Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Air Rage

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Air Rage - Comments and Cures

This thread will list some comments and possible cures for air rage.... 1. Planes are delayed because of traffic...just like a highway. The cure for this is simple. Some air service should be cut down. For example...New York to Washington. To go from downtown to downtown the train is much quicker, much more luxurious, and cheaper. Likewise from New York to Hartford. 2. Small seats. I lift weights. I'm 6' 2" and weigh 250 lbs. I am not fat...waist is 36". To combat small seats I try to walk around as much as possible and get an aisle seat. This will help "kill" a three hour flight. 3. Boarding delays...Passenger to Passenger rage Solution...Enforce carry-on luggage restrictions. I see people who can hardly lift their illegal carry-ons clogging up the aisle. 4. Crowded Airports... This puzzles me. New York is served by three large airports...Kennedy, Newark, and LaGuardia. How come airlines don't use suburban airports like MacArthur (ISP) and Newburgh. By using these airports you will ease the load on the big airports. I will venture to guess that suburban residents fly more than city residents. 5. Lack of Information...Why don't airlines tell the truth about what happens when there is a delay? They should. 6. Bad air on Planes... I heard that airlines save money by not using fresh air during flights. Why can't Congress do something about this? This sounds like a health issue to me. Air travel has become cheaper but crappier ever since deregulation. You get what you pay for. With co-operation on both sides cheap fares can be kept with tolerable service. My parents were married in 1961. Their round trip ticket to Rome was $750 each. When I went a year ago it was only $600. A good new Chevrolet in 1961 was $2000, now it is $15000. Would you pay $12000 for a round trip to Rome for 2???? Those working on airplanes used to be called "stewardesses". This implies being female and being a servant. Next came "flight attendants". The femaleness is gone, so is much of the servitude. Now I am hearing "safety monitors". Now all of the servitude is gone and they suddenly get "authority". What title will be next? "flight enforcer" or "flight dictator"? What happened to the good old days when airline employees gladly worked with the customer? I see incredible contempt for the customer. Get wise folks... the customer is the ultimate reason why you have a job. Amtrak employees realize this. I find them to be much more customer friendly that airline employees. Nobody is unhappy on the Metroliner from DC to NY. Driving is frequently a great alternative to air travel. Conside this scenario.... Long Island NY to Melbourne FL Door to door by plane 8 hours Door to door by car 18 hours...not too bad...alot cheaper It seems that airlines want you at the airport 2 hours before a flight. Why? Thanks for listening to this tirade...now I'll duck out.

It'll never work, but the only way the airlines will wake up is for people to stop flying. We are so fed up with air travel that we've changed our entire "travel plan" for vacationing and conferences now, and retirement later. We cannot always afford business or first-class and can't count on being upgraded, so we're not going by air. Of course, many countries and cities on our wish list are now eliminated. But we're making other plans to see other places in a more comfortable, friendly, "customer-oriented" way.

The subject of your post is air rage, but most people now believe that the majority of "air rage" cases are caused by nicotine addicts who aren't allowed to smoke, and by drunk passengers. Air Rage is a deeply serious matter, that should result in EXTREMELY strict punishment of violent and abusive passengers. I cannot accept it when people make excuses for violent people. Yes, your suggestions are very interesting, but the issues you brought up are a far cry from why certain people are acting violent towards airline crews, putting the entire airplane at risk. That is another matter. Road Rage is also on the rise, but that's not because of small car seats, is it?

This is the first I have heard of a correlation between nicotine addiction and violence, and since people can smoke in their cars, I think we can safely assume it has nothing to do with road rage! Drunks often become obnoxious and violent, be it on land, air or sea. Air rage and road rage can also be traced to self-centered, spoiled, arrogant and immature people who do not tolerate frustration well--and the entire flying experience is Definitely a frustrating one. Small seats are only a part of the entire experience that you have paid hundreds of dollars to endure.

If you have to get there fast, the airlines are still the best choice. 1. I've found that being understanding when talking with sometimes un-supported and under-trained counter people goes much further in getting where I need to go (with a hope of comfort) than the angry act. However, the airlines really should make sure their ground personnel get training in "Dealing with Difficult People." I've seen some situations get out of hand simply because they were handled wrong from the start. 2. The cramming of additional seats on planes today makes airtravel quite miserable...I'm 5'2 and even I prefer aisle and exit row seating. If they'd take out a row so we all could be more comfortable, maybe the huge variations in fares wouldn't be as prevalent. When you're squeezed in like a sardine and you paid $699 while your can-mates have only paid $109, you'll be a bit touchier than others. Charge us all $300, and give us some leg room. 3. I've noticed air food is totally unpredictable, and I never expect much, so once in a while I'm pleasantly surprised. I also avoid drinking caffienated (oh oh, probably one of those spelling geeks will jump all over me for that one) sodas and coffee by sticking with tomato or cranberry juice, milk or water. I'm not a prude, but maybe beer/wine shouldn't be served before noon, or on a flight without at least a sandwich. 4. I agree with Steve re the carry-on rules and truthful announcements. Hope this isn't a duplicate of an earlier attempt to respond.....if so my apologies....

re: carry-on Would love to see more carry-on restrictions. Why let these gigantic bags on? Had a good laugh in Orlando a few years ago. The flight out was completely packed and they announced that carry-on was limited to one small bag. And here were all these panicking, unorganized people with plastic shopping sacks with Disney souvenirs sticking out.

I am concerned about the potential for injury during the impatient fracas among passengers in a hurry to disembark from the plane and being at the receiving end of “disembarkation rage.” We all want to get out of the sardine can, stretch our legs and be at the head of the customs queue, but those further ahead in the plane are entitled to be let off first being closer to the left front exit door, regardless whether they are housed in an aisle or window seat. Passengers in window seats up the front, who are delayed in egress to the aisle, are often crowded out by passengers behind who will not make room unless one insists. Should someone falls shuffling along in a crowded assembly line the human dominoes close by could go tumbling down. Airlines could consider announcing orderly disembarkation by seat allocation just as some already announce boarding by seat number.

Joseph -

I realize you're new to Fodors, but perhaps you could look at dates before reviving 12+ year old threads?