Dave's Fiction Warehouse

I hate flying. I hate the airline industry. I specifically hate USAirways.  I don't hate the employees of USAirways, just the company itself. It is the epitome of all that has gone wrong with American capitalism. It is a company that systematically degrades the quality of its product while constantly increasing the cost for it. It is a company that treats customers the same way it treats their luggage.  The company is posting record profits -- up about 90 percent after merging with American Airlines in 2013. That's a function of two things: reduced competition on more than 1,600 routes, and dramatically lower fuel costs. The guy who runs USAirways/American makes about $20 million a year. You'd think windfall profits might allow slight improvements in customer service. If you do think that, you should get your head out of your ass.  On a recent flight out to Vegas, and then back a week later, I experienced what has become the depressing standard in U.S. air travel: every ...

L ucky me. Today I received this check in the mail for $1,350, from my good friends at U.S. Airlines. Apparently I can use it for round-trip tickets to any place in the country. Sweet. Now all I have to do is figure out where in the hell U.S. Airlines is, exactly. I know it’s not U.S. Airways, since that carrier isn’t known for sending out checks willy-nilly, especially since the merger with American. Checking the Internet, the only mention I can find of U.S. Airlines is in connection with long-running scam wherein certain crooked bastards send out real-looking checks in the hope of persuading idiots to sign on to a timeshare scheme. But that can’t be it. Because I’m no idiot. And it says right there on the check that it’s no timeshare scheme. Anyway, I’m off to deposit my check. And from there to Donnie’s Rent-to-Own Luggage to piss away a portion of my newfound travel budget. Easy come, as they say. And easy go.