United Airlines violently drag passenger off overbooked flight

[Orang Utan]

How does that prove anything? Having spare crews sitting around twiddling there thumbs is very expensive so it's inevitable that there will be occasional problems. How much more would you be prepared to pay for your tickets to have extra pilots lounging around in airports?

exactly. shit system innit.

 

[bi0boy]

exactly. shit system innit.

What would your non-shit system be to ensure no flight is ever cancelled due to unavailability of crew?

 

[Orang Utan]

What would your non-shit system be to ensure no flight is ever cancelled due to unavailability of crew?

i don't have one. i am criticising the present one.

 

[Gromit]

Do they not have trains in America? Why is every cunt flying everywhere?

New York to LA by train. 76 hours travel including a 5 hour stop in Chicago. $299
Flight 7-8 hours $166

Bit of a no brainer.

 

[Orang Utan]

New York to LA by train. 76 hours travel including a 5 hour stop in Chicago. $299
Flight 7-8 hours $166

Bit of a no brainer.

Yep, train would be much better. you'd see so much more. it would be well worth it.

 

[ffsear]

United's latest advert...

 

[Lord Camomile]

Yep, train would be much better. you'd see so much more. it would be well worth it.

If you can spare the extra day and $133 to begin with...

 

[Spymaster]

Yep, train would be much better. you'd see so much more. it would be well worth it.

What if you don't want to see more. Just get to where you want to go? Like normal people.

 

[Orang Utan]

What if you don't want to see more. Just get to where you want to go? Like normal people.

I was speaking for myself. If I ever visit America to cross it from the east to west, I'd want to take my time and see it from the ground.

 

[DotCommunist]

selling something you don't in fact have, like a seat on a plane or a harvest that hasn't come in yet is exactly why capitalism is fucked. Speculation can go fuck itself

 

[Spymaster]

I was speaking for myself. If I ever visit America to cross it from the east to west, I'd want to take my time and see it from the ground.

Hardly pertinent to the conversation at hand though is it. The vast majority of people who take internal flights across the US couldn't give a fuck about what's between their travel points.

 

[Orang Utan]

Hardly pertinent to the conversation at hand though is it. The vast majority of people who take internal flights across the US couldn't give a fuck about what's between their travel points.

I was responding to Gromit's claim that it was a no brainer.

 

[Spymaster]

Do they not have trains in America? Why is every cunt flying everywhere?

Because they're not stupid

 

[bi0boy]

Perhaps people who complain about being denied boarding should be given a complentary train ticket instead of any other compensation.

 

[Orang Utan]

Perhaps people who complain about being denied boarding should be given a complentary train ticket instead of any other compensation.

Not very practical

 

[bi0boy]

If you are denied boarding in America, count your lucky stars because what happened to you was less likely than you being killed in a road traffic accident within the next six months.

 

[bi0boy]

Not very practical

But they will get see the scenery, and rabbit on to the person in the opposite seat about the injustice of air travel for three days.

 

[Orang Utan]

But they will get see the scenery, and rabbit on to the person in the opposite seat about the injustice of air travel for three days.

Don't be silly

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

On the contrary, it has been working very well for sixty years..

The system is different now. At one time, it was possible to fly 'stand-by', and take advantage of last minute deals on planes about to depart that were under capacity. There were also times when one would be on a plane that was half-full or less. I once travelled to Hong Kong on a 747 that was so empty, that I could stretch out over the 5 middle seats in one row, and sleep part of the way.

Talking to a travel agent, standby is becoming a thing of the past.

 

[A380]

Cheaper to fly.

I think the order goes like this (from cheapest to most expensive);

Coach
Plane
Private limo
Jet pack
Space Shuttle
Train

Trains in the US are ridiculously cheap. Problem
Is away from the NE corridor there aren't many of them and the Amtrak (government owned and subsidiesd ) passenger services run on privately owned fright tracks where the freight companys' own trains have priority. It's very civilised though. They take your bags like an airline.

I got tickets for four for NY- Washington-Charleston--Orlando for £800. All bar the last leg business class. A great way to see the country but you might not want to do it if you were traveling NY to Florida every week...,

 

[Yossarian]

Do they not have trains in America? Why is every cunt flying everywhere?

Same reason British people traveling to Istanbul, Barcelona, Moscow, etc. would generally take a plane instead of a train, and those cities are a lot closer to London than New York is to LA.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Overbooking is not done for environmental issues or anything like that; the exact same number of flights would fly regardless. One thing it does do is con people into booking flights that they wouldn't have otherwise taken. If you think you can get a seat on the 7pm flight, and the 8pm would be too late, you'll go for that rather than look for alternative arrangements.

People don't take trains because there are no trains. You can get the Amtrak between certain cities on the east coast but outside of that, really, suggesting taking the train in the US will leave people thinking that you're from some sort of alternate steampunk universe.

 

[Combustible]

I was speaking for myself. If I ever visit America to cross it from the east to west, I'd want to take my time and see it from the ground.

Might not even be possible soon

 

[Magnus McGinty]

The corporation wants guaranteed profits AND flexibility. Uhm, ok.
They could sell tickets for flights and tough shit if you miss the flight. That way you can pass the responsibility onto the consumer. But they want to sell premium 'open' tickets, for more money, whilst hedging their bets.
Dragging people off a flight isn't a good business model. They've already paid the money in the premium model.

 

[coley]

Further proof that capitalism sucks, as if any more were needed

True. And The workable alternative is? Life's a bugger ain't it?

 

[coley]

What if you don't want to see more. Just get to where you want to go? Like normal people.

Normal people? I like travelling, as slowly as possible in order to experience the errr 'experience'
I'm starting to think I'm some kind of weirdo, I mean, a very cheap three day layover in Singapore en route to NZ, courtesy of Singapore Airlines and the same offer on the return flight?
No, must rush

 

[xenon]

Normal people? I like travelling, as slowly as possible in order to experience the errr 'experience'
I'm starting to think I'm some kind of weirdo, I mean, a very cheap three day layover in Singapore en route to NZ, courtesy of Singapore Airlines and the same offer on the return flight?
No, must rush

Yeah but you're on holiday, not commuting.

Long train journeys are bullshit. I went to Leeds from Bristol once. On the train. Three fucking hours. For work.

 

[xenon]

I bet some of you get on the bus for fun.

Sad.

 

[bi0boy]

The corporation wants guaranteed profits AND flexibility. Uhm, ok.
They could sell tickets for flights and tough shit if you miss the flight. That way you can pass the responsibility onto the consumer. But they want to sell premium 'open' tickets, for more money, whilst hedging their bets.
Dragging people off a flight isn't a good business model. They've already paid the money in the premium model.

Profit margins in the airline industry are tiny compared to other industries. If they didn't overbook they'd have to squeeze someone else. Perhaps you'd like to see their staff fucked over some more?

The alternative is state subsidy, perhaps you'd prefer that?

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Profit margins in the airline industry are tiny compared to other industries. If they didn't overbook they'd have to squeeze someone else. Perhaps you'd like to see their staff fucked over some more?

The alternative is state subsidy, perhaps you'd prefer that?

I think I'd prefer state subsidy over passengers getting their teeth knocked out, yes. Wouldn't you?