Originally Posted by
adambrau
IMHO I think the aviation industry has declined because most passengers, looking to fly, purchase the least expensive ticket, and airlines have been in a race to the bottom to deliver that.
This hits the nail on the head: the US airlines are giving American flyers what they want. If they weren't, then the low-cost/low service seats would go empty and a higher priced/full-service airline would survive.
In the spirit of
itsMoe,
MarkedCW and
sfsouthbay, I offer my opinion and appraisal of whence we've come for US airlines since I started flying for business in the last 30 years. For context, in addition to flying UA and CO, I have almost 2MM on AA and these days when I fly internationally, it's Polaris and domestically F or Y (on my own dime).
Were seats better in "the old days"? In coach, yes; In business and first class, yes for domestic, no for international (I remember many an overnight international flight with reclining seats that were not fully flat or only reclined 6 to 8 inches). In approximately 20 international long-haul trips since it was introduced, I have yet to experience the Polaris hard product, but am looking forward to doing so.
Was food and wine better? Yes, in all classes. And, CO kept serving full meals in Y long after others had stopped.
Were the Presidents Clubs and the Red Carpet Clubs less crowded? Yes. I have, however, experienced the Polaris Lounge in EWR, and it was excellent!
Was in-flight service better? Yes--even on domestic F, I felt that a higher level of service and that you were actually part of a special group.
The UA app is excellent; remember having to do everything over the phone or in person (or have a travel agent do it)?
Aside from this guy (
https://everything2.com/title/Gerard+Finneran), were passengers better behaved? I think so, but I would ask any airline personnel or FT'ers to weigh in on this one!
On the downside:
Remember having one movie on a pull-down screen (or two if it was a long flight)? Or the tiny screens that rotated down from the overhead?
Since 9/11, I get the distinct feeling that some (but not all) FA's have used the increased emphasis on security and support from Homeland Security as an excuse to stop going the extra mile, trying, and rather lord the threat of "if you give me any pushback, I am going to have the federal marshals or TSA on you in an instant".
If not in E+ when traveling Y, the seats are tough to bear on flights longer than 3 hours.