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I've never flown on an international carrier, but I've heard that most of the major ones are subsidized to one extent or another by their governments. As one book I read put it, "It takes nothing away from the managements of these companies to say that they are able to provide their lavish service thanks to government support."
If you're not constantly counting pennies to fend off the competition and remain in business, it's easier to provide the nice little perks. Granted, though, I find that to not be an excuse for poor customer-service attitudes.
And it's not that there aren't some good U.S. carriers as well. I've had plenty of good experiences on Southwest, Hawaiian, and Alaska. Years ago, Delta was the cream of the crop. I don't know what happened to them, but I avoid them like the plague now.
Simple. People are willing to pay for ****ty. Why is Motel 6 in business when people can stay at the Ritz-Carlton? Why is McDonald's in business when people can eat at Ruth's Steak House?
What else are we supposed to do? People have to fly for business, and most of us can't afford to go overseas for vacations or charter private planes. I hear this repeatedly, but it's not like grocery stores or other stores, where we have a feasible alternative. When all the domestic airlines have the same service and policies, we can't avoid them.
I never understood why the US doesn't have a couple of airlines in the top ten best airlines ranking. I mean the US is a superpower, pioneer in aviation and yet we have AA, Delta, United etc etc all crap airlines by developed countries standards. KLM, Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa, SAS etc etc are all better airlines than what we have in the US. Why is that?
I think Americans fly a lot more than people in other countries? Maybe that's part of the reason for the middling standards. Things get worn down by use and it's more difficult to serve so many more passengers. It's the same reason that American roads tend to be in a little worse shape than roads in other developed countries.
Also, you're comparing domestic to international, which isn't the same.
I think Americans fly a lot more than people in other countries? Maybe that's part of the reason for the middling standards. Things get worn down by use and it's more difficult to serve so many more passengers. It's the same reason that American roads tend to be in a little worse shape than roads in other developed countries.
Also, you're comparing domestic to international, which isn't the same.
I am comparing both domestic and international. I reside in Brazil now and fly Tam both domestic and Internationally and it is better than AA for example. And the thing about " Americans fly a lot" doesn't cut it for me, there plenty of country with busy airspace. Sao Paulo to Rio for example is the 6th busiest air route, and despite that the aircraft are pretty well kept and the service is above average https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ger_air_routes
I am comparing both domestic and international. I reside in Brazil now and fly Tam both domestic and Internationally and it is better than AA for example. And the thing about " Americans fly a lot" doesn't cut it for me, there plenty of country with busy airspace. Sao Paulo to Rio for example is the 6th busiest air route, and despite that the aircraft are pretty well kept and the service is above average https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ger_air_routes
I am talking about countries with the highest number of airline passengers:
Most people didnt really start complaining until most carries decided to squeeze in an extra row in the last 4-7yrs.
You had planes like a 737 or md80 that would hold about 140-150 people at a 32-33" pitch that was bearable and then the airlines decided to add another row, so now you make 15-25 rows of the plane almost unbearable by putting the seat pitch to 30-31" just to squeeze in that extra row. So while the airlines can make money off that extra row, they pretty much said to hell with everyone else, so they can squeeze in that row.
Probably because most Americans usually fly domestic and value low prices over experience. Also the airlines run on thin margins, and it's difficult to offer many amenities. That being said, the last couple times I was on American and Delta, I thought it was pretty good. The planes were either new A321 or bigger, decent amount of legroom and seat-room for economy, and had all new interiors with entertainment screens.
I'd expect it to be more difficult to maintain a system with nearly 800 million passengers compared to 100 million passengers.
There is no correlation between the overall number of passengers and the difficulty to maintain the system. More passengers normally means higher load factors and that means higher profitability. And a more profitable airline could offer better services.
Most Americans are satisfied with substandard levels. Why should airlines offer better services when passengers aren't willing to pay for it?
It's the same with almost everything in the U.S. Clothing, appliances, parking lots, water parks, driveways, windows, school buses. Just to name a few. People don't know better. Most people will never experience how things look and work outside the U.S.
Deregulation happened making it so anyone could afford to fly. In many countries, the airlines are heavily funded by the government. Here many airports are subsidized by the county, city, or state. It is what is. Airlines are interested in making a profit to keep their investors happy. They're basically city buses with wings.
Alaska Airlines is certainly no slouch when it comes to service and reliability. Easily my favorite airline.
I like seeing this. I've never flown them before, but I'm flying back home with them on Saturday. I've heard they are better than others, I guess I'll find out myself.
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