By now, of course, everyone has experienced the fifteen minutes of fame of Steven Slater, Jet Blue's poster boy for customer service and "angry young flight attendant". While a bit of a seriocomic episode in these tough economic times, there are a few lessons to be learned.
A bit of examination into Mr. Slater's self-described life and career shows a somewhat eccentric guy who may have too much of a flair for the dramatic. But what we know from the media of the episode, we can glean a few things and maybe extrapolate a bit.
First, JBD reminds us once again of what modern air travel has become. I'm old enough to remember the days when flying was considered a luxury. Heck, when I was a kid, my parents dressed me up in preparation for an airline trip. The men wore coats and ties, the women wore dresses. Yes, this was the Mad Men era of the mid-Sixties, before the social upheavals later in the decade upset a lot of so-called "norms". But flying was a luxury in those days, and an air trip was considered something special.
With airline deregulation being the principal cause, something changed. You may know where I'm going with this, so will head you off right here. Yes, flying is now more affordable for more people. That's a big plus in convenience and has been of benefit to millions. (Of course, there was a price. With no requirement that airlines had to serve a certain number of cities, flying to the smaller burgs in this country can now cost about as much as a second mortgage. Ask your friends who live in, say, Omaha or Fargo.)
The trouble is, with air travel now available to the masses, a certain level of civility has been lost over the years. No, I don't rent a tux every time I go on a trip. But when I see some Goth kid boarding my flight to San Diego, I kind of wonder about things; ditto the aging Harley chick covered in tramp stamps. Things have changed, and not for the better. What was once the domain of Greyhound has expanded to our primary mode of travel.
Point Two: Where dia all these fees come from? One airline has actually started charging for carryons. Perfect. You pay to check a bag, or you pay to carry it on. Don't even start with all the other charges, a la peanuts, Coke or water. Out of control.
Solution, maybe, though an albeit unpopular one. Regulate the airlines again, requiring them to serve everyone, even in the non-New York cities. Reinstate the Civil Aeronautics Board (sorry, Gen-Xers, an old agency) but allowing the airlines to charge reasonably accurate fares to these outposts. And the airlines need to actually charge what a flight costs. Yes, this will cost some business in the short term, but can profit in the long term.
And one other thing: Build a high speed rail system. Time to institute a competition to the airlines. Every other developed country in the world has one, or at least a version of it. President Obama has proposed this, albeit in a too limited basis. But it will put people to work and give citizens an affordable alternative to the chaos in the skies. See some nice scenery, too.
And to Jet Blue Dude: Good on ya, bro. Lots of folks can't afford to just up and quit, and this little episode will probably give you your fifteen minutes as well as bit of scratch. But you might want to delete this job from your resume when you decide it's time to look for a job.
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