Well, I have to say that I am pretty indecisive with the Oneworld Alliance
\ntreatement of me during my flights to Boston. The Finnair portion of the
\ntrip from Stockholm to Manchester was a solid 5.0\/5.0. The American
\nAirlines portion gets a 2.5\/5.0.<\/p>\n
When I got to the Finnair check-in desk, it turns out that I knew the
\ncheck-in agent. So he tried to comp me for business class, but the system
\nwouldn’t allow him to do that. So he did the next best thing…he
\nre-assigned all of the people sitting next to me so that I had the row to
\nmyself. Then he put people in the rows in front of me and behind me in the
\nwindow and aisle seats. That meant that I could sit in the middle seat all
\nto myself and just relax and stretch. Which I did. The other cool thing
\nabout Finnair flights is that they are dedicated to getting you as drunk as
\nthe staff. So the drinks are flowing like water. I arrived into
\nManchester drunk enough not to get pissed off about anything.<\/p>\n
At the Manchester airport, since I can’t get into the lounges anymore, I
\nput on my Bose Noise-Cancelling Headphones, my workout mix on my MP3
\nplayer, and just tuned out. I ate a bit (I had an apple and some cranberry
\njuice), and in my drunken stupor, decided that to compliment my 1996 bottle
\nof Cristal, I would also purchase a 1996 bottle of Dom Peringnon. Not sure
\nthat I will drink them at Steve’s brunch in Atlanta. I have been a
\ncollector of wine for so long, that now that I am 28 years old, it’s time
\nfor me tastes to refine and move onto the high-grossing stuff. So I have
\nabout 9 bottles of vintage and reserve champagne.<\/p>\n
So, to get back to the point, I am on the American Airlines flight from
\nManchester to Boston as I type this. It’s one of their 757 planes booked
\nas a single class of service. However, there is still a first class (let
\nus call it “economy plus”). They put their status members in the first
\nclass seats, and then non-status cattle in the back. So I got into the
\nfront of the plane. Sure, the food is exactly the same, but what do I
\ncare? It’s the seat that counts. Couldn’t be more relaxed…<\/p>\n
…Until an American Airlines flight attendant wants me to move to the
\nbulkhead in the “economy plus” section. I protest, because I think the
\ncontrary to popular opinion, the bulk heads have less space for someone who
\nis 197cm tall. He then tells me that actually, there is a couple that they
\nare moving into my seats and that I basically don’t have a choice but to be
\nreaccomodated. Can you tell that I was upset? I told him in no uncertain
\nterms that I am sitting in the seat that I paid for and that according to
\nthe ground agent in Manchester, was pre-booked. There were two other rows
\nwith seats by themselves, and that he was free to ask them. I also told
\nhim that I write regular letters to the executives in charge of loyalty
\nprograms of the airlines that I fly, because I think that it is important
\nthey hear where their service fails, AS WELL AS WHEN THEIR SERVICE IS
\nGREAT. I also point out that I was offended that he had somehow made a
\ndetermination that meeting those other customer’s needs were more important
\nthan mine. I further protested that his tone was incorrect (I don’t *have*
\nto move and I would have sued American Airlines if he had tried to accuse
\nme of violating a federal law of not following a flight attendant’s
\ninstructions because he would not have been able to prove that my refusal
\nto move jepordised the health and safety of the passengers or crew).<\/p>\n
So the male flight attendant then goes to the lady in the bulkhead and
\ntells her to move to the free seat next to mine. So she does without
\nquestion. I don’t mind sitting next to anyone at all, so I welcome her and
\nwe chat for a bit. About 15 minutes later, the Purser (head flight
\nattendant) comes and tell the woman she is welcome to move back to her
\npreferred seat at the bulk head. Before she leaves, she tells me that the
\nmale flight attendant told her that she had to move because they wanted to
\nuse her row as a serving area. A different story than what he told me.<\/p>\n
We purser subsequently told us that the reason he was trying to free seats
\nwas for the flight attendants to use.<\/p>\n
He basically lied.<\/p>\n
And for that, the letter of disappointment I will draft is going straight
\nto the office of CEO, as well as the complaints division of the FAA.
\nLeadership starts at the very top here, and if the flight attendants are
\ngoing to lie, and they want that representing their company, then I want to
\nAA leadership to acknowledge that no administrative or personnel action
\nwill be taken because it’s basically OK for employees to lie when they
\nwant.<\/p>\n
Shouldn’t I be angry? I think so. And with the mellowing alcohol now
\nleaving my system, and my refusal to pay US$5 for an under-sized cocktail,
\nI imagine I should get some work done instead.<\/p>\n
Will update you all later. Upon landing, I have an emergency appointment
\nto get my hair did, and a pit-stop at KFC (yummy! yay! yay!). I have no
\nplans to visit anyone in Boston, since if I go to see friends and not
\nfamily, I think that is wrong (see my other post about not wanting to visit
\nthe family because I would get yelled at for not being able to visit
\neveryone in the 16 hours I have in Boston).<\/p>\n
Love and Kisses,<\/p>\n
Rodney<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Well, I have to say that I am pretty indecisive with the Oneworld Alliance treatement of me during my flights to Boston. The Finnair portion of the trip from Stockholm to Manchester was a solid 5.0\/5.0. The American Airlines portion gets a 2.5\/5.0. When I got to the Finnair check-in desk, it turns out that … Continue reading Flights to Boston<\/span>