Yeah, if they would jack the price up high enough to make a fucking profit they would put all the damned walmartians back on the fucking bus were they fucking belong! But slobs gotta slob, even when they get enough money to charter jets. Ask me how I know.
No disagreement here.
In 1981, I graduated high school and flew to Europe for the summer with my chronically horny Spanish girlfriend. Her dad was a retired Army cook of all things. He married a Spaniard and bought an apartment for her parents in a nice small Spanish town and since they passed he owned a three bedroom walk-up and a first floor shop that he rented. We bought tickets on Iberia, the Spanish national airline. Miami to Madrid overnight, coach, L-1011. My first overseas flight. We had a three course dinner with stainless silverware hot towels and cloth napkins followed by coffee and dessert. Then a movie of some sort, a nice nap and breakfast with silverware, hot towels to freshen up before landing. The stewardesses and air crew were actually nice.
Adjusted for inflation, the flight would cost about $1900 today. I'd gladly pay it to not sit next to an unwashed goat farmer with TB and bad body odor who is flying in fucking pajamas and flip flops. And to be on a plane with people who seemed to enjoy their jobs.
Last year I flew coast to coast twice, the planes were stuffed like a sausage and smelled like gym lockers. People averaged three fucking carry-on bags each. I paid for the ticket, then was forced to pay extra for the seat choice and extra for an exit row or a seat with leg room, then extra for a checked bag if I wanted, extra for early boarding and pretty much anything was EXTRA. I brought my own lunch and a drink and my own disinfectant wipes to remove the snot, shit and hair oil from my seat before taking it. Got to the gate with the 1,600 people scheduled to fly on a 250 seat plane and the airline offered $200 dollars for you to fuck off and wait until tomorrow. No takers.
Second flight was first class both ways, no difference in quality of service and stuffed to the gills. The air crew looked about as happy as if they were evacuating Saigon in 1975. They randomly cancelled a leg, redirected me to Texas and planned on leaving me in Dallas for four days until they could find another open First class seat to my destination. I had to call and talk to world's dumbest woman, explaining that I needed to actually get to my meeting in time to be at the fucking thing, so coach would be fine as long as it went to my destination, credit back the First class upcharge thank you.
If I drive, I have air conditioned, leather seats, touch screens and all of the comforts afforded me in my Ford Lariat without some disease ridden scumbag sitting next to me. It is like driving my living room couch down the highway, if I'm alone it is all peace and quiet. If my wife is along, she loves it. She relaxes and enjoys a magazine, online shopping or chatting, music or movies, up off the road with a view of the action and she is a solid navigator.
500 miles on a plane wastes as much time as 500 miles driving when you add in the two hour preflight and the time wasted to and from the airport and renting a car and hauling your shit from gate A13 to gate H132 to make the connections.
