Originally Posted by
FrustratedTraveler
Hello, and I apologize in advance if I am posting this in the wrong location.
Recently, I left my job behind a desk to begin consulting, and have gone from traveling once per year, to every 3 to 4 weeks. The majority of my flights are MCO <> ORD on United, and MCO <> DCA on USAirways/American. Almost every flight has been horrible. Despite being in the "first class cabin", I frequently encounter no working power outlets (or no outlets at all), flight attendants who are too busy chatting with passengers or reading magazines to run cabin service, horrible or nonexistent food when they finally do, crying children, and of course delayed flights and lost baggage which plagues everyone on the flight. Every once in a blue moon I'll actually get a decent experience (typically on United) where I sit down, have power and can work for an hour or two, am not distracted by crying children, and have a "there when you need them, gone when you don't" flight crew. But it happens so rarely.
I guess I am ranting / venting a bit, but I'm curious if there's any "fix" to this. Right now I'm paying around $700 per trip, and getting what I consider "coach" level service. I could justify triple that cost for actual "first class", but I can't seem to find anything between a "domestic first" and chartering a private jet at ~$40k per trip which exceeds my budget considerably. Does anyone know of any "tricks" to get better service from the airlines (even basics like working power outlets), or any alternatives to a regular commercial airline that are cheaper than chartering a jet for just myself (something like uber for jets perhaps?)? Google has led me to this site, but hasn't offered any specific answers to my question.
Thanks!
Horrible? That seems a bit dramatic. It's domestic F on a short 2-3 hour hop. What do you really expect? Flying Spirit airlines or Greyhound might qualify as "horrible".
You seem to not be happy with the value (or lack thereof) you're getting - maybe it would be a better compromise/value to you to go with Main Cabin Extra/Economy Plus instead and save your money.
flight attendants who are too busy chatting with passengers or reading magazines to run cabin service
Use the call button. The specific incident you mentioned today seems worthy of a quick, short comment to the airline - which can be done on their website easily. The FA sounds like, from your account, she was being a bit lazy. Keep it simple and to the point and not as if you're looking for compensation.
horrible or nonexistent food when they finally do,
You're flying the same routes repeatedly, so you must be familiar with the meal services, and times of day when food is or isn't served for those routes. "horrible" or not is a matter of opinion...again, if the F food isn't something you'll eat, consider flying coach in MCE/E+ and bringing food or BoB.
crying children,
That's a part of travel anywhere, in any cabin...and of living in a world with other humans, for that matter. How can you hold this against the airline?
and of course delayed flights and lost baggage which plagues everyone on the flight.
How does being in the F cabin have anything to do with delayed flights and lost baggage? It's the same plane, you all arrive at the same time. How often have you had a lost bag?
Your laptop power needs seem to be more than the typical passenger, possibly even above the capability of the system. This doesn't seem fair to hold against the airline. If power is advertised for a particular flight but truly isn't working, that would be fair game to contact the airline with a comment - better to start by asking the FA on the flight about it, too.