Seat Lock Starts Fight on Flight!

At some point, perhaps not yet settled in law, people on board cease to be voluntary passengers and become involuntary hostages or kidnap victims.

There should be no question that hostages and kidnap victims are fully justified in opening the emergency exit doors, deploying the emergency slides, and escaping their confinement. Though I'd hope that they'd be calling 911 (or local country equivalent) for an hour before popping the doors.

There have been a few quite egregious cases of airline staff knowing that their vessels would be delayed for considerable periods, but deliberately misinformed passengers before loading, or kept passengers detained on board until well after alternate flights on competing airlines had departed. For travelers on limited time budgets and with other transportation choices, this is inexcusable, possibly even fraudulent. For others, it is a health hazard. And for all of them, it is a contemptible way to treat customers.

 

@99 is interesting as a different view from our 'Interesting China Stories' thread.

In China one does not tip in restaurants.

In China a hotel room without a hot-water 'kettle' is all wrong.

 

Negotiatin' @100. No you cannot. Give it an effing chance. The modulations and thematic recapitulations will work their magic. Even on you.

American (phenomenally talented black musician) jazz really elevated music. Scorn may come from a pie-slice of it, where they wander off into space just to prove they can make a path back to theme later.

You think I aim to punish but it is not so. Trying to fill a hole in your aesthetics.

 

I agree that today's music wouldn't be what it is without jazz. It wouldn't be what it is without skiffle either. Both are vital precursors to today's excellent pop music.

But just because something is an ingredient of something good doesn't mean I'd like it by itself. My (excellent) raspberry sponge cake wouldn't be what it is without flour or baking soda. But I don't enjoy either of those things on their own.

 

egregious cases@101 rings true. Telling less than the truth can be particularly harmful here.

Service we intend to buy may differ a lot from that (legalistically) presented in "terms of carriage".

Don't know how to fix it. Southwest and Jet Blue come to mind as US domestic carriers moving towards pax satisfaction. If their moves are too small, does that suggest a business opportunity? Something related to internet connectivity. Maybe a mediating service instead of an airline per se.

But I cannot imagine it; my mind is too full of transcendent piano jazz right now.

 

They probably picked up this concept from older American movies, when baggage was still free. That was not very long ago ...

Back when I was still working (and traveling occasionally for business), WiFi fees existed only in the more expensive properties. Cheap places more in line with my personal travel budget, when they had WiFi, nearly always provided it for free.

 

I certainly felt like that in the Beijing Airport incident described earlier. When you're not being told what's going on, it really does become a problem.

I had an incident in which I walked out of an airport when my plane was delayed by 27 hours - on a Shanghai to Hong Kong flight, which should have only been two hours. While I gave up after five hours (after which I'd already missed my meeting in HK), others, I was told the next day when I went back to catch a flight to my rescheduled meeting, stayed. At one point, when the flight was 19 hours late and passengers were told they'd be bussed 200km to stay at a hotel in Hangzhou, some violence kicked off. Dragonair staff called the riot police. When they discovered what was going on, the riot police said they'd arrest the staff rather than the passengers if the situation wasn't resolved.

What annoyed me on that flight was the lying. We were told the delays were due to fog in Shanghai which was stopping all flights from taking off. I could see a Korean Air plane taking off while the Dragonair lady was telling me this. Then it was due to a typhoon hitting Hong Kong. It wasn't. It turns out that Dragonair had wet-leased too many of its planes to other airlines, and had accidentally run out of planes. Passengers kept being told they'd take off as soon as the weather cleared when Dragonair knew there'd be nothing for at least a day.

I haven't flown Dragonair or Cathay Pacific since then.

 

raspberry sponge cake@104. I would let that weak analogy grow mould on its own. And yet

1. There is a chance that a more eloquent proponent of Jazz would speak to us here.
2. You don't know what baking soda is, or why it is used. Don't 'chemistry' against me, Sir.
3. Skiffle? Maybe. see Calypso. Kora. Morna. Music as voice of weak against the strong. That falls apart with rich rappers wearing massive gold necklaces.
4. Whatever compelling music is, it is not an ingredient in later music.

 

There are ways to deal with problems if the airline respects its passengers. The airline can deal with the problems legally - as is its right - and make its passengers angry, or deal with them well, and make them happy.

I once had to fly from Singapore to HK on Singapore Airlines. When I checked in, the check-in lady said, "We've made a terrible mistake and have massively overbooked this flight. Are you willing to go on a list of people who are prepared to be bumped on to the next flight which leaves four hours later? If you go on the list, we'll give you a Mont Blanc pen. If you then do get bumped on to the next flight, then the next time you fly with us, to anywhere in the world, you can book an economy ticket and we'll upgrade you to Business." I went on the list, but was devastated not to get bumped on to the next flight. So I got the pen but not the upgrade. SQ owned their mistake, and left their customers happy.

Philippine Airlines last year had jazz piano cover versions of early-2000s nu-metal hits, such as "Numb" by Linkin Park.

Listen to it, and imagine it covered by a jazz pianist.

Now imagine that, but played through aeroplane speakers. On a tape. That's been stretched through overplaying. As you're taxiing through Manila Airport, nothing boosts your confidence in the aeroplane's maintenance like ill-conceived music being misplayed through a faulty tape player.

 

I think they picked up the concept from flying domestically in China, where baggage is still free.

It's across all types of hotel here. It's ridiculous.

 

All that @107. hkmb has been particularly inconvenienced by domestic air travel in China. Readers might well fear for their - lives? - In doing such things. Against which, only my own much less difficult experiences say little.

 

Jazz fans are often eloquent.

Oh, but I do.

In many cases, I'd disagree with that last point. Obviously I'll agree with you when it comes to the downtrodden rebel and utterly talentless but inexplicably-popular rapper who spent his childhood at Nanjing University where his mummy was a Fulbright Scholar. But with others, just because they're rich now doesn't mean they don't know what it is to be poor and downtrodden and weak.

No, that's absolutely what it is. Even jazz did not spring fully-formed from the ether.

 

It's safe. It's just sometimes annoying. And my worst experience, @107, wasn't even on a Mainland Chinese airline.

But domestically, I very much prefer the train.

 

Current rules, imposed in 2009, were accelerated by some nasty cases, including a 9 hour hold and an overnight hold on the tarmac. New rules require continual access to operable lavatories, food and water within 2 hours, and return to the terminal for a deplaning choice within 3 hours, with exceptions for safety or security. But only on domestic U.S. flights:
New DOT Consumer Rule Limits Airline Tarmac Delays, Provides Other Passenger Protections | US Department of Transportation

 

I declare victory and retreat. Or defeat; under local circumstance they are hard to distinguish.

 

Dang, I was hoping for a certain officeholder to do that, instead of you.

 

Eee up! Thee's just reminded me of t'wonderful Yorkshire Airlines advert, and for the benefit of those who live on this (Left) Coast of T'Pond, it's a British Thing (more particularly Yorkshire) ( @RCO will understand)

 

Now that's funny!

 

Geographically close, but @kithmo is closer.

 

Take care what you wish for!