[us airlines] have they improved … or not

I was about to post an update on the Northwest article when one on Delta airlines popped up about dissatisfaction with their treatment of the passenger. At about that time, Cityunslicker posted his excellent comment on US airlines and now comes this news:

Delta has this week spurned US Airways’ merger offer, saying that its own plan for emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in spring 2007 will stand it in better stead. Jerry Grinstein, Delta’s chief executive officer, said: “Our progress over the past year attests to the strength of the Delta brand and the resolve of our 45,000 people who are transforming this company through their hard work.

Delta is well along in the process of a top to bottom transformation – implementing changes that have made a vast improvement in our performance. Our plan for a fundamentally new and different airline is working and is creating real value. We will emerge as a thoroughly new Delta that will be a strong global carrier with a solid foundation for profitable growth in a highly competitive environment.”

All of which begs the question: “Why are they in this situation in the first place?” and no, the economy and spiralling fuel costs cannot solely be blamed. The US commuter is quite happy to spend when the airline is good. All of which brings us back to Cityunslicker’s comment on the last post. Do read it.

[conscription] on the cards yet again - whatever for

Don't get me wrong. I am a [small 'l'] conservative, believe our troops should have nothing but the best gear, they should be supported by one and all and if we were directly under threat, I'd be one of the first to attempt to sign up [age might preclude me]. However:

The Selective Service System, which has remained in existence despite the abandonment of conscription three decades ago, is planning a comprehensive test around 2009. Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson prompted speculation about the draft Thursday when he told reporters in New York that "society would benefit" if the U.S. were to bring back the draft. Later he issued a statement saying he does not support reinstituting a draft.

Rep. Charles Rangel, a New York Democrat, plans to introduce a bill next year to reinstate the draft. House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi has said such a proposal would not be high on the Democratic-led Congress' priority list. The military drafted people during the Civil War and both world wars and between 1948 and 1973. Reincorporated in 1980, the Selective Service System maintains a registry of 18-year-old men, but call-ups have not occurred since the Vietnam War.

It would be retrograde on a number of fronts: 1] the regs don’t like draftees who can’t be fully relied upon in battle and this, in turn, saps morale 2] it is only used in times of dire threat and that ain’t now. There is no credible threat at this time which would require militarization of this nature. The Iraq War does not come under that category in the least.

It’s another case of the mobilization, in high places, for a war which does not exist and at a period of relatively full employment and sound economic prospects for the world in general. Trade has globalized and dialogue takes place. In other words, there is no current, viable reason for there not to be peace. So why the first overtures concerning the draft?

[japan] population to plunge

Japan's population is forecast to drop by almost a third by the middle of the century, bringing with it an impending labour shortage and ballooning pension costs to maintain an increasingly ageing population, a government report has said. To address this, the government said it will spend more to ease the burden of raising families.

A 30 per cent drop in population will see ballooning medical and pension costs, the elderly to increase by 10 million in 2055, making up 40 per cent of total population and the working population will stand at 46 million or slightly above 50 per cent.

Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, said: "It's not as if the pension system will collapse. We need to do whatever we can to implement measures to resolve the falling birth rate to prevent the rate from going any lower."

The implications are clear in far-eastern terms and come as the Chinese hegemony slowly approaches. Japan has more than a few worries coming up.

[northwest airlines] have they improved … or not

Just been re-reading Bill Bryson’s Big Country [Black Swan, 1997], where he writes of the shoddy service on Northwest Airlines, symptomatic of the airline industry as a whole.

This was in 1997 when his family were given seats in different parts of the aircraft, on a 6 hour flight, including a 2 and a 4 year old. When they asked for the problem to be solved, they were told: “Not our responsibility. Check your boarding passes next time.”

If Bryson can be believed on this, it’s a staggering indictment of the attitudes of airlines to the paying customer. Everyone knows the term “cattle class” already. So I thought I’d see if Northwest has improved and here are some customer reports from 2006:

Plane was old, seats were very old. Flight attendant was, for a change, nice and smiling. Return was pathetic, plane was very late, but there was no information about the delay. Many frustrated passengers (with connections) were told to call the 1-800 number instead of talking to the attendant at the gate.

Crew must have been having a competition as to who could show the least amount of facial expression. The plane was late departing due to late arriving crew. The FA was clearly disconnected from her job and just going through the motions. She was so out of it she was still collecting garbage as the plane touched down. Will fly NW only if convenient.

Passengers on these same flights should eat their meals in the airport, as choices are limited to junk food once airborne; and their bag drop method, where agents shout out passengers names to come forward to have their bags tagged, is inelegant to say the least.

Seats were the old World Business Class types. No amenity kits or socks, for a flight that was more than 6 hours long! Food service was ok - but crew were inattentive and disappeared most of the time into the galleys.

Domestic service on 757 and 320 aircraft was fine and seating comfortable. Non alcoholic drinks were free. The only food option was a $5 snack box. Revolting. I don't know why they don't sell sandwiches on the longer domestic flights.

Returning to Bryson, when he questioned why an overhead baggage locker on an overland domestic service was filled with an inflatable life-raft, he was told, after the initial snappy “This plane meets FAA safety regulations” to sit down.

Northwest Airlines – clearly profit is no motive to them. Only passenger comfort and satisfaction. Read this for a further testimonial to this great company.

[icelandic pervert] window peeper busted in akureyri

[Photo by Ragnar Th. Sigurdsson. Courtesy of Snow Magic]

I’m still not sure if this one is for real or not. Is it a regular festive thing or what? Is it some kind of tradition?

Window Peeper, the tenth yule lad, was arrested when peeping through windows in Akureyri, northeast Iceland, last night and accused of being a pervert. The yule lad had climbed up a gutter to get a better look through the windows on the upper floor of a fancy-looking house.

Suddenly a man peered out through the window and Window Peeper was so startled that he fell to the ground. Júlli.is reports. The man called out through the window that Window Peeper was a peeping tom and that he had called the police. The poor lad had twisted his ankle in the fall and couldn’t run.

When police arrived, they took Window Peeper to the hospital where his injury was attended to and then the police locked him up in a prison cell. “But I didn’t mind,” Window Peeper tells icelandreview.com. “Prisons are always talked of as ‘rocks’ but my cell is pretty comfy. They gave me lots of food and a small window with changing pictures, so I can observe people all the time,” he adds.

The ballad Jólasveinarnir describes Window Peeper as the nosiest of the 13 yule lads. He sneaks into town all year round to peep through windows. But Christmas is his favorite time of year, because he loves decorations and everything that glitters. He grabs any shiny thing that catches his eye.

The poor lad had twisted his ankle? I wrote once before about the journos up in Iceland and wrote to the paper to ask if they were for real. What do you think in this case? I'm puzzled.

Update: so this is what it's all about.

[tagged] the seven best things you did this past year

Sorry to have to do it, coming up to Christmas - but they might go away before I tag them.

What are the seven [7] best things you did this past year?

Victims tagged:

Paul Linford [who tagged me last time]
Tom Paine [fellow citizen]
Notsaussure [the new breed of blogger]
Iain Dale [some of his own medicine back]
Mr. Eugenides [have to get Scotland in somehow]
Bel is thinking [one of the top ladies]
Gracchi [representing my mates]

Apologies to the Tin Drummer and Imagined Community, my comrades-in-arms. And my seven best things I did?

1] Started blogging and met those I did;
2] Kept the wolf from the door and kept in reasonable health;
3] Got involved in Blogpower with many of you;
4] Made the Swearbloggers Roundup;
5] Kept none of my new year’s resolutions from last year;
6] Remained incognito;
7] Didn’t run the other guy’s Mercedes off the road as I was tempted to do.

Someone please tag Praguetory and Tim Worstall.