad the “Glory Days” of Air Travel are Gone"
How much does an advance C or J class transcon fare in 2009 cost ? Would $2,000 cover it ? And would the comfort in business today be at least as equivalent to the comfort of coach in 1962 ?
Optimist – I don’t believe I said that Ms Hood said the glamour days weren’t all they seemed to be. She, like you, wants to see a return to the glamour days, and I’m arguing that I don’t want to see that return because it would price me out of the market.
David – Ah, I see. Then I would say that no, the level of service in First today is not up to the standard of the level of service in 1962. I see your point.
I just looked at those old TWA timetables. Wow, that’s fascinating.
Asian carriers do seem to follow the famous Confucian notion that it is “a pleasure to welcome friends from afar.” The European FAs (Ryanair notwithstanding) seem to have a grasp on the art of positive attitude, as well.
Seems we all, to a degree, sympathize with the onboard staff of most carriers. Less staff, short layovers, long duty days and no real “service” left to provide and occupy their time as much as ours.
At the same time, none of us are willing to pay even so much as a “Staff Surcharge” on top of the fare we chose to guarantee even one additional cabin worker on board.
We get what we pay for.
The non LCC carriers in Europe do indeed have higher staffing on their aircraft. I have flown on Eastern Airways Saab 2000’s and VLM F50’s staffed with 2 cabin crew and they do a light meal service with a coffee & tea service on flights less than 1 hour in duration. Austrian had 3 cabin crew on a 737 with a meal service in the coach cabin however the flight was very empty so getting finished was no problem whatsoever.
You say: “I’d much rather be able to fly somewhere with a surly crew than not be able to fly at all.”
But it doesn’t cost a penny for a stewardess not to be “surly.”
Smiles are free. They just need to be encouraged by management.
THAT’S where airlines have gone wrong.
@ Optimist
I agree with you. My criticism was not directed solely toward flight attendants, but management as well; if management really cared about encouraging cabin crew to treat passengers with respecy, they would treat cabin crew with respect as well. The real issue is that airline management does not care about anyone these days, passenger OR employee.
When money is tight, a smile goes a long way, and management has not smiled at ANYONE lately.
For the earlier posters, TWA and not AA first offered Comfort Class in coach by removing seats. Sure AA removed it because they were losing money, but UA has Economy Plus and charges for it.
To bad the attitudes all around weren’t more pleasant. And I’d rather have TWA back than deal with either AA or UA.
new york times!? i remeber reading this in the new yorker…
Cranky- I agree with you up to a point. While I agree that deregulation has caused a mad rush to find the lowest fare available, I do agree with Ann Hood to an extent. I really do not think that it is beyond the airlines to provide cheerful service, on time scheduling and clean planes. I realize that the days of glamorous transportation is over, as you pointed out so astutely in your post. However, I do not think that it is beyond the airlines, no matter what fare charged, to provide those three basic pillars I mentioned above.
Jim – Right there with ya, man! I remember Bonanza, Mohawk, Hughes Air West, Ozark, Southern,Texas International and National Airlines, each with a unique character not likely to be seen again. Long live Braniff and the end of the plain plane!
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