Originally Posted by CMH1k

I'm starting a list of things that airlines do poorly, in no particular order.

Not the big stuff (these forums are full of seriously big stuff like bad customer service, baffling rules, etc.) but the simple things that can really add up if you travel a lot and point out that no one is sweating the details in this industry. Please pile on.

• Fuzzy video and audio that hisses- airlines have been behind the curve on this stuff for years (think about those tubular cord headphones and bulky video monitors). The whole world has sharp HD video and clean sound- not on an airplane. I understand that some people spend a lot more time flying than others, but if you can't go a few hours without HD video, then you need help.

• No cup holders- a no brainer. This would be nice as not all airlines, or maybe just not all airplanes, have cupholders in the tray. Last time I flew, I didn't have any cup holders on my tray, but this isn't a big deal to me.

• Bogus safety precautions- do we really need to hear or see the safety message on every flight? Yes we do need to hear it and see it everytime. Not everybody is a frequent flier so not everybody hears them all the time.Does anyone think that replying with a verbal "yes" when sitting in an exit row will make a difference. Do upright seats when landing really prevent injuries in a crash? I know the FAA requires this non-sense but there's no research to back any of it up. As somebody else pointed out, the FAs are making sure you can communicate in English as well as determining your mental and physical ability to help out in an emergency, if needed.

• Web site sessions that log you out after non-activity of just a few minutes- what could an intruder possibly steal? At least make it an option to stay logged on.

• No radio contact between the pilot and company personnel on the ground- let the ground folks know that there are passengers on board with tight connections, etc. I know they have this ability but they don't use it. As another poster said, the pilots are very busy doing pre-flight stuff.

• Underpowered greeting gate agents- holding a clipboard is not real customer service. How about calling a connecting gate for a late passenger that has a chance to make their flight? Especially if the delay is caused by the airline. This can be attributed to cost. Even if you're cutting a connection close because of something the airline did, it makes more sense for the airline to go ahead and get the next flight in the air without any additional delays whenever possible. Remember, there may be people on the next flight with tight connections so any delay could make them miss their connection. Not saying that those people are more important than you, but if there are 5 people on your flight that are cutting it close and 20 on the next flight, then it makes more sense economically to deal with the 5 people rather than the 20 people.

• Non-standardized on-board payments- some flights don't take cash. Some only take cash. Don't make it hard to take more of our money. And stop pushing the duty-free crap that is no cheaper than buying it at home. I haven't been on a flight lately that still accepted cash so I was unaware that this was still a problem. Yes, they definitely need to fix this.

• Gate agents that don't speak English well- especially when making PA announcements at the gate. This seems like a minimum job requirement. Certain places have a higher population of foreign people so this can be more location based than airline based. For instance, a city like Miami will probably have a higher % of people with hard to understand accents than a city like Indianapolis for example.

• Receipts for flights often unavailable on line- hotels are guilty of this too. Call Amazon and ask them how they keep my purchase history and invoices available for years. I have heard that they are working on this and another poster confirmed it.

• Hard to remember, random record locators/confirmation numbers- how about allowing me to find my reservations by name or password instead of the puzzles like HNZ06GX? If you're a FF of the airline, you can basically do this with your airline confirmations. I can't spak for the way it works with all airlines, but with Delta, you need your FF#, PIN#, and last name. Or you can check with the credit card # that you booked with. I can't imagine that other airlines wouldn't allow that. However, your confirmation #'s will always be those random codes that you'll find hard to remember.

• Ugly uniforms- the polyester fashion disasters that the poor flight attendants (and flight crew) have to wear are awful. I'm worried about getting to my destination so I don't care what the FAs and pilots wear.

• Ugly plane decors- I know that patterns hide wear and tear but do they have to be so hideous and dated? Once again, I'm worried about getting to my destination so don't care too much about the decor on or in the planes.

• Repetitive corporate music- there's only so much Rhapsody in Blue (United) that you can endure. It's like an interrogation technique. Take your own headphones and a iPod or whatever and listen to your own tunes then.

• Unorganized boarding procedures- there has to be reams of research on what the most efficient process is. Or maybe not.

• Uncomfortable seats- again, there has to be lots of ergonomic information available that would allow something better than the ...-numbing seats in place now. Memory foam? Especially those thin fake leather seats on the regional jets. The current seats are designed for safety as well as fitting more people on the plane.

• Hard to press video touch screens- you have to pound some of these seat back models and it's annoying to the passenger in front. The virtual keyboards on $49 smart phones seem to work just fine.

• No foot rests- I'll bet the airlines pay $1000+ each for their seats. Why not include fold-out foot rests? I think the main thing here is safety during an emergency. If I'm sitting next to you and there is an emergency and I rush out of my seat and forget to fold mine back in, then you could trip over it and hurt yourself as well as slow down others in getting out if you don't notice that I left my footrest out. Plus, it would take away some of the your luggage stowing space. Remember, the overhead bins have to be shared, even though some people like to think that they don't have to share. The only place you are actually guaranteed to be able to place a carry-on is under the seat in front of you.

• First class seats with seat obstructive seat pillars- it can't be that hard to shift these over so everyone has leg and foot room.

• Hard to reach overhead vents- on some jumbo jets these vents over the middle seats can't be reached by passengers under 5' 10" or so.

• No pens- everyone scrambles for a pen on international flights to fill out immigration forms. Not to mention crossword puzzles in their own in-flight magazines. I always have a pen on me as I never know when I may need one. If flying internationally, you know you need to fill out the paperwork so why would you not carry a pen of your own? Also, if you think you may want to do the crossword puzzles or happen to have your own puzzle book, then wouldn't you think that you should carry a pen anyway?

• No power outlets- enough said.

• No Wi-Fi- charge a few bucks and make a lot. Seems simple.

• Same old TV shows- "The Office" is a funny show but I don't want to watch it every time I fly. This doesn't bother me as I take my iPad and watch my own movies or TV shows. Before I had an iPad, I had a fairly cheap portable dvd player so I could watch movies.

• Crooked tray tables- laptops and drinks slide off with ease. There is not level one in the whole world. Obviously you haven't flown on every airline, on every airplane, and sat in every seat so this is a silly statement. However, probably 99% of the time, this isn't the airlines fault. It's the fault of the passengers who sometimes are rough with them and sometimes they just break because they've been used a lot.

Next list- things airports do poorly...