An Ugly Week in the Airline Industry!

We all know that it's been tough in the airline industry lately. Higher oil prices, greedy CEO's, and allegations from whistle-blowers that the FAA is too cozy with the carriers have led to some tense moments recently. This past week, two carriers, Aloha and ATA closed their doors and shut down their businesses leaving many passengers stranded and holding worthless tickets. Well, I suppose that's not entirely true. The tickets might not be completely worthless - From what I read, if the passengers bought their tickets with a credit card, there's a good chance they may get their money refunded. But it's recommended that they call their credit card companies right away and explain that they paid for a service that they did not receive. For those would be passengers who paid with cash or checks.... It could be a lot tougher to get a refund. Worthless tickets aside, these stories continue to be common place in an industry that has suffered since the horrible attacks on 9/11.



Today I watched the following video in awe as an American Airlines flight attendant slammed her company and refused to accept an award for saving a life. What gives here? Please watch:






Alecia Lutz- Rolow, the American Airlines flight attendant in the video, clearly had her own agenda when she was called by the company and invited to this awards ceremony. And she showed up with a plan and executed it. I'll admit, this video leaves me with a lot of questions. If you're like me and wondering what truth, if any, lies in her statements then you're probably forced to evaluate or question her emotional/mental state as well. We would all certainly hope that the safety issues she refers to are not true and that passengers and her fellow crew members are not in danger as they fly, but considering the recent grounding of airplanes by Southwest for missing inspections, I suppose these allegations could be true. And suppose you do assume that Ms. Lutz-Rolow is just a bit disillusioned, or delusional - which is what I'd guess American Airlines would want you to think, then you've got to question the judgement of American Airlines for hiring her in the first place. And if they hired one delusional person, how many others are on on the payroll? Oh, the questions of modern day travel. Tough and ugly times in the airways indeed!