Old airlines, the old ways

Lance F said:
Not always the best, IMHO.
I was president of the US office of a German company some years ago. With a business class ticket fom ORD to FRA one night my Lufthansa flight had an eqipment change, and the seat assignments had to be redone. In those days there were still smoking seats, and Brunhilde at the counter gave me one. I looked her in the eye and said "this is not what I booked, and it is not what I want." Basically she responded in a very Germanic way, take it or leave it.
Well I took that flight, but immediately moved all the company's transAtlantic business to American.
Lufthansa's attitude that nigHt cost it hundreds of thousands of dollars, and I've got a lifetime American platinum AAdvantage card.
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I remember an LAX to FRA flight in business class on LH back in the days when they had smoking and no-smoking sections. The smoking section was the front of the cabin and no-smoking was the back. I had a seat in the first row of no-smoking and there was a solid wall of smoke coming over the seat back in front of me the whole flight (or so it seemed). I don't blame you for switching.
 
At Continental/United we still have the plastic wings for the kids. I know because I have a handful of them in my car. I give them out to Hooters waitresses they love em.
 
Art VanDelay said:
At Continental/United we still have the plastic wings for the kids. I know because I have a handful of them in my car. I give them out to Hooters waitresses they love em.
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Do you give them just one, or do you give them a pair? :rofl:
 
Alaska Airlines still gives out wings. Pretty nice ones too, not the cheap plastic ones. They gave me a pair last year when I was jumpseating... :)
 
Jay Honeck said:
Here is a somewhat astonishing list of defunct airlines in the U.S.:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_defunct_airlines_of_the_United_States

It really makes you wonder why anyone ever invests in airlines!
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Me neither, it's enough profit to just sustain the service's wage and cost structure with just enough left over if done well to pay a 'prime rate' debt service to the investors. The only people who have made out on airlines since deregulation is steerage class passengers and board members.
 
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pilotod said:
I just started thinking about how I flew as a kid. I don't remember if it was Delta or not that flew from Houston to Pensacola but I would fly by myself....maybe I was 10 or 12....to see my grandparents. I don't know how often people let their kids do that anymore since we're so paranoid about people. Anyway, that podcast also made me think, and I've wondered about it when I fly commercial, do airlines let kids go check out the cockpit or do airlines give out wings or decks of cards anymore?
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I'm not a kid and I haven't been turned down once. Flown only twice since my PPL - once last year to a POA fly-in up in Michigan (one flight with a layover and then a second plane), and once this year to a POA fly-in located near PHL (direct, nonstop, one plane there and one plane back).

The last captain, flying to SFO, INSISTED HE GET OUT OF HIS SEAT and take my photo. That was the first time (I've never asked, I usually just pop in and say hi after telling the flight attendant my intentions).

Me, sitting in the Captain's chair, wondering why the Airbus has no yoke and only a TV tray:


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Anymouse said:
Not a US carrier, but as of roughly 3 years ago, Emirates would hand out cards if asked. Or they would just offer (which is how I got mine, which are still in the plastic). Not sure about the wings.
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Soon after I got my PPL, my buddy presented me with a set of plastic AA wings.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
I'm not a kid and I haven't been turned down once. Flown only twice since my PPL - once last year to a POA fly-in up in Michigan (one flight with a layover and then a second plane), and once this year to a POA fly-in located near PHL (direct, nonstop, one plane there and one plane back).

The last captain, flying to SFO, INSISTED HE GET OUT OF HIS SEAT and take my photo. That was the first time (I've never asked, I usually just pop in and say hi after telling the flight attendant my intentions).

Me, sitting in the Captain's chair, wondering why the Airbus has no yoke and only a TV tray:


7237455790_08046bf3d7.jpg
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Once the door was locked and the plane on A/P they were sniffin that seat... that's why he insisted, giggidy.
 
Ahh, nostalgia, it just isn't like it used to be. The reason the airlines did all these things is because they were heavily regulated by the government, and thus outrageously expensive. The price of an airline ticket has not gone up in real dollars in decades. Since the price was regulated by the government the airlines had to compete by giving you better stuff.

There is now less regulation, and folks have voted with their feet for whomsoever can get them there in the least amount of time for the least amount of money. Fewer people used airlines, those that did had lots of money, and everyone dressed well. Yes, I remember those days too, but I don't view them with rose-colored glasses.
 
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