Young people back Baldwin: Poll

I've been bombarded with lots of comments re. my blog last week in support of Alec Baldwin's refusal to turn off his cell phone while on a parked plane, which eventually led to his removal from that plane by the "airline Nazis" employed by bankrupt American Airlines.

A majority of the comments were in support of my position that the entire "turn off all electronics or the pilot won't be able to talk to the tower" lecture we get aboard flights is total nonsense and the pilots are probably on their cell phones arranging a tee time in the next city as they taxi.

Well, it turns out a lot of young people think the same as me.

According to the Atlanta-based polling firm Poll Position, which conducted a phone survey right after the Baldwin incident, 70 per cent of people between the ages of 18-29 said "yes" when asked "Do you think passengers on a plane should be able to play electronic games with others while on the runway awaiting takeoff?"

On the opposite side, 56 per cent of Americans 65 and over agreed with the airlines and said passengers should not be allowed to play games on cell phones or other electronic devices while awaiting takeoff. What the poll did not show is that probably 90 per cent of that 56 per cent number wouldn't know how to play a game on their cell phone.

For his part, Baldwin had some fun with the incident. On Saturday Night Live this past week, Baldwin, dressed as a pilot, apologized to himself.

Don't we all wish airline employees had a sense of humor like this?

See a breakdown of the full Poll Position survey at http://media.pollposition.com.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/Poll-Position-Crosstabs-Electronic-games-on-plane.pdf.

Ryanair gouging the public again

Ryanair, maybe the worst airline in the world when it comes to gouging passengers, will start charging customers $160 per check in bag starting next summer, according to British media reports.

That would be the highest baggage fees in the world and you know if people pay it, other airlines will soon up their fees.

So, let me get this right - Ryanair charges $10 for a flight from London to Paris but with bag fees and taxes the fare quickly jumps to well over $300 - about what British Airways charges its customers.

During the low season, from October to May, Ryanair says the cost of the first bag will go up from $50 to about $95 and in the summer it will rise to $160. A second checked bag will cost you as much as $215.

The airline, which also plans to remove bathrooms and give passengers a plastic bag just in case, says they are introducing the new fares to discourage people from bringing too much luggage.

If this latest stunt by the world's worst airline doesn't discourage people from flying it, well then, the Irish and Brits who keep it in the air deserve what they get.

American Airlines is out of touch

The problems at American Airlines just keep piling up.

After declaring bankruptcy last week and starting this week by tossing actor Alec Baldwin off a flight, the troubled carrier closed the week by losing four of its top executives, including CEO Gerald Arpey.

The executive defections came after all four, and especially Arpey, disagreed with the airline board's decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection - a ploy used by its competitors to strip airline employees of negotiated contract deals, claw back or eliminate pension plans and deny suppliers of money owed.

I'm not sure whose dummer, banks who lend money to airlines or ones who lend money to European countries. The result is always the same - bankruptcy.

Restructuring the airline will be made harder because of the executive revolt but you can bet AA will find other cutthroat execs who will find ways to screw employees and creditors.

AA is not the first airline and won't be the last to misuse Chapter 11 for its own  advantage - think Wall St. greed here folks - but one wonders why the U.S. government, which touts standing up for the middle class, doesn't stop this nonsense which always results in higher costs to the middle class flyer.

Oh, but of course, the U.S. government's is also bankrupt - of money and integrity!

Baldwin right to challenge air Nazis

Sorry Superman, but I have a new hero - Alec Baldwin.

The grumpy old man of Hollywood took on the "airline Nazis" (a.k.a. flight attendants) today and got tossed off a bankrupt American Airlines flight in Los Angeles for doing so. (Getting kicked off an AA flight is the good news - that way you never have to experience the airline's incompetent service and the flight attendants' arrogance; the main reasons why this pathetic carrier is now on the scrap heap of a once dignified industry).



Back on board today's flight with Baldwin: The star of 30 Rock and countless Hollywood flicks, Baldwin, the one actor every common man like me can connect with, got into a verbal sparring match with flight attendants after refusing to turn off his cell phone - he was apparently playing a word game at the time but the aircraft was still parked at the gate.



The always gruff Baldwin apparently told the attendants to take a hike and continued playing his game. According to a statement released later in the day by the bankrupt airline, they are accusing the actor of being "extremely rude to the crew" (good, maybe now they now how it feels) and says he called them "inappropriate names" and used "offensive language." (Who among us has not wanted to yell at a rude flight attendant?)

Thank you Alec for bringing this whole "please turn off your cell phones and electronic devices" nonsense to the forefront. We all know now that electronic devices like cellphones and computers do not interfere with communications between pilot and tower during takeoff and landing - just ask any industry expert of you don't believe. If that was the case, then satellite transmissions that feed on board entertainment systems (which are on during takeoff and landing) would have the same effect. Ditto for online feeds that are now provided to many planes.

Oh, I forgot, the airlines charge to use those electronic services so that makes it okay.

What a lot nonsense and good for Baldwin for standing up to the "airline Nazis." 

Of course, the attendants on AA flights are so old, which Baldwin pointed out in his Twitter comment after being tossed off, maybe they no longer have to eyesight to see the latest data on electronic devices. I swear, the last AA flight I took, I was sure two of the grossly overweight attendants would reach retirement age before we landed.

Please, dear God, let American Airlines go out of business!