Originally Posted by
Sankaps
The original question was "Has AI bashing gone too far?"
My answer, regardless of whether the UA pilot's story holds or not (I see no reason why he would want to make it up), is an emphatic "No!".
This is one airline that cannot be bashed enough. Everytime I think maybe I am being too harsh, something ridiculous happens to make be bash them even more than before.
Examples:
Pathetic ground / airport / check-in experience
Pathetic post-flight experience (baggage claim, post-flight customer service, etc)
Pathetic reliability and on-time performance
Ridiculous scheduling
Web site that looks it was designed by school students as part of a project
Cabin crew that freely smoke in the galleys, pulling the curtains shut
Ground staff who find it perfectly acceptable to scream at passengers
Pathetic state of toilets
Ridiculous merger integration
Hard to fathom pricing and distribution policies (how many world class airlines tell you to go to a travel agent to get a better fare, when you go to their ticket office to buy a ticket?)
Lax attitude to safety norms (eg pax briefing, ensuring seat backs are up and trays folded, etc etc.)
I could go on, but I will stop now.
All of these are evidence of complete mismanagement and idiotic overflowing bureaucracy. This is a major issue with the airline, and nobody can deny it. While the specifics may be contested, they all point in that general direction. Perhaps I don't suggest BASHING the airline, but criticism in many of these areas is well deserved.
However, that doesn't mean that criticizing its safety practices is appropriate. There is nothing more important to any airline than the safety of its crew, passengers, and aircraft. That is where I think the AI bashing has gone too far.