Poshdeluxe

ok, guys, WHAT IS UP WITH THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY.

over the weekend, i flew to phoenix to attend my friend jay’s wedding (more on that later this week). normally, i ADORE flying. it’s so much fun to sit in the airport and watch people and absorb that delightfully liminal feeling of so many possibilities, so many lives intermingling for one tiny moment before they jet off to their destinations. i love sitting by the gate with a fresh new paperback in one hand and an auntie anne’s pretzel in the other, thrilled with the knowledge that i am about to GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! jet setting pants!

but this weekend? even a lovely pair of french children sitting across from me couldn’t save the airline industry from FAIL.

first of all, i got charged $30 for my bag. and i thought i was doing the airline a favor for NOT trying to stuff it into an overhead container. $30?!! tim (who was traveling with me) and i decided that we’d rather they just tack it on to the ticket price. if you’re going to scam me, american airlines, I DON’T KNOW WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT. i demand to be an ignorant consumer!

then, and this was the worst part, my flight from dallas to austin was delayed. now, i’ve experienced many, many delays in my time. usually, i just head over to the local TGIF’s or chili’s and order a margarita and some fries. EASY PEASY. but last night? my 11 PM flight was delayed until 12:44 AM. which meant i arrived in austin around 1:45 AM.

and you know what’s open at the airport at 11 PM? NOTHING. NOTHING IS OPEN. there was even an announcement that the security station was shutting down, so we were trapped in the terminal until the plane came.

honestly, it started to feel like a stephen king novel. which was a thought that brought me great comfort, strangely enough. i think that’s a bad sign.

so, i know that the airline industry is suffering cos of expensive fuel, but is that really the main problem? can someone out there break this down for me? i tried doing a little (read: five minutes) research, but all i found was a NYT article from last year about how passenger delays are worse than people thought (ORLY) and a highly comforting WSJ post informing me that things are actually going to be WORSE in the fall. great. awesome. thanks.

airline industry, UR DOIN IT WRONG.

i can’t help but feel like there’s more to it than fuel prices. what do you guys think? what have been yr experiences lately?

of course, even in the face of ridiculous and inexplicable delays, the human spirit triumphs. last night, my grumpiness quickly melted away as i watched people around me befriend each other, bonded by a common crisis. it was like “independence day” but without the aliens or death. i even ran into my friend alex, who lives in LA, and the delay gave us an unexpected opportunity to catch up with each other.

but my favorite moment happened when a guy took out a mini-soccer ball and began to kick it around the terminal. soon, he was joined by some airport workers, and an impromptu soccer game began.

this is probably the most awesome thing i’ve ever seen at an airport.

so yeah, there was something heartwarming about how people handled the delay last night. but i’ve got the feeling that we’ll need more than the human spirit and a soccer ball to conquer this airline problem.

in the meantime, when i fly to boston later this week, i am soooo bringing a kickball.