Oct 1, 2009 10
Random Thoughts from the Road
I’ve been traveling a lot of late due to business. Who knew being an unemployed bum was such hard work? In September, I spent 14 of 30 days on the road; I’m looking at roughly 18 of 31 days in October being on the road.
So I’m becoming familiar once again with the airline and hotel industries in a personal way, and have some thoughts and questions as a result.
Air Travel
It is 2009, and we’re knocking on 2010. Airlines continue to struggle from what I can tell. Various carriers are now tacking on $15-20 fees for checked baggage, and United (for one) wants to charge for food. That’s all good; you gotta do what you gotta do to be profitable.
What I wonder about, though, is why in the 21st century, no airline offers power outlets (except maybe in First Class, which I wouldn’t know anything about). Maybe the ones I haven’t been on — Southwest, Virgin, etc. — do but the majors I have been on do not. Almost every single passenger has at least one electronic device that could use the juice, if it’s only a cellphone. Is it really that difficult to add an outlet to the back of each seat?
In-flight wi-fi access is coming. All I can say is, Faster Please!
Since I mostly fly Continental, I can honestly say that you can save on the food and just give me a power outlet and wi-fi, and I’ll be a happy camper.
Lastly, I wonder about those food/beverage carts. Do those things have to be so large such that passengers simply cannot get past them at all? Are trays completely out of the question? I’d hate to be the person who has to go to the bathroom while the beverage cart is blocking the aisle. Actually, I’ve been that guy….
