

A Trans-Atlantic Trip Turns Kafkaesque - wicker
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/opinion/sunday/a-trans-atlantic-trip-turns-kafkaesque.html

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michael_miller
As an amateur pilot, it sounds like this was an unfortunate course of events,
but was handled properly. For example, when the altimeter stopped working, it
was the right decision to turn back to Heathrow. When the second plane was
deemed not airworthy, it was the right decision to not fly it. There are many
reasons why an airplane can be unsafe to fly, and it's not always possible to
prevent these incidents from happening, even with good maintenance. The best
that can be done is thorough preflight checks while on the ground, and an
emergency landing if issues crop up while airborne, however slight.

I'll concede that American Airlines could have treated its customers with more
courtesy, offering them food and drink. It's certainly possible that American
could have performed better maintenance on their planes. But it's good to know
that their pilots are safe, and won't risk flying over the ocean if they have
a slight (realistically irrelevant, given GPS) instrument issue.

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ljf
I think the upset is about the way they were treated after the problems were
discovered, and not the problems. That fact that problems heaped upon problems
should have meant the service became more attentive, not less.

Agreed that the pilots did the right thing, but the customer facing staff did
not.

I think the question here is is this an institutional problem with AA, or a
one off. From everything I can seen, and my own experiences flying in the US,
this seems to be a regular issue for AA and other US airlines.

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Someone
Maybe, but after compensating for the exaggeration, I cannot find many
checkable facts as to that.

(I judge the necessary amount of compensation from the statements that they
turned 'halfway across the Atlamtic' and landed 'heavy'. I do not think both
can be true.)

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rhdoenges
If you haven't read _Super Sad True Love Story_ by Gary Shteyngart (author of
this piece) you should.

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molecule
his previous work, The Russian Debutante's Handbook, was a fun read.

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lostlogin
Heathrow has always been terrible for me - except once, when I entered the UK
from New Zealand without showing anyone my passport. I didn't even get it out
my bag. This was pre 9/11 but it weirded me out so much that I nearly walked
back to check with someone that all was ok.

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reeses
I will go to just about any length to avoid LHR. The only exception being when
I am actually terminating in London and not transiting. It is really the most
intentionally wretched airport I have ever visited, although they're all
miserable in their own special ways.

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hollerith
"the most intentionally wretched airport"

I am curious about your choice of the word "intentionally".

Do you think that some person or persons decided to make travelers miserable
_on purpose_ e.g. because they are stuck at work and are bored?

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reeses
I do. It's not so benign as to be out of boredom, but out of the perverse
English character. I'm sure Heathrow is some Enochian pun related to jumping
between hell, purgatory, and limbo.

(Yeah, yeah, don't put on your clever pants, I know where limbo is!)

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ariwilson
I love the ad for Southwest at the bottom.

