Got back from Japan, and I just wanted to talk about how unfair ticket prices are in correlation with the kind of service you get- especially when flying internationally.
I have an AMEX Delta SkyMiles card, and when I fly, I like to earn miles and ask for a pair of those little wings- so it works out. Until now. When we flew to England, Virgin Atlantic did one hell of a job making sure every person had either food shoved into their face, wine shoved into their gullets, or a game controller shoved into their hands. It was a great way to pass the 7-hour flight.
Delta, however, couldn't get any of these points right. Food was subpar, the one 'complementary' drink was horrible and poorly made [on our flight home, the stewardess admitted to having no idea what she was doing], and the in-flight entertainment system was broken for hours upon hours. I will be writing a letter to their customer service department, believe me.
On the flight there, our Atlanta-based crew was barely competent and not very nice. At one point, even, one of them accosted a passenger and accused him of being on Japanese television, as a news anchor. The poor man was confused and clearly wanted to be left alone, and was only left to his own when he answered, "Yes, maybe a little," to the stewardess's "Yes, yes you ARE on Japanese TV, aren't you! You ARE!" Really? You think he'd be sitting in coach...not even business class? Please.
The low point, though, was when that same stewardess decided to make the rounds, shake everybody's hand, and say in her thick southern accent, "Arigatos!" This sounded like, air-ih-gat-toes. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
On the way back, Pete and I decided that we would try to fly business class, since at least we could get some decent sleep and maybe, just MAYBE, their in flight system would work. I mean, when you're flying 15 hours overseas, these are two very important factors!
The countermaid told us that the cost was $3000 for one way, each. What!? That was incredible- is that common? Does anybody know if that's kosher? In any case, we didn't get to fly business class and no, the in-flight entertainment did not work. Surprise, surprise.
I don't think this flight experience was worth the amount we paid- at all. Remember the days of proper flying? Where people got dressed-up to fly, the stewardesses were pretty, and the service was impeccable? Well, I don't- I'm too young, but damn, don't look me in the face while you randomly throw alcohol into a glass and tell me you have "absolutely no clue!"
