Colin D Gordon

“The days of flying being fun are long over. It’s become a nightmare”. That’s the view of William McGee, a senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, as quoted by the NBC News reporter Rob Wile on January 21^st. For the acclaimed Irish novelist Stewart Stafford,“an airport is a place where you go through hell to reach your alleged paradise”.

1950’s In-Flight Dining:

Meanwhile, Erika Ebsworth-Goold, the executive director of strategic initiatives at Washington University, has expressed her nostalgia for “the way air travel used to be”, the now distant era when taking a plane was a special occasion, security was simple, there was ample space between the seats, quality meals were provided (not just packets of peanuts or pretzels) and fellow passengers were more considerate.

Why, for example, does everyone rush to get a good position in the queue as soon as boarding is announced? According to the American travel consultant, Anthony Berklich. it’s partly because society trains us to believe first is best, but is also due to the fear that there won’t be sufficient overhead locker space to store their cabin luggage, preferably immediately above their seats.

Ebsworth-Goold’s lament about having a “squashed-in, claustrophobic feeling”on flights correlates with the updated analysis of the air travel industry published by the consumer protection organisation “Which” on 9^th May, confirming that plane seats are officially getting smaller, mainly so the airlines can cram in more paying customers: “Today, you’ll get around 31 inches of legroom, if you’re lucky, compared to the comfortable 40 inches in the golden age of the ’50’s”.

A survey conducted by the Priority Pass organisation, who since 1992 have provided frequent travellers with “independent VIP airport lounge access worldwide”, has revealed that almost half (49%) of those questioned feel most tense when waiting for their suitcases to arrive on the carousel. Other major concerns are getting stuck in traffic on the way to the airport (63%), misplacing their passports or missing the plane altogether (57%), having to pay extra for luggage because they’ve miscalculated the weight (45%) and getting stopped at security (40%). About 6% of respondents say they’ve forgotten their passports, though “surprisingly” this increases to 16% among business travellers.

Trepidation about the actual flying is much further down the list (for 35% the most anxious moment is when the plane is landing) but, as the Sunday Times contributor, Cathy Adams, noted on 2^nd June, this may change because, due to global warming, flights are getting “bumpier”. As she observes, a joint study by the University of Reading and the Met Office has concluded that the skies are becoming more prone to turbulence since higher air temperatures can lead to sudden alterations in wind speed or direction.

In fact, it’s evident from the the Priority Pass investigation that virtually every stage of going away produces some element of stress – packing the bags, travelling to the airport, checking in, passing security, keeping a vigilant eye on the screens in the waiting areas for announcements about either departures or delays, the often lengthy walks to the boarding gate, getting onto the plane, finding your seat, the flight itself, the landing and the baggage collection.

Although Ryanair has acquired the image of being the UK’s most unpopular airline, in the opinion of “Which” that’s no longer justified. They advocate instead that the one to be avoided is the fast-growing Wizz Air, which this year “operated just 56% of its flights on time, cancelled nearly 2% of them within 24 hours of departure and generally treated many customers to an awful experience”.

Jet2 is at number one in the approved category and gets 5-star rating for its “exceptional customer services, clean cabins and well-organised boarding”, while EasyJet receives just one star for its boarding procedures and seat comfort and British Airways (BA) is portrayed as having become “thoroughly mediocre”. The worst problem with BA, declares “Which”, has been the thousands of cancellations: “Ensuring that the flights on sale actually take place would be a good start to the improvements they need to make”.

The best UK airports, declares “Which”, are the small ones, which is why they’ve awarded five stars to Exeter and Liverpool’s John Lennon, compared to four for Heathrow Terminal 2, three for London Gatwick North & South, Stansted, and Heathrow Terminal 3 and just two stars for Heathrow Terminals 2 & 4 and Luton. The worst queues, both for departing passengers going through security and returning ones at passport control have been at Manchester Terminals 1, 2 & 3, Luton and Stansted. This situation was exacerbated in May when all 270 e-gates at UK entry points stopped working.

Finally: “If you’re travelling as a pair, reserve the aisle and window seats. A solo traveller will only book the dreaded middle seat if they have no other option, so there’s a good chance you could enjoy the bonus of an unoccupied space between the two of you”.

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