I find some people on FT truly amazing. There are a very small, but very vocal number of FT's who seem to have an agenda against a certain airline. I have seen this with all the major Airline Forums, but most notably CO, NW,DL, UA and AA. My question is, if someone really dislikes an airline so much, why the HECK do they continue to fly them?? If you hate an airline, change to another one and quit the non-stop complaining. I feel FT is a great asset to the FF community. Using it as a forum to fulfill someone's personal vendetta against a particular airline seems like a waste of good computer space. IMHO

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Hell hath no fury like that of an elite frequent flyer in coach.

I am not real smart, but I can lift heavy things.

you raise a good point, but there are also people here who are true "road warriors" who have to get from one place to another and only one airline flies there. So it isn't entirely their choice to fly a particular airline - they are stuck with the airlines that fly where they need to go. AND so if the service or safety or whatever aren;t very good they are going to complain.

its the road warrior rule. "you have the right to complain"

I fly between New York and Washington a lot -- averaging maybe once a week. I use the Delta Shuttle because my primary employer has a very good contract fare. Starting from that core of business, it is natural to concentrate my flying on Delta.

But Delta has been disappointing me lately. Not so much since 9/11, but earlier. So I reduced my flying on Delta (to 154,000 base miles last year!) and started flying more on United, which treats me better.

Anyway, it would be going too far to say that I "hate" Delta; I'm just disappointed in their recent direction. I still have hope that they will reverse course, but that may be wishful thinking.

Bruce

Because you live in a city (or a country) where for quite a few destinations there is no other practical choice but to fly the airline you hate? YYZ-AC, MSP-NW, DTW-NW, CVG-DL, DEN-UA, etc, etc, etc...

[This message has been edited by skofarrell (edited 01-03-2002).]

I don't hate US, which I fly most often, but even if I did hate them, I would probably still fly them a lot. I am in PHL, which means I can fly to about 5 or 6 destinations directly on AA, UA, DL, or NW. On the other hand, I can fly about 50-100 (don't know, never counted) destinations directly on US. So, I'd still be on their planes to get to a lot of these places. I imagine many others are in the same position.

Djlawman

And why should flyers (or any consumes) slink off to another supplier? Complaining to and about the one they want to use is the way to make improvements!

andrew

i think the essence of being a frequent flier is complaining.

Please do NOT get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with complaining. I have done my fair share since I have been on FT. In many cases, it is indeed the only way to start change. I am talking about the few people that never post anything unless it is very negative about a specific airline. They seem to have a personal crusade against the airline. They seem to literally hate a specific carrier. Those are the ones I don't understand.

If you cannot complain as an elite FF, why bother to get the elite status to begin with?


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Hell hath no fury like that of an elite frequent flyer in coach.

I am not real smart, but I can lift heavy things.

[This message has been edited by Seth (edited 01-03-2002).]

great answer andrew. makes perfect sense to me. if people like us didn't complain, nothing would ever get fixed. and the fact that things do get changed makes it even more obvious that someone on the inside also saw the need!




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I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the rights of the people by the gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.

James Madison, 4th US president (1751-1836)

Sometimes its cheaper and easier to nag the "wife" rather than divorce her.

First guess: because you hate the other ones even more.

Second guess: because you resemble an immigrant east coast city family ("tough love" is the polite term, I believe).

Third guess: because you know there is a vast quantity of computer space -- venting is good for the soul.

Most of the true Delta-haters have in fact left, and only come back occasionally to taunt those of us who are still addicted. A few of us are in the early throes of Aviation Anonymous and are very vocal about the damage of our addictions. The rest are still trying to finagle a few hundred extra bonus miles here and there. Don't know so much about the other airlines....

Bruce, I like your term: "disappointed". That describes a lot of us.

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"Service" should be a noun, not a verb.
Delta Flyers' Guide

On the rare occasion that I have had something to complain about worth more than just casual griping I have taken my complaint directly to the airline's Customer Relations office and supplied them with a link to their specific forum at FlyerTalk. I've done this twice with UA.

There are some valuable customers posting here. In United's case, lots of Premier Execs and 1Ks. Not all of these posts are negative either. Most importantly, it's a great site for an airline to monitor to get a pulse on its most frequent flyers.

As for those that seem to have a vendetta, I've always felt that a valid complaint will stand on its own merit, even if it comes from one with "a vendetta". In any event, I often get more out of other poster's responses to the vendetta holder anyway, especially if their complaint is groundless, so I say let 'em post!

Besides, complaining on FT can have a real impact.

Over in the AA forum, there are multiple documented incidents where a complaint listed on FT led to action by the airline.

I'm turning the words around...
Why not fly the airline you love?
I think back to 1999 with tears in my eyes to the wonderful flights that I enjoyed on Legend Airlines out of DAL. I remember,
a. Thinking that the flight attendant was making a joke when she asked me if I wanted the lobster tail or the pasta,
b. Running out of the terminal, up the the sixth floor of the parking garage, driving my car down to floor one, and running inside (perhaps 10 minutes later) only to see a security person carrying my suitcase off to the locker area. Everyone had already got their bags and they thought I'd forgotton to collect my suitcase.
c. The internet connections in the waiting area,

Legend please come back. I miss you.