?The Friendly Skies?

Anyone here old enough to remember that old United Airlines slogan? Anyone here remember friendly skies - pleasant flights - the time when getting onto an airplane was part of the fun, for a trip, maybe the primary real reason for the trip?  :

Saw another thread from a newby retired pilot. Didn?t want to hijack it, so decided to post this piece of curiosity, here.

Who still flies? Who won?t? Under what conditions will or won?t you? Anybody still enjoy it? Anybody do it for fun? (Flying, I?m talking about.) I was getting about fed up, in the late 80s.  ???

Took a ?fun? trip to Vegas, in 98. Wife and I, both, got the ?special treatment? behind the closed curtains at every stop. Went from Boise to SLC. Got searched in Boise. SLC to Phoenix. Searched there. Phoenix to Vegas where we had a good time for several days. Then, searched in Vegas on the way to Frisco. Searched there, on the way back to Boise. Swore off flying as I hadn?t had a good time in years, and had paid good money to be abused.

Took another chance in 2001. Went to D.C. Can?t report as trip story is rated X for gratuitous violence, both ways. Did have a good time in D.C. and visiting my son and family. 

Went to K.C. on UAL, ( to pick up a 91 Allegro in 2003.) I?ll skip the attendant who threw my suitcases onto my feet, on the wheelchair, boarding the plane in Boise, leaving me limping for several months. We were to be met in K.C. by personnel who would wheel us to the baggage claim.

The guy who picked up my wife was in a hurry, and left pushing her on the run, her screaming objections, to no avail.  Last I saw of her, for a while.

My guy didn?t show up. Stewardess pushed me out onto the boarding tunnel, on the little lazy Susan, close to the airplane. It made it easier for the people boarding to get around me. The airplane left and the whole tunnel moved away from there.

After some time, I pushed the wheel chair up the ramp, and through the door, myself. I went to the UAL desk and asked for help. I was about done in. ?Did you call ahead and ask for someone?? she asked. ?Yes.?  ?Sir, they will be here shortly. Wait right over there . . . .?

Later, I saw a cop, walking a short distance away. I flagged him down. He solved the problem in just a few minutes. Thank you K.C. Airport P.D.  When I got to the baggage claim, my wife and brother were talking to the Airport Police, about to file a missing person?s report. Just in time. (She was still furious, after her ride!)

What would it take to get me back on a commercial flight? I?m an old Air Force boy! I can?t imagine what would make me fly, commercial, again. (I?d get on an ol? Gooney Bird, or just about anything with the Stars and Bars on it.)  ;D

Ray D.  ;D

Hi Ray,

Having traveled by air for a living for many years, I now avoid airplanes except for emergencies. As you suggest, it used to be much less hassle to travel that way, but those days are long gone thanks to 9/11. I have no issue with airport security measures and feel they add a degree of safety, but they do make it less "fun" to travel. OTOH other countries where I've traveled have had similar or greater security measures in place for many more years.

Sorry to hear about the "treatment" you received by airline &/or airport staff and I have no reason to doubt your stories. However, I think that airline staff often get mistreated by some passengers; On numerous occasions I've been shocked at the verbal abuse they take and the restraint they show. Some of the 'passenger behavior' stories that came out when airline staff testified on the hill were mind boggling. It doesn't make your experience any easier to accept, but it might explain why some folks may have been having a bad day.

It's one thing to be rude to the passengers, but to do so to one that needs special services is inexcusable.  That kind of treatment deserves to be reported to the FAA and perhaps the media.

[rant on]
Airport security (TSA) in this country is a joke.  They are in reactive mode and just going through a lot of wasted motions and inconveniencing and embarrassing the passengers to absolutely no effect.  We are not safer now, nor will we be until TSA is straightened out by someone who understands how security really works.  Until then you will suffer at the hands of untrained personnel with way too much authority and little responsibility.

If you want a realistic viewpoint of security in this country and others, not just airport, read Bruce Schneier's web site.
[rant off]

The above opinions are those of the writer and not of the management.

I have seen my share of rude customers in just about any line of business. Sometimes, I think the effort put into tolerating them is wasted.

The recent "delays" on the east coast gave me the shivers. 11 hours, trapped, waiting to take off, is over the top, by a mile. OOPS!! Those "delays" were horror stories worthy of the name! They are happening more and more frequently. (Though the 11 hour ones were the worst I've heard of.)

There was a time when that entire industry was friendly. Flying was pleasant. The modern adversarial relationship is too much for me.

And, I doubt that the crews like the situation any more than the passengers. Some of them can remember The Friendly Skies, too.

Got a motorhome. Takes a little longer, but I'll get there.

Of course, if I am going just 400 to 600 miles, and in a hurry, I'll drive it for sure. Counting the time getting to the airport, security, boarding, delays and then getting out of the airport at the destination, I can beat the flying bus with the family bus and arrive in a more rested, happier mood!

Ray D  ;D

Ned said:

Airport security (TSA) in this country is a joke.  They are in reactive mode and just going through a lot of wasted motions and inconveniencing and embarrassing the passengers to absolutely no effect.  We are not safer now, nor will we be until TSA is straightened out by someone who understands how security really works.  Until then you will suffer at the hands of untrained personnel with way too much authority and little responsibility.

Click to expand...

One of the reasons I don't like to use my retirement travel benefits is the TSA.  As soon as they discover you are an airline employee or retired employee, you are immediately pulled aside to do the extensive searches.  The reason is, they have a quota of searches that has to be done during their shifts.  They know if they search an airline employee, they won't find anything, won't have to fill out the requisite paperwork if they did find something, and they painlessly (for them) fulfill their quota.

Don

Ned: Thanks. I wanted to say that, but didn't have the guts.  :-\ The security at the check in is for appearances. It's to make you "feel" safe.  :

It is particularly difficult for my wife. Sorry, Mr. Security, she rings your bells with the metal plates in her spine and her feet. it doesn't matter how much you have her take off. She'll still ring your bell, and she told you that. And, by the way, she knows about terrorism, personally. She was a paramedic, injured in the Oklahoma Federal Building bombing.

She explains why she rings the gates, before she gets to them. They pay no attention, can't hear her. She doesn't tell them how she got that way. I have a great deal of difficulty, watching that. For me, it's reason enough to avoid flying, all by itself.

Ray D

Hey, Don!  ;D can't tell you why, but I had a hunch.  ;D

I thought, "You know, I'll bet he is old enough to remember at least the tail end of the "Friendly Skies." As you might guess, I have and have had quite a few two carreer flying friends. I've enjoyed an hour, now and then, in the cockpit. (Won't be doing that, anymore!) Sometimes, gallows humor is the only thing left that is funny. I won't go into that. Welcome aboard. Good crew here.  ;D

Ray D  ;D

Ray,

I usually ring the bell too, but for a different reason. Personally, I have no issue with the searches, pat downs, etc.

I remember the Friendly skies and used to fly Pan Am (remember those guys?) many moons ago.

He ought to stick to computer security. Yes, it could be improved, but it's way better than it used to be. Yes, employees could be better trained, but they're still better than the independent contractors previously used by TSA.

In the days long before modem-friendly hotels and when hotel WiFi was non-existent, I used to travel with a toolkit and hookups that wouldn't make it through today's security, but was necessary to get online at a whopping 300 baud. Always sailed through security with that stuff in my carry-on. For many years, all I took was carry-on because I hated waiting for checked luggage. Chris used to tell me I took the same amount of luggage for 3 days as I took for 3 weeks.

Edit: BTW I don't claim to be a security expert by any stretch of the imagination. Just a passenger who's flown several million miles around/to/from the USA, Europe and Asia.

Tom, scratching my head, trying to estimate if I have even one - million miles. Might be close. Don't have several million miles, even counting my fly-boy years.  ;D

Spent many an hour in The Constellation. Loved every minute of it. You reminded me. That was Pan AM, wasn't it? 

Ray D  ;D

No, security is not better than it used to be.  Right now it's no security at all, just reacting to previously suspected threats and not considering the bigger picture.  Read Schneier's material before passing judgment on his opinions.  He served on one of the government panels on airport security and what little he is allowed to say says volumes about the sad state of affairs.

Especially good reading are his articles on movie scenario threats.

Ned,

I'll talk with you when you've flown some more  ;D  I could tell you lots of security stories, but I'll save that for some scotch around the campfire. Someone who writes a book isn't necessarily an expert 

BTW I still prefer traveling in my RV or my boat to flying.
[edit]Fixed typos[/edit]

Ray D said:

The recent "delays" on the east coast gave me the shivers. 11 hours, trapped, waiting to take off, is over the top, by a mile. OOPS!! Those "delays" were horror stories worthy of the name!

Click to expand...

I'm with you on that one Ray. Inexcusable. There were no gates to return to, but they could have deplaned the passengers onto buses. In some airports, bus is the only way to get to the terminal.

Ray D said:

That was Pan AM, wasn't it?

Click to expand...

The "friendly skies" ad was UAL. Pan AM were the guys who used to fly the Clipper out of Treasure Island on San Francisco Bay in the days when folks used to dress in their "best suits" to make the trip.

For the past two decades or so General Aviation has had its share of detractors who forecast the end of the corporate and private aircraft industries. In spite of liability issues, technolgy that should help make business travel less necessary, spiraling costs including fuel, AND the TSA, the industry is still heathy and growing, thanks to the airlines!

Except when necessary we have chosen to travel by RV or other means to avoid air travel but those who have no choice will do anything to avoid being treated as they are by the TSA and disgruntled airline personnel. And for convienence and security GA does provide an alternative.

I did my share of flying in past years, but you couldn't get me on a commercial airliner today if you paid me.  Schneier is more than just someone who wrote a book.  He has been involved in the security business for longer than most of the other so called "experts" and is one of the few that shows common sense when discussing security.  Read some of his material, then you can make a judgment.  I've been reading his blog for several years and I've found very little that doesn't make sense to me.  I can't say that about our government agencies (HSA, TSA, etc.).

I flew the Friendly Skies when they were friendly

Ned said:

...you couldn't get me on a commercial airliner today if you paid me.

Click to expand...

As I said, I kinda feel that way, but it's tough to achieve when you need to travel internationally 

I flew the Friendly Skies when they were friendly

Click to expand...

How many trips/miles was that? A few trips across the U.S. isn't much    I don't pretend to have flown as much as professional airline pilots or many passengers that I know. All I can report is my experiences, but prefer not to quote someone else's experiences as being "the word".

Oh, the deal on writing books is that many folks need to write books in order to establish themselves as "experts"; Prior to publication they were lost in the professional (or amateur) world. I hasten to add that I don't put some well known/published forum members in that category.

I still pefer traveling by boat or RV to flying the friendly skies. I can walk out the back door and travel "internationally" without leaving the water  ;D

Tom: I wouldn't bet a lot on my memory, but I think Pan Am also, later, flew The Connstellation. The "Connie." That was the really sleek old three tailed bird. I loved flying in that. I'd take a trip, just for the flight!

I've had some good flights, some bad ones, some scarry ones. Stood by the back door of a 119, once, waiting to bail out of a disabled plane. (Electronics and hydrolics) Lucked out, and the problem was solved, able to land. But, nothing scares me as much as the security gate at a modern airport. The D.C. trip I mentioned, I was advised to be there three hours in advance. (At D.C.) I was there, four hours in advance. The gate took five hours! It was a long line! I made the plane because they were two hours late, loading. Understand, I got there, past security, and still waited an hour. Then, they searched me, again! I had been at the airport for six hours when we loaded. I still had to fly to Idaho, that day. Obviously, we missed our connections. Made it, anyway, finally.

I think that every two to four years, I have to try it again, to remind myself why I don't fly.

Friendly Skies - R. I. P. :'(

Ray D  :'(

Ray D said:

...nothing scares me as much as the security gate at a modern airport.

Click to expand...

LOL Ray.

I think that every two to four years, I have to try it again, to remind myself why I don't fly. Friendly Skies

Click to expand...

That's about where I'm at Ray. But, since some of my family lives overseas, there's not much choice for me    I delayed my last trip to see my Mom and received a call as we were about to leave for the airport; I was too late. Same story when I made the last trip to see my Dad 15 years ago.

Tom

Funny you would mention that. It's a small world! That's why this has been on my mind, lately. I'm waiting on a procedure, at the VA, this week. I'm just a bit fragile. May get back on my feet, shortly.

My dad, at 98, died last Friday, the 13th. Figure him to go on a Friday the 13th. It's appropriate.

The motorhome is summerized, but the weather in the midwest is bad, and I didn't want to chance it. (Southern Missouri.) Wasn't happy about the prospects of going through Wyoming, quite this early, either. Family all told me to stay home.

Thought about flying. Decided not to. Pay that much money to fly, miss my procedure and have to wait on reschedule in the fall, and get beat up in the process? My dad would never approve of that!

I'll say good by, from here! Got a kid going, as my ambassador.

Ray D.  ;D