Gothamist: Third Day of Canceled American Airlines Flights

flew

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:15:33 -0500

Hosted by the airline’s very own Pilots union… http://tellyouraastory.com/

Mike D

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:25:21 -0500

@22: It represents a breakdown of America's infrastructure -- Don't you think it's kind of a big deal?

sonyactivision

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:20:13 -0500

Does anyone really care about these people and whether they fly conveniently or not? I thought so.

Mike D

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:54:50 -0500

Walking is the best solution, and we fly way too much. Flying is one of the worst things we can do to the environment; it's pricey; it's unreliable. Hopefully train travel will pick up again. At least for the DC/PHILLY/NYC/BOSTON routes, it makes a lot more sense than flying. Ah. You're a troll. Or a completely irrational fossil-fuel hater. I always prefer to drive my single occupant vehicle whenever I need to travel cross-country, but that's just me.

bestview

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:26:07 -0500

Dear Mike, Sentences usually work best in sequence. Check out the sentence prior to the final sentence in my original comment. That may help you. If you are actually sincerely asking for advice, you could try biking to Boston. That is actually a pretty pleasant experience. Walking would be less than stellar around Hartford. And you are correct. Walking to Boston from NYC is "MUCH MUCH more reasonable" than walking to California. Well said!

Mike D

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:30:19 -0500

@16,17,18: So I should just WALK to Boston? That's MUCH MUCH more reasonable.

bestview

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:22:23 -0500

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bestview

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:22:10 -0500

Or anything except the first sentence? (Separating comments due to apparent Attention Deficit.

bestview

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:21:07 -0500

Ummmmm. @10 Did you even bother to read the last sentence of the post?

Jerk Store

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:20:38 -0500

"Only if foreign money buys American lobbyists. Train travel is big business in the rest of the world. But Amtrak is and has always been designed to be the American airline and automobile industry's bitch." Don't forget that railroads were once the domain of the rich and powerful monopolists. Times change. In theory, air travel plus automobile travel is a technological step up from train travel in the US. But if the airline industry doesn't shape up soon I think there will start to be a real groundswell of support for an alternative means of high-speed long-distance travel. Hopefully rapid rail technology will catch up and get more publicity.

brooklynbee

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:41:33 -0500

We need more high-speed train systems, like the ones in Europe.

sinisterteashop

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:52:42 -0500

Hopefully train travel will pick up again. Only if foreign money buys American lobbyists. Train travel is big business in the rest of the world. But Amtrak is and has always been designed to be the American airline and automobile industry's bitch. I

Jerk Store

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:43:47 -0500

The train is SO much more relaxing than flying though. And the train NY to DC can be faster door to door since you're going from midtown to downtown DC. Acela is indeed pretty much a ripoff. I think the vast majority of the time you save is not from the technology, but rather because you make less frequent stops. The trains are nice though.

msk

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:36:20 -0500

Yeah, I love the train for travel to D.C., but it really is frigging expensive. It seems like it should cost less than flying, but it generally doesn't. And the Acela is a real ripoff -- twice as expensive to save half an hour, IF it's on time...

Mike D

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:18:05 -0500

@8: Yeah, we should totally walk from Cali to New York. I frequently fly between two places that are walking distance. WTF?

JenChungsBra

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:15:32 -0500

Cheer up stranded flyers! Not flying on American gives you one less chance to either crash into a skyscraper or plummet to your death over the Rockaways.

bestview

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:01:46 -0500

Jerk Store

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:53:06 -0500

"I would rather be safe than on a flight with questionable wiring. That's just me." Sure. But what I'd REALLY prefer is for airlines not to fly planes susceptible to questionable wiring. Or to do their jobs and inspect well in advance so they don't inconvenience thousands of passengers. Or to spend a little bit of extra money and try to inspect the planes overnight or bring in additional aircraft to avoid inconveniencing thousands of passengers. You know, the simple courtesy that most businesses afford their customers. What is it about travel in the USA that is so inexorably screwed? The automobiles -- awful. The auto industry in decline, no real push for alternative fuels, roads in gridlock. Airlines -- see above. Amtrak seems to have gotten its act together in the NEC but is a complete mess everywhere else. Locally, we have the lovely MTA. Kind of makes you glad you live in a place where you can walk around.

famdoc

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:47:28 -0500

Let's see...ATA, bankrupt, abruptly cancels all flights; Aloha, bankrupt, abruptly cancels all flights; Jet Blue, passengers sit on tarmac in hot, smelly planes for six hours; American, cancels hundreds, if not thousands of planes, stranding countless passengers; Southwestern, the best on-time percentage is on-time only 60% of the time... Yet an air passengers' bill of rights is rejected. We accept, at this time, that if we purchase a ticket on an airplane we will be seriously inconvenienced. But, if we pay for an airline ticket and we are seriously inconvenienced, shouldn't there be certain assurances that we will be compensated for that inconvenience?

ThisCharmingMan

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:34:10 -0500

flying is hell. I would rather drive 9 hours than fly 4.

edEx

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:27:20 -0500

*I would rather be safe than on a flight with questionable wiring. That's just me.* i agree, except the canceling of thousands of flights because you're not initially doing your job of checking wiring day-to-day is unacceptable.

edEx

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:26:09 -0500

and i heard they will not be fined for this... what gives?

smitty

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:19:18 -0500

I would rather be safe than on a flight with questionable wiring. That's just me.

matty

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:18:21 -0500

omg it's jayz on the celly!