"I quit flying years ago. I don't want to die with tourists." - Billy Bob Thornton
With American Airlines self-administering a thorough rectal examination at the behest of the FAA, one intrepid, local news reporter went to our "international" airport (which is not entirely a misnomer, since flying OUT of Alabama is essentially flying INTO civilization). There she found a variety of people more than willing to give their expert opinions on the matter of cancelled flights. One lady in particular surprised us all with her capacity for abstract thought:
"They're not thinking about us at all! The paying passengers! Why isn't the government doing something about this? I'm never going to fly American again."
It pains me to have to explain this, but the woman came by her blond hair honestly, so...
American Airlines is not grounding those planes for kicks. They are grounding them because a huge federal bureaucracy, known as the FAA, has a laundry list of regulations that require them to do so. In addition, the airline does not want to face tremendous lawsuits should something go wrong. Cancelling flights does nothing positive for AMR (the parent company of American Airlines - with stocks owned by evil rich people, like union workers with pension funds). If you feel a lone martyr in this, American Airlines and their shareholders are taking one hell of a financial screwing in comparison to your earth-shattering inconvenience. The government IS doing something about it, which is exactly WHY your flight is cancelled. In addition, the government was most likely the source of your formal "education", so it would make perfect sense that this situation is COMPLETELY incomprehensible to you.
I sure hope she remembers to vote for Obama on Wednesday. Perhaps Margaret Sanger had it right after all.
1 comment:
"Why isn't the government doing something about this?"
Gov't meddling aside, it drives me nuts that so many people have this reaction. What kind of helpless moron looks to the gov't to solve all of their problems? I've never been confronted with a delayed flight and thought to myself, "why isn't the gov't fixing this?" That strikes me as so illogical - almost random thinking - that the question cannot possibly have an answer. She might as well ask, "why isn't Yogi Bear doing something about this?" It makes just as much sense.
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