I was back and forth between going with AA and DL after I moved to Dallas but the horror stories RE: AA make me want to go free agent lol. I'll probably end up going with DL though, apparently they'll let me match my OZ status with a challenge and I get SkyClub access when flying DL with my Amex Plat. WN can fill the gaps where DL won't work.

I used to shop IAH, DFW and AUS with international travel but I figure if I'm going to reposition I might as well shop LAX and NYC - they get all the sale fares while we in DFW are stuck with the AA/OW monopoly.

 

Well that works well for monsters that use mixers. Less subtle for those of us that enjoy a nice pure pour

 

That's what I did, status match to DL and use the Plat to get SkyClub access. Also, it's nice at DFW flying DL and at DAL to arrve at the same terminal you departed from as far as parking goes (though I wouldn't be making a decision based on that).

I haven't found many great INTL fares out of IAH, DFW or AUS due to the AA/UA hubs and the fact that AUS has limited international destinations. I look at LAX, NYC and even ORD when pricing INTL flights and have had good luck there.

 

A study showed that conspicuous inequality (such as economy passengers having to walk past first class) is a significant driver of air rage. Yet airlines continue to let first class passengers board first, close the curtain between economy and first, tell economy passengers to not use the forward lav, and highlight at every turn how much better first class is. Why? Because it's profitable.

So, no, I'm not very sympathetic to airlines blaming air rage on alcohol. If anything, letting first class imbibe uninhibited while passengers in the back are told "there's no alcohol onboard" just makes things worse.

 

I just fly the airplanes, and report what I've experienced as an airline pilot for the past 25 years or so. Never once have I had a passenger get angry (or at least say that was the reason) due to having to walk past the first class cabin, or use the rear lavatory and end up causing a flight to be diverted or a return to the gate. I'm not saying it hasn't happened, but I don't recall an incident related to those items.

As for first class being profitable for the airlines - I'm not privy to the profit piece, but probably half the folks traveling first class on my airline are doing so via some sort of upgrade path (FF, miles redemption, etc) and our not paying the full first class airfare. (Noted, there are exceptions on some routes we fly)

 

This makes the point even more that first class is profitable for the airlines. Yes, some people decide to pay for F whenever they fly while others fly tens of thousands of miles a year on paid economy tickets with a specific airline in the hopes of ataining status that will get them a free upgrade. If the upgrades didn't exist and first wasn't substantially differentiated from economy, people would fly whatever was the cheapest/most convenient rather than sticking with one airline.

 

Weirdly, on my flight yesterday, the alcohol announcement was made by the captain pre-flight, not by the purser.

In my flying experience, I've only encountered 1 alcohol-related incident in first class. In this case, the passenger was drunk, cut off by the crew, and was brazen enough to raid the trolley when the F galley was not occupied. I went back to the back galley to report the incident, and I swear I have never seen two FAs run down the aisle that quickly.

That's correct - it had to do with some intelligence report related to liquid explosives. Similarly, the shoe removal rule was related to some guy attempted to light their shoe on fire onboard a flight.

 

Have you flown a domestic first class cabin recently? Other than a larger seat, the differences aren't vast. Unless of course you want that crappy glass of red wine or a few mini bottles of alcohol...

I will ask the question on our employee site, but I suspect we make more money in fees, than we do operating a premium cabin.

 

And how often did misbehaving passengers tell you they were angry because they were drunk? I'm not saying that alcohol doesn't contribute to some misbehavior, but so do many other decisions airlines make like packing passengers in like sardines or making inequality conspicuous. People get drunk all the time without incident – blaming alcohol for air rage is convenient scapegoating.

 

You completely missed my point. You stated that over half of the cabin was made up of people upgrading through status/miles/etc. which shows that those folks are flying one airline in order to achieve that status and have the chance at upgrades. If you removed the F cabin, people would no longer be airline loyal and fly whoever was most convenient. More competition leads to lower ticket prices which in turn leads to reduced profits.

So while you may not make money directly from F, you would certainly see a hit on your P&L if you removed it.

Also, as someone who's 6'2" the extra legroom and wider seat is definitely a plus.

 

I've had a FA put my Glenlivet in a coffee cup with a stirrer. Kind of looks like tea.

On the flip side, I was in F on the late Jet Airways (LHR-BOM) and the FA put coke in my single malt.

 

With respect to FF miles used to upgrade, you do realize the FF program is the often the only part of the AA operation that makes money, right? And how many coach passengers are flying on full coach (Y) fares? Not many (and certainly FAR less than half) but that does not mean the coach cabin is not profitable. Finally, MY experience as a high spend Ex Plat is that less than 20% of seats are going to upgrades and the rest are booked in F which, yes, includes discounted (but yet still profitable to AA) first class fares.

 

Let these people shell $18K out of their pocket every year like I do and then they too can sit up front and have a drink. Or just buy a first class ticket. Really, should Wal Mart shoppers go on a rage at Neiman Marcus (are they still in business?) This is society today. Too lazy to get off their butts to improve their life and instead blame others.

 

 

While you've certainly got more hours in the air than many of us, I have never in ~20 years of flying, seen any alcohol related incidents. Data does not show it being as significant either - so either data is wrong, or they were never reported (can't fix something you don't know about).

I can manage to go as long as needed without a drink. Suggesting that everyone that wants to drink on a flight has "bigger issues" is childish at best. The difference is that I want to have a drink. Many times when flying, I'm either going on a personal trip or on the return leg of a business trip, and want to enjoy the flight with a few drinks. Not that it's anyone's business, but whatever.