Boycott the Skies

Here's the letter I wrote to AM-NY, a free newspaper distributed during the work week around NYC. It's a great paper that I enjoy reading for its brevity, good reporting and for the interesting listings of city events. Their website is at www.amny.com/news.

Boycott the Skies

I am outraged by the news that an irate passenger was arrested and then left alone in a holding cell while she choked to death trying to get her handcuffs off. This is the worst tragedy so far but in the past year there have been all too many horror stories of various airlines mistreating their customers. People left on runways for hours and hours without food, water or a working toilet? People herded past guard dogs and held in a tiny room once they do get off the plane? Women told they can't fly because they are wearing short skirts? Baby bottles yanked out of children's hands? This is no way to treat paying customers. Since 9/11, instead of beefing up security where it counts, airlines have taken "security" as an excuse to mistreat customers who aren't perfectly docile no matter what the situation. I urge everyone who has the option to stay off planes and travel by other means. Collectively the airline industry deserves to crash and burn.

That's the end of the letter but I could say a lot more. It seems to me that the airlines have completely lost respect for their customers. They continually flunk tests of their security measures but instead they bully and browbeat paying customers and tell themselves they are being security conscious. I don't intend to fly again. When I last got on an airplane in 1998, it was a whole different world. We were treated with courtesy. An hour wait on the runway was seen as a big and inconvenient delay. Today that would probably be seen as excellent service. Yes, security was too lax, and that's why the terrorists got away with it on 9/11, but callous mistreatment of passengers isn't the way to deal with it.

The young woman who died was Betsy Gottbaum's step daughter in law. Ms. Gottbaum has asked the media to respect the family's privacy. I hope they will. But as public advocate, Betsy Gottbaum is in the perfect position to take the airline to task over this tragedy. Once the mourning period is over.. I won't say the grief because that never ends, not in a case like this where it was so senseless and someone is clearly at fault.. I hope she takes the airline responsible to court and strips them down to their last dime. It still won't bring back a daughter, wife and mother to the people who loved her.

But so far as I can see, the airlines are collectively misbehaving and acting as if they are doing the public a favor when they let us on a plane. Their attitude is all wrong and until it is corrected I don't intend to ever go near an airplane.