Da Plane
I was told many years ago by my father, a pilot, never to fly the airlines of a third-world country. Why? Because they don’t maintain the planes properly, he said. The US airline industry is looking pretty third world right about now with the recent groundings, preemptively by American Airlines–like, oops, we better check the planes before we get fined millions of dollars like Southwest did! Southwest’s planes always looked really run-down and haggard, but that’s from a passenger’s view of the interior, and not a safety perspective. It always seemed suspicious that they were able to land, deplane and then load all the cattle on so quickly, with no time to clean up the crumbs and the junk snack wrappers. So it makes sense that they clearly weren’t on top of the mechanics, either. If I never have to fly that freakin’ airline again, it’ll be too soon. I never “got” Southwest. On my last regional trip–an hour and a half flight– with a cross-country fare of more than $350, there wasn’t even a tray table at my seat. I was told “Ma’am, this is a no-frills airline.” Are you kidding? And I fondly remember the time I asked for a cup of coffee and was given a packet of Sanka and a cup of hot water, like it was 1978. I hear in those days, Southwest gave out free drinks, and I don’t think they’ve bought new planes since then. Hopefully Virgin America and/or Jet Blue will give them a run for their money. The thought of going anywhere on that airline sends me into a tailspin, especially now.
