4 ms·

> I am behind on work because American Airlines doesn't have proper power points in International first class like, er, all the other airlines I've flown on in

> I am behind on work because American Airlines doesn't have proper power points in International first class like, er, all the other airlines I've flown on in the last few years. > (They offered to sell me an adapter for $150 to plug in the battery-dead computer, and I probably should have said yes to keep working, but was so outraged, and had decided not to fly American in future, so it would never have been used again, and said no.) Regardless of the "real" point of the article I was totally irritated by that. How would any company rationalize behavior like this? Do "rich" people flying first class really normally just shell out $150 instead of deciding (like Gaiman did) to just not fly them again? Are $150 worth the lost business?

barney54 5y ago
Not anymore. I’ve flown business a few times in American and other airlines over the past 5 years and they all had good power ports.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
dwighttk 5y ago
Lots of people on expense accounts who don’t think about it maybe.
mytailorisrich 5y ago
We've all been pissed off by an airline and vowed not to fly with them again... Until we planned another trip and that airline was the cheapest and/or most convenient. Airlines know this. There isn't a huge choice for consumers.
- nojonestownpls 5y ago
  The invisible hand of free market at work.
- gruturo 5y ago
  Oh I don't know about that... I swore off Ryanair after one bad experience too many, around 2013, and have managed to avoid them ever since. I've intentionally bought more expensive tickets from Lufthansa and Swissair (iirc) where Ryanair would have been cheaper - and it was my own money, not business travel where I could claim the expense back. I don't see myself ever using them again - barring hypothetical scenarios where I desperately needed to go somewhere and they were only airline flying there. And they lost more than 1 person's business - I've gladly "upgraded" my travel companions on 3 occasions so far, paying either their full ticket or price difference, so we could fly together on anything-but-ryanair. I keep reading (possibly sensationalized) news pieces about their latest cost saving measures like banning employees from charging their phones at work, and my disgust reinforces my intention to never have anything to do with them.
  - ubermonkey 5y ago
    I have the sense that being a "captive" customer to a single carrier, or two carriers at most, is a predominately American problem. Here in Houston -- a huge city in the middle of the country -- it is far, far easier to fly United than any other carrier for any long-haul route. Southwest is an option for close US locations, and that's great, but United is what you're using to go to either coast. Sure, there ARE other airlines here. There are LOTS of them. But if you want to go to the UK on something other than United, you better be going to wherever that other carrier goes, because you won't have a lot of options. (EG, Singapore flies direct to Manchester, but that's it. Emirates flies to Dubai nonstop every day, but has no other legs in Houston.) In smaller places, the choices are often starker.
tsimionescu 5y ago
I think it's quite common. Once saw a proeminent warning in a five star hotel that cautioned Wi-Fi is only free for the first month of your stay. So, if you're spending more than a month in that five star hotel, you'd better start paying for Wi-Fi as well.
tpmx 5y ago
Ah, that horrid EmPower 15V DC thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EmPower_(aircraft_power_adapter)#Original_15-Volt_EmPower_Connector https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EmPower_(aircraft_power_adapte...
panzagl 5y ago
American Airlines is not your bitch.
- User23 5y ago
  It's true, there's nothing about laptop chargers in the American Airlines Contract of Carriage[1], so clearly he should see to his own entitlement issues for expecting that courtesy. [1] https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-service/support/conditions-of-carriage.jsp https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-service/support/conditions-...

barney54 5y ago

Not anymore. I’ve flown business a few times in American and other airlines over the past 5 years and they all had good power ports.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

dwighttk 5y ago

Lots of people on expense accounts who don’t think about it maybe.

mytailorisrich 5y ago

We've all been pissed off by an airline and vowed not to fly with them again... Until we planned another trip and that airline was the cheapest and/or most convenient. Airlines know this. There isn't a huge choice for consumers.

nojonestownpls 5y ago
The invisible hand of free market at work.
gruturo 5y ago
Oh I don't know about that... I swore off Ryanair after one bad experience too many, around 2013, and have managed to avoid them ever since. I've intentionally bought more expensive tickets from Lufthansa and Swissair (iirc) where Ryanair would have been cheaper - and it was my own money, not business travel where I could claim the expense back. I don't see myself ever using them again - barring hypothetical scenarios where I desperately needed to go somewhere and they were only airline flying there. And they lost more than 1 person's business - I've gladly "upgraded" my travel companions on 3 occasions so far, paying either their full ticket or price difference, so we could fly together on anything-but-ryanair. I keep reading (possibly sensationalized) news pieces about their latest cost saving measures like banning employees from charging their phones at work, and my disgust reinforces my intention to never have anything to do with them.
- ubermonkey 5y ago
  I have the sense that being a "captive" customer to a single carrier, or two carriers at most, is a predominately American problem. Here in Houston -- a huge city in the middle of the country -- it is far, far easier to fly United than any other carrier for any long-haul route. Southwest is an option for close US locations, and that's great, but United is what you're using to go to either coast. Sure, there ARE other airlines here. There are LOTS of them. But if you want to go to the UK on something other than United, you better be going to wherever that other carrier goes, because you won't have a lot of options. (EG, Singapore flies direct to Manchester, but that's it. Emirates flies to Dubai nonstop every day, but has no other legs in Houston.) In smaller places, the choices are often starker.

tsimionescu 5y ago

I think it's quite common. Once saw a proeminent warning in a five star hotel that cautioned Wi-Fi is only free for the first month of your stay. So, if you're spending more than a month in that five star hotel, you'd better start paying for Wi-Fi as well.

tpmx 5y ago

Ah, that horrid EmPower 15V DC thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EmPower_(aircraft_power_adapter)#Original_15-Volt_EmPower_Connector https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EmPower_(aircraft_power_adapte...

panzagl 5y ago

American Airlines is not your bitch.

User23 5y ago
It's true, there's nothing about laptop chargers in the American Airlines Contract of Carriage[1], so clearly he should see to his own entitlement issues for expecting that courtesy. [1] https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-service/support/conditions-of-carriage.jsp https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-service/support/conditions-...