500 pounds? That's like two Americans! Just don't sell the back two seats. Seems that would give them the best loss versus:

1. Losing many more customers due to the lack of a feature.
2. The money spent on actually removing the feature.

JEmlay

When will you Americans be able tu understand that train is waaaaay better than plane. Even on long distances such as LA-NY. It is possible to make it in 10 hours. That's one night in a real bed VS 5 hours of waiting in an airport+flight+2hours of waiting.

IVPPITER

I've got a single good reason ...

... um, ...

Nope, that was just gas.

ninjagin

Wow. F US Airways. That's some crappy service..

CutePuppyz

im starting to become grateful for being pretty skinny; at the rate things are going airline tickets are going to cost us by the pound instead of by the seat

discounteggroll

WTF happened to my post? I know I hope to GOD I get censored for calling American Airlines dicks.

Dook_In_The_Urinal

I've been doing quite a bit of flying lately on a variety of airlines, and I haven't thought any of them were worth their salt besides Virgin America. Flown them four times now and can say that it's actually been a pleasant experience, two words that have not come to mind in relation to air travel in a long time.

SantaBarbaraWahoo

@bjacobel: They've removed the nose gear (which weighs close to 1000 lbs.) in order to save precious, precious fuel.

ps61318

@WinkMe: EVERY door should have a sign that says "No Fat Chicks."

Hectorvex

I only use Northwest.

e-friend

When did flying get so complicated? I used to be able to go online buy my ticket, show up to the airport, check my bag, go through security, wait for my flight, get in the plane, sit down, watch a stupid movie, get out, pick up my luggage and go on my way. Adding these stupid pay things in the middle of that routine is stupid and will make more people reconsider flying, especially for short trips. I see this round of stupid charges as a way for them to get less people to fly.

This all seems like someway for them to claim 9/11, and high gas prices ruined the business. When they have been doing everything they can to get the business of flying to take a crap. So that the CEO can make some money when the government gives them a check to prevent them from going bankrupt. I say let them go belly up. The investors that have interest in this company should sell and sell fast.

This all seems like someway for them to claim 9/11, and high gas prices ruined the business. When they've been doing the most to get the business of flying to crap out so that the CEO can make some money when the government gives them a check to prevent them from going 11.

rurena

OH COME ON!!! Just remove two average size Americans instead!! I'm not flying in their stupid jet without movies.

@Curves: Several years ago when that tornado movie came out, I had to fly through a tornado infested lighting storm with major turbulence. They played that movie... bastards!!

shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog

@92BuickLeSabre: "Riding a delta"... haha. that's nice. Very, very good reasons.

I'm only thankful that I have no reason whatsoever to fly more than once every few years... It's a shame that air travel has degraded into this crazy mess in this country.

ezman

you can plug in your laptop at every seat, sure you need an overpriced adapter, but still...

min2d2

if they really wanted to save gas by removing excess weight, they would restrict passengers who are over 250 lbs.
then they could paint on the doors "No Fat chicks". I think thats a better way to go personally

WinkMe

With no one riding because of the price, you would have the entire plane to yourself, much cheaper then buying a private plane. Even better, with no one flying you could just put all of your baggage in the overhead bins and avoid the fees!

ryanobo66

@92BuickLeSabre: Yeah if they took my Sky-Mall I would be fighting mad!

McLucky

GOOD! I never watch those lame-ass movies anyway. I whip out an Apple product (iPhone, MBPro) and watch whatever I want for free.

MrYuk

@Hectorvex: :p that would be Flipper... Flubber is the remake of the movie that has to do with this compound made by a professor that exerts more energy than is given out...

ie make a bouncy ball with it and it goes higher and higher and higher.... flying car... sweet flubbery noise... the original was awsome... remake was ok but... it was a remake...

rebelj12a

Oh everyone just brings their laptops, and ipods loaded with movies on the plane anyway.

They realized they were charging for something you can easily get for free, so it's not worth it to maintain the systems. Better to save the fuel.

You're not losing anything. You never paid for their crappy movies anyway.

dufus

I dont really care about the movie, as I am too busy gripping the seat in front of me with white knuckles, KNOWING that I am surely going to plunge to my death before this damn flight is over.

Curves

I fly them since I live in Phoenix and it's their HUB so more non-stop flights. Besides I don't watch movies anyway, I just take a pill and sleep.

I just wish the airlines would just charge more for fares to stay in the black rather then nickel and dimeing my ass with hidden charges like the phone companies.

Sons of Norway

These "Wtf I want an inflight movie" responses are coming from a demographic were 50% of its members have iPhones....

So, you can see Finding Nemo for the twelfth time, or something of YOUR choosing...touch call.

michaelwiggins

@Dook_In_The_Urinal: haha nice. reminds me of the story of how an airline company fired a woman for being to fat

Glavan27

@nutbastard: Flubber? Is that the one with the dolphin?

Gas prices aside, I can't imagine that they were really going to invest any money into their airplanes. Airlines are thinking about charging people BY THE POUND - not our luggage, us. The only airline that I've never had any major issues with is Southwest. And coincidentally, they are the only airline that is in the green.

Hectorvex

Reasons?

1) They have plenty of seats available.
2) American Airlines' name offensive to the other countries of North & South America.
3) I have a sweater that color.
4) Drinks may be $2, but mustache rides still free.
5) In-flight magazine possible "next job" after writing for Gizmodo.
6) No longer get Hammacher-Schlemmer catalog delivered.
7) I'd never be caught "riding a Delta."
8) Already seen The Cutting Edge three times, don't need to see it again.
9) Like that they consider ME a part of US.
10) Not actually in right mind.

92BuickLeSabre

@Canuck.Viking: "you'd think that they would know what works and what doesn't by now."

Landing gear.... not so much.

venomous_duck41

US Airways...Nobody Care-ways.

BigRocket

I just flew US Airways on Sunday and I was plenty entertained by the SIX HOURS we sat on the tarmac and the non-stop excitement of the one glass of water and no food they offered us.

Modano

I was always told that the purpose of the in-flight movie was to keep people occupied, and thus easier to deal with.

I don't care. The second the engines start I am asleep. I usually don't wake up until shortly before landing.

Really, do any of us care.

DeadWriter

Apparently, they're also requiring passengers to stick their legs through holes in the floor and run really really fast during take-offs and landings, partly for fuel savings and partly because their CEO is a huge Flinstones fanboy.

frigg

Airlines have been around long enough, you'd think that they would know what works and what doesn't by now. And I'm pretty sure they are going to find out that this brilliant decision does not work... Good luck US Air, I guess there are going to be a bunch of budget airlines starting up when you have to sell off your planes!!

Canuck.Viking

I am willing to pay $7 for the exit punch in the face but $10 is really stretching things.

McLucky

Well, they are the only airline that flies to where I might be going to college....

Yeah. There's actually no reason.

On a side note; I think the pilot may have forgotten to put down the landing gear.

bjacobel

Ok, so watching mean girls or hairspray was entertainment. Just staring at the faded CRT was punishment enough, reminding you that you were in econ class :[. But seriously, everyone on this forum is mandated by its TOS to have a personal media player. :\ freakin us airways

phospholipid

I'd fly US Airways, because I enjoy getting the financial shit kicked out of me.

singlecoilpickup

On the other hand... is anyone really going to miss a lost opportunity to watch Flubber again?

nutbastard

continental so far has been my favorite for years, not only do i have a shit load of miles with them but i've never had a problem with their service.

Bantam

@Veeber: forgot to add. The seat is only $361. If you want a bed that could be another $630 extra.

Veeber

There are few airlines I dispise as much as US Airways. Their customer service is as poor as it can get.

I've never forgiven them for nearly stranding me half way across the country when my return ticket got destroyed in a car accident over vacation. Dispite having ID to prove who I said I was, they absolutely refused to reprint my ticket and ended up forcing me to purchase a new ticket at 5x the cost.

The planes are always running late or looking for people to give up their seats (yea like there will really be another flight in an hour...)

The food is horrible even by airline standards.

And god forbid you get stuck on one of their smaller planes, I've seen sardines packed less tightly.

You'd think they'd want to distract their passengers with MORE movies and optional inflight entertainment so that they didn't have as much time to think about why exactly they fly US Airways instead of their competitors.

I wouldn't shed a single tear if US Airways went belly up. They may be the cheapest airline out there, but in this case you really do get what you pay for.

jerros

@min2d2: I wish that was the case. In the hundreds of thousands of miles I have flown I have yet to get a seat with a power port. Granted I've never flown US Airways though, but looking at Seatguru.com they still don't have them in all their planes. Matter of fact, it looks like the only ones that have them in all the seats are Airbus', all their other planes don't have a single one.

shoeless

@IVPPITER: Just as a quick illustration

This is a map of western europe overlaid on the map of the U.S.
[goeurope.about.com]

And this is the schedule information from Amtrak with the fastest route from NY to LA

49 Lake Shore Limited
New York, NY - Penn Station (NYP) 4:00 pm 09-JUL-08
Chicago, IL - Union Station (CHI) 9:45 am 10-JUL-08
18h 45m

3 Southwest Chief
Chicago, IL - Union Station (CHI)3:15 pm 10-JUL-08
Los Angeles, CA - Union Station(LAX)8:15 am 12-JUL-08 43h 0m

A total trip of 67 hours and 15 minutes for $361. I'm pretty sure I can find a flight that is significantly shorter for the same price.

Veeber

@IVPPITER: Amtrak from Penn Station in New York to Union Station in LA is 2 days, 14 hours PLUS a 6 hour layover in Chicago. That's almost three days. [tickets.amtrak.com]

I won't fly anywhere that I can drive in one day since if you fly somewhere you will be dealing with it all day anyway.

Cost factors in too

AndyMac

The turnover at US Airways must be horrific. I've never encountered such incompetence and stupidity in my life as with their hair brained staff. From check in to lost luggage to forgotten lost luggage to oops we said it would be delivered to your hotel but we forgot, to your flight is cancelled because the plane has had engine trouble for two days and we finally had to deal with it. And choke to death on stale air on this O'Hare runway for three hours and F you if you have to use the restroom IN YOUR SEAT. To all those questionable stains and for Gods Sake DON'T USE THE PILLOWS OR BLANKETS......I shudder to think if I had a black light on me.....

Azogue

Maybe they'll just get the stewardesses to do a funny sock puppet play at the front of the plane for entertainment.

TheCyberBob

@IVPPITER: um yeah 10 hours... NY to Chicago=18 hours, Chicago to LA=70 hours, so 88 hours or about 4 days with layovers and delays

and the train as more expensive

When will you Europeans be able to understand that the US is waaaaay bigger than you think

purple_pillows

Hrm, wonder if there will be an increase in personal DVD players on their flights now. I wonder if people who didn't bring them before start and if enough do, what if they account for more than the 500lbs they've saved by removing their shitty version?

Lance Wallen

@92BuickLeSabre:

"Toe Pick"!

rtwod2

@Hectorvex: Southwest is in the black because they've hedged fuel prices for two more years. Wait until those hedges are up and they'll be bleeding just like everyone else.

Hat Trick

Reason to fly US Airways:

1. I live near Philly and you can earn MileagePlus miles if you fly them.
2. They had cheap flights to the UK for Xmas.
3. Sometimes they're the cheapest, and my work requires I fly the cheapest flights.

They are the most Ghetto of the non-budget carriers however, and getting worse apparently. I fly United if I can.

dr_lha

US Airways sucks...$1700 return flight from europe, put on standby, cramped bus to lone plane at faraway gate, sitting on tarmac, bathrooms don't work, emergency landing at Canadian airport, sitting on tarmac, takeoff, bathrooms still don't work, land in Philly, miss connecting flight, beer tasted like shit cuz lines weren't cleaned, major indigestion, land in vegas, run to next US Airways flight, delayed getting home, hop in cab, smoke a joint, crash. US Airways sux0r

anti-hello-kitty

@IVPPITER:
You are straight up trippin'. Let's see approx 3000 miles from LA to NY... to make it in 10 hours you'd have to be going 300 miles an hour. Of course, there are no trains in the US that travel that fast.

gunbu

If you were in the same situation as the guy in Brewster's Millions, you would love US Airways ... so there.

comfortablesofa

My ex was stuck in PHX for 8 hours because of a botched US Airways flight. They were kind enough to give her a $5 food voucher.

Chester_Copperpot

I hate US Airways - my worst air travel experiences have been with them, and I refuse to ever fly with them again.

Rude, ignorant cabin crew, delays, poor service, refusal to reimburse for unplanned overnight stays etc. If I wanted to go somewhere that only US Air served I would rather drive, take a train or ship, or hire a private plane to take me.

geffel12

@shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog: OH COME ON!!! Just remove two average size Americans instead!! I'm not flying in their stupid jet without movies.

HA HA, Hilarious

theshortguy

@IVPPITER: - " Even on long distances such as LA-NY. It is possible to make it in 10 hours."

WHAT?! Our trains are slow as hell here, that trip would take you a month.

dead_red_eyes

actually this is exactly the kind of things airlines *should* be doing to avoid higher prices, layoffs, and general insolvency.

brundlefly76

I'm guessing they will leave the holes where the screen's USED to be , just to add to the torture ..
@singlecoilpickup: there are ladies on the internet that will do that , and you might find it more pleasurable :)

coderneedsfood

@auroragb: Most of my european friends (and those of us that travel to europ) still fly...

RyanAir is still cheaper and faster than trains, even in Europe.

archercc

A maglev train *could* do that.

Now think about the chances of a coast-to-coast maglev train being built in this country.

Hell, most major cities have trouble getting 5-mile stretches of light-rail done.

Cobolman2

@chudbluth:
You definately arent an expert.

You wanna fund and build an express from LA to NY with no stops? Lets see how long it takes you to get a return on that investment.

archercc

@purple_pillows: "When will you Europeans be able to understand that the US rail system is a decrepit mess"

There, fixed that for ya.

3000 Miles is not too bad if we could get 150MPH rails built (I'm not even talking about the real high speed system which go 300MPH because they are cost prohibitive). The tech is there, cost is not prohibitive. But it's the Not in My Back Yard and I'm not paying for that mentality that's crippling AmTrak. Considering the billions spent on roads, a fraction of that budget could put that together.

I think there should be a War on Infrastructure decay. Maybe then there could be some budget allocated to getting stuff fixed. Maybe we can get the Army corp of engineers to do some of the work. This way the soldiers can do work that can translate to civilian work after their tour of duty and get them to do things other than blowing things up

auroragb

*sigh* So how come we don't have high speed trains yet?

ripfire

Southwest and the old Midwest > all. Southwest for cheapness and speed and Midwest for the bigass seats and COOKIES.

Sucks now that Midwest got bought out and will be ruined by the garbage airline that bought them. I never understood that. As managers they look at a more profitable competitor that is raking in the dough, buy them, and then manage them like their own crappy company so you end up with two versions of the same crappy company. Here is an idea...

1. Buy profitable company.
2. leave it the hell alone!
3. profit! Literally, collect some of that sweet, sweet income.

archercc

@Sons of Norway: Amen to that! It's my biggest gripe with them and is exactly what I've been asking. Instead of nickle and diming us to death about this shit and trying to give us the sob story about how they are hemorrhaging, just raise the damned fair commensurate to the current price of fuel already!!! I don't care about removing this stuff because I have an unlocked PSP with a 16gb mem stick where I tend to dump just about any movie and game I want. But I feel for the non-tech savvy out there that don't have a way to get by and hate reading. Pretty soon they'll charge us for...wait, I won't give them any ideas. All I want to see is their Executive board taking a pay cut or being held off from receiving their outlandish bonuses this year.

The last straw for me was when they decided to charge us F/F a fee whenever we use our F/F miles. That's absurd!

apeguero

@McLucky: Think about that, though. How much weight could they save by eliminating 100 copies of skymall per flight?

Next time I fly, I'm cramming bricks in my carry on. Clay bricks. Claiming I'm a mason and need them for work.

Elvisisdead

Q: How do you become a millionaire?
A: Start out as a billionaire and buy airline stock.

LA to NY is closer to 2500 miles. I'm no expert, but a maglev train could probably cover that in well under 10 hours. The one in Shanghai did over 350mph like 5 years ago.

chudbluth

I got clusterf**ked by US Airways during a snowstorm in Philly in '07. I can deal with a flight getting canceled, but their personnel were clueless, both their 800 number and web site melted down (so you couldn't rebook), and then they stranded me the next night in Las Vegas with no ground agents around to help. (And yes, the 800 number and web site were still in meltdown mode.) I swear I will never fly them again. Worst....airline....ever.

gmaxwell447

nice photo choice: plane missing it's front wheel.

Paradise

My last experience on US Air was terrrrrrrible. They are a joke. So is American.

The only real carrier I don't hate is Continental and Jet Blue. and sometimes Delta, but only recently.

MrBlahBlah

It seems they're gearing up for the new planes that run on passenger outrage, discomfort and anger.

alowishus

@McLucky: Last time I used them they accidentally kicked me in the nuts even though I had explicitly asked for (and paid for) a punch in the face. Their customer service is seriously sucking.

Toshie

The best thing about US Airways is that when they booked my party of four's flight from Denver to Los Angeles, they did it by putting the first leg of our journey on a TED flight which arrived at another terminal in Phoenix with only 20 minutes to make our connection. Since it takes 20 minutes to get off a TED plane, 15 mins to catch a tram to the other terminal, 40 minutes to get through security at the new terminal, there's clearly no way to make the connection they came up with.

We got four free flights out of them for it, and a limousine from LAX to my house. Not bad compensation, but in the end, I don't think I'll bother with them again.

distortedloop

If they are getting rid of the movies at least hire some other entertainment - e.g. Hooters Air Flight Attendants

mrkymrk

@Veeber: plus amtrak NEVER arrives on time in my experience. EVER. Add at least 2 hours to any long trip.

If the US had made investments in high speed rail years ago this wouldn't be such an issue though. Part of the reason Amtrak takes so long is that they have to rent track from freight railroads which means two things: 1) can't always go fast, "fast" being 80mph and 2) freight trains get priority.

oldmanstan

@IVPPITER: US Amtrack was killed a long time ago. It barely goes anywhere and it takes forever. If there were decent high-speed trains it might be worth it, but training is just as bad as flying here.

qbrad

This isn't so bad as long as they allow cellphones and computers to access the internet, right?

br4nd0n

I was just on a USAir flight last week, and the "flight attendant" ragged on me for having my headphones in on the taxiway... listening to THEIR in-flight entertainment.
Idiots.

AmishJohn

It really is going to take denying human rights to subsidize mortgages.

heroineworshipper

@IVPPITER: I want to think you're just sarcastically mocking the Europhile/ideologue folks who unfailingly offer the tedious commentary that the airline travel mess can be solved by a better rail system (even for long haul trips), but if you're not, you may want to enroll in a remedial math or geography course before you use your argument again.

AtomicPlayboy

@Toshie: I'll take the sucking please, for $400, Alex.

ps61318

But they'll rape your sister and kill your dog for free!

Hardcore1

@Elvisisdead: Awesome physics :)
Especially since you can carry only 40lbs of ANYTHING. ;)

Lucifer_Cat

geez!!!!!i live in ohio. so far they've ran off smokers,
lap dancers, and their now working on gting ride of our guns.... of coarse the supream court stopped them from that temporary!!!! anyway like everybody says no more free
nuts or sodapop, movies, wow

usntom

@Hectorvex:
jesus, i love you.

Parapraxis

Whoops, forgot to mention. I can directly compare the two, having taken a Qantas flight from Melbourne to Sydney, then from Sydney to Chicago, and going American Airlines the rest of the way. It was pretty awful, put shortly.

man in gauze is king ramses II, silly.

Qantas ftw, then. If you can fly Qantas, do it.

man in gauze is king ramses II, silly.

Winkme @WinkMe: Bingo: surcharge for the obese. Also, two fares for the obese on subways. Let's kill two fat birds with one stone.

This is the market solution to obesity and fuel economy.

Satorical

Want another one, I know a Pilot that flies out of Phoenix and he pretty much is a functioning alcoholic. Good times...that actually might be his aircraft in the picture?

max11221

First off, I have never seen a bigger bunch of whiners and complainers. Oh no!! They are removing movies!! Even though 75% of the people now bring their own entertainment. Why waste the fuel and licensing fees?

Sitting on the tarmac is not the airlines fault. Air Traffic Control and the FAA tell the pilots when to take off. They can't go back to the gate because most likely it has already been filled by another plane. Where else can you go?

The prices and fess are going to continue to go up. Yet, everyone wishes to complain about it. If the prices were raised people would bitch and moan. Do you go bitching about price increases in other areas? Supermarkets, clothing, basic needs because of oil. Air travel is a luxury. It was cheap in the late 90's because oil was cheap. The airlines could make money with cheap airfares and business class passengers. They also could give away alot more even with inclement weather. Now that is all gone and people had gotten used to it. They expect it. and when they don't get their way; they get angry. I feel bad for the employees. They deal with the most verbal abuse I have ever seen and heard. My mom works for US Airways and has been called every name in the book, even the "c"-word. She has been almost physically assaulted by a passenger, but was saved by another passenger near by. One her coworkers was punched and thrown to the ground. The employee broke her arm. Lucky it was only that.

So, stop complaining, it is only going to get worse as gas prices destroy the bottom line. Live with it. You can fly another airline if you want, most likely it will be just as shitty. Soon, all of them will be charging you for every little thing.

boobert

@gmaxwell447: That was February 14th, right? A vicious ice storm that plagued most of the Mid-Atlantic states. Two things combined for that. first a very bad storm which delayed/canceled most flights from DC to Boston. You can't do anything about Mother Nature. Second, their IT department did something retarded. They rolled out new software for seating/booking/gates. They did this without a pilot program in one station. There were bugs galore.

Also, most of these problems listed here have happened after their merger with America West. Most of the decisions are made by America West management. They still think small airline when it is a larger carrier.

One other thing, people have mentioned that the employees are surly, stupid, mean. Well, imagine putting up with whiners like yourselves and idiots who don't know a damn thing and demand everything and tend to be verbally abusive for 8-12 hours a day and tell me how you would feel. Especially, if your pay was forcibly taken down by over $4/hr. And, your contract was jammed down you throats for almost 11 years. Then certain goals are met and the company refuses to honor its parts. You try it.

boobert

@usntom: Fortunately for you they haven't cracked down on bad spelling and grammar.

I keed, I keed!

ps61318

@TheCyberBob: I can't speak for you guys but it has been years, maybe decades, since I have seen a stewardess that I would let play with my sock puppet.

jchasse

Hello, we're all getting iPhones this weekend so we can watch whatever we want, duh!

trendspotter

I actually work in Charlotte their biggest hub in Immigration. Yes some of the things said are true...the crews are rude, international ones are old hags, the planes suck, the ground staff is mostly unattentive.
However...guess what...they are a low-cost carrier and have been since their bankruptcy after 911. Many people seem to think they are a full service airline like Delta etc. They are not.

People can complain about this fee here and that fee there...but it is the free market of America to blame. Americans are cheap bastards and everyone thinks they have a right to fly. The airlines pay their new ground staff 9.59 (The people who you yell at when your flight is canceled) And in the current economy they have to cut back and pinch for pennies because all the airlines think Americans' want the cheapest ticket...I don't know anyone who seeks out the most expensive ticket when they book airfares...I had to translate for a lady the other day who bought a round trip ticket from Mexico City to Charlotte for 259.00 on US Airways. Do you think she would care she isn't going to have a movie to watch. On Us Airways they made you pay 5.00 for the headphones anyways to watch them. I'd rather use my Iphone.

In any case flying used to cost money, then the airlines started dropping fares so low and now every pig and animal flies. I'm of the opinion that they should go back to the old days of flying, and charge way more for tickets and maybe they could restore that level of service. Pre-911 US Airways employees in Charlotte many of them were making 25 even 30 dollars an hour...Ground staff...then their wages were cut and cut more...this is pretty much with every airline...the new people are shit because when you pay shit you get shit, and the old people are unahppy because they have been walked over.

I personally don't give a shit about tvs on domestic flights...and if I'm flying internationally I fly foreign carriers they are 10x better than any airline in America. They are usually subsidized by their national governments, something our country rejects. In any case you get what you pay for people!

theinterpreter84

Hmm, getting rid of the almost exclusively terrible in-flight movies? Why that's almost appealing. This means I can travel without having to be subjected to some lame romantic comedy...

Too bad every single flight I've ever had on US Airways has been delayed, canceled, or had some other problem. I wouldn't fly them again anyways, even if they offered gold-plates thrones instead of seats.

wiregr

US Scare is the worst out there. I checked in online once with them, had an actual boarding pass in hand, went to board the plane and the ticket machine beeped and they told me to go wait to see if they had seats left. I told him I already had a boarding pass and he threatened to call security on me...US Scare - I will never fly them again.

marksample

For comparison, I found the relative driving distances between New York and Los Angeles (note that the train takes a longer route, actually) versus the driving distance from London to Moscow (used Michelin's site).

New York to Los Angeles (driving): 4467km
London to Moscow (driving): 2849km

Also, note that except for the Acela from DC to Boston, there are no high speed trains in the U.S., and the Acela is far slower than the TGV and its counterparts.

tilthouse

I flew US Air once, it totally sucked. Back then a punch in the face was free, now its $10?!?! What gives? When I flew, and I am not sure if its the same now, they had this cheap ass movie they showed, for the safety briefing, instead of the flight attendants giving it. It was totally lame, vowed to never fly US Air ever again. Now that they are removing the entertainment system, that means the flight attendants will need to do it. I wonder if the union is OK with that?

jblaismacfan

Do any of you actually buy airline tickets? The only thing that matters (after flight times) is the price. If their tickets cost less they will get the business. Business travel? Company travel services will stick you with the lowest cost ticket. Family travel? Multiply the cost difference by the number of family members and the difference adds up.

Who watches the movie, cheesy TV shows etc anyway? The sound drops out, the movie glitches and they give up and turn it off. Meanwhile the gadget packed consumers and the literate consumers never notice.

The airlines are in a race to the bottom.

OldScot

Y'know, I've been seeing comments like this over and over for the past 5 years. And yet, every year the airlines charge for more and more while offering less and less. And at the same time, every year the number of airline passengers keeps growing.

Airline passengers are spineless zombies. You will fly on any airline, at any price, because you need to get there. It doesn't matter how lousy the customer service, how rude the flight attendants are, or how late the flight is: You still keep doing it. They can charge your for the air, and you'll grumble and pay it.

No airline is ever - EVER - going to change their policies until and unless they start actually losing business. And that ain't happening. Everyone complains - but no one is willing to actually put (or take away) their money where their mouth is.

jonhen

I flew US Air once, it sucked. Back then they offered a punch in the face for free, now its $10?!?! What gives?? Anyway, when I flew, they had this cheap ass movie for the safety briefing, no entertainment system means the flight attendents will need to do it. I wonder what the union will have to say about that? US Airways sucks!

jblaismacfan

Another fine example of "Stupid company in a dying market tries to get ahead of the competition by committing suicide".

Franssu

If US airways wants to charge me $40 for a drink who cars I won't buy it and as long as their fairs stay cheap thats all I care about is the bottom line and why should I be entitled to a free drink anyways water maybe???? If other airlines are charging me $100 more to fly and give me free drinks and a boring movie. No thanks I'll fly US airways.

Porscheboy

@Satorical: They can start charging per pound:
[ticket agent] "step on the scale please. You're 180lb, that'll be $346. Your 60 lb son... he's $115. Thank you. Next! Hey Fat Bastard! Payup $655!"

This would also provide weight loss incentive to overweight folks who are real cheap.

nikko1221

Always, ALWAYS fly Lufthansa if you have the choice (international I assume). Its the only airline I will fly if given a choice. Everything is free, even the alcohol and headphones, and I never saw a stewardess that looked like a drag queen (unlike Ryan Air.)

Monsterdog

To save additional fuel, they will be replacing the entertainment system with pedals, so that you the traveler will now have to keep the plane flying.

lefonceobscure