Oprah pays far more than $15 for "something special in the air": her dildo collection, once mere carry-on, has morphed into seven adult fares just for the steamer trunks. The roller luggage has been known to cause passenger bumping and delays up and down the East Coast.

#23 - wow, that is about the most ignorant thing I've ever read. There's plenty of blame to go around, but let's call a spade a spade. Under regulations at the time, box cutters were completely allowed on planes. As were knives up to a certain length. COULD airlines have implemented more stringent rules? Of course! Do you think that passengers at the time would have gotten all hissy on message boards just like this one how it takes 20 minutes longer to go through American Airlines security than any other airlines? You bet! Please explain how you place American Airlines at the top of the blame list for this? How about lax oversight? And trust me, I am no fan of American Airlines..

I would gladly pay the $15 dollars if it would help improve the horrible service that has only gotten worse over time -- delays, cancellations, inconvenience, and a shrug-our-shoulders "not our fault" attitude.

At this point I think the structure of the industry needs a complete overhaul because it's the largest source of the problems. We have this bizarre hybrid industry that floats on heavy government subsidies, but with "private" companies. Either the industry needs to move back towards less subsidies and more truly private competitors -- so that the market will drive out the bad airlines -- or else the industry needs to go completely public. The current system just produces a bunch of self-interested companies who know they can rely on bailouts and handouts rather than correct deep problems.

I'd pay the $15 if they could guarantee me that

1) My bag will make it to my destination the same time I do, and

2) It will not be rifled through and valuables stolen by crooked baggage handlers.

#23 JCBra: the 2 hijackings can be blamed more on airport security, than AA security. (It happened to 2 planes on another airline as well).

The crash record for large commercial jets in this country (discounting intentional crashes) is actually great over the last 10 years or so.

Ianciano: The business world is going to have to deal with it either way.. they can use slower train trips, or expensive plane trips. Or, they can realize that not everything needs to be done face-to-face.

Schematic @ #18 has the right idea. The future of travel in this country should be one in which the airlines focus on more profitable longer routes and our intercity rail network is improved so that it can handle more people traveling shorter (NYC-Buffalo, Boston-Philly, etc.) distances.

Good points, all. At least on RyanAir and EasyJet, you know up front that the service is going to suck, and you're not being charged through the nose.

American? High prices, poor service, a bag of peanuts if you're lucky, all for the privilege of being treated worse than you would on the Chinatown buses. And they wonder why people aren't flying as much anymore...

Slighty off topic, but:

American Airlines Sucks!

They hire 3rd party baggage handlers, who pay minimum wage, and then take no accountability for their actions.

So when you tell AA that a baggage handler threw your belongings on the ground and threatened you that you will never see them again, AA doesn't give a rats ass.

I won't fly American Airlines.

You shouldn't fly American Airlines.

That's right drewo, and all three of those planes crashed and killed everyone on board. One was from wake turbulence or whatever and the other two were because American failed to take adequate steps to prevent people armed with boxcutters from turning their planes into terrorist weapons. It's not like nobody had ever hijacked a plane before.

wow. just reread my last post and noticed the bad grammar and unfinished sentences. i need to slow down!

i feel bad for the flight attendants who are going to have to referee the arguments over overhead bins. as if air travel was already uncivilized. this is going to ensure that all fliers into cavemen.

I would like to see a train travel revival, but if we take longer to get places, the world, including the business world, will have to alter it's lightning-fast, instant gratification, "need it YESTERDAY" blackberryish expectations.

It would be nice to slow down a little but I don't see that happening. At this point, we're too used to moving this fast.

the acela from boston to NYC is great. i work with a lot of lazy assholes who insist on flying to boston.. by the time you get to the airport, go through security, get on your flight, get to boston, and then get to where your going there, it probably takes close to the 3 hours (assuming there arent any delays) it takes on train.. penn station to south station, it's great. a little pricey but a thousand times more relaxing a peaceful than flying. i dread flying, its an absolutle nightmare. i would so much rather take the train than fly any day, especially for the boston/nyc trip. nto to say there arent bad things about the train, there certainly are. the acela is pricey. but flying takes a toll on my blood pressure. christ, even the fung wah is better than flying.

[16] I should probably buy a crash helmet for trip so I can avoid a concussion when people are flinging their stuff out of the overheads haphazardly.

The silver lining to this whole effort to recalibrate the economy to a world of (more)expensive energy is that we'll finally get some good rail service. Relying on rail for trips of 500 miles or less will free up a lot of airport capacity for the longer haul routes that can't be done any other way. That, and it's more energy efficient.

that's why i always fly oceanic air.

"why don't they just raise the ticket by $15 and be done with it?"

Because then it would be upfront. This way, even though it is publicized well in advance, some people will still be surprised by it.

And yes, this will mean even more carry-on hell, which slows boarding and alighting, as well as check-in and security lines.

Acela is a fantastic service given the trackage it runs on. A little expensive, especially during peak times, but it's hugely popular (always booked) and everyone I know loves it. It's about 2000 times less hassle than flying. They're not the fastest trains on the planet, but they roll on old trunk lines, and they're super quiet and comfortable, tons of leg room, decent cafe, power outlets, etc. Though, WiFi would be nice.

The rest of Amtrak's services... well, they stink for the most part. With the shape the airlines are in, and the rising price of energy, it's time for a massive investment in high-speed rail countrywide.

Plus, Acela actually runs at an operating *profit*.

#5 JCBra: which 3 crashes are you referring to? There was the crash of the Airbus flight to the Dominican in Nov. 2001. The 2 planes on 9/11 were, of course, hijacked.

Unless the government steps in and controls the oil industry we're in for some terrible times.

The government does control the oil industry, just not our government.