The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Opinion Longing to return to friendly skies

February 18, 2024 at 5:33 p.m. EST
Passengers wait to board a Southwest flight to Reagan National Airport on Dec. 25, 2022, at Dallas Love Field. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)

Regarding Bina Venkataraman’s Feb. 12 op-ed, “Flying is a nightmare. It doesn’t have to be.”:

The resiliency of the airline industry is amazing, given the dismal overall customer service performance: cancellations, delays, lost luggage, smaller and uncomfortable seats/leg room, unruly passengers, security lines, international travel nightmares, etc. The remarkable safety record of the industry is due to the extraordinary professionalism and exceptional skills of pilots, air traffic controllers, airline and airport operations staff, flight attendants, etc. The customer service experience? That’s a completely different story.

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Does any other industry in the travel/tourism market have such a bad reputation? How many times have friends or family members told you, “Boy, I’m dreading going to my favorite restaurant tonight,” or, “I’m not looking forward to staying at my favorite hotel/resort for vacation next week”? Nope. When was the last time you heard someone say, “Boy, I’m so excited about my flight later today and can’t wait to get on the plane”? Other than the few travelers fortunate enough to afford first- or business-class seats on long domestic and international flights, never.

More needs to be done for the nearly 3 million travelers tracked each day by the Federal Aviation Administration, but kudos to the Biden administration and Congress, through the pending bipartisan FAA bill, for tackling some of these important consumer issues.

Spencer Dickerson, Alexandria