"the unfriendly skies," but that, apparently, is how we see it.

Complaints about airline service are up, according to a new survey out today. People's luggage is getting lost and flights aren't leaving on time.

Michael's own anecdotal evidence would suggest, as well, that things are getting worse. Northwest is now selling, for $15, extra legroom in coach. ("For that little taste of first class you can't afford?") Please. And some airlines are now making you PAY for airline food. And pay through the nose. (To their credit, the food options I heard on one flight at least sounded decent...although not $7.00 decent, which is what they were asking...)

I found this tidbit interesting and, also, indicative that we are expecting less from our airlines. The "worst" airline for on-time departures, Alaska Air, had a 69% on-time departure rate. The best, which was something like AirWest or some other regional carrier in the west, had an 82% on-time departure rate.

What that means is that, if you fly the absolute best airline for on-time departures, you're still going to have a delayed flight one time out of five.

Now, admittedly, some flights just need to be delayed. When the hydraulics aren't working or you aren't quite sure why the check engine light is on, that would tend to unnerve a person. And there's also the very-reassuring "your pilot needs more training on this aircraft...OK, he's had his ten minutes. Git on board!"

But there are two interesting factors. One of them was mentioned in a TV report on this survey this morning, which is that people have come to expect less and so aren't complaining about some of the really egregious things. What a beautiful, cynical ploy by the airlines: Make us expect less and we'll complain less. (Yes, I realize the survey says complaints are up; but it seems that our standards have gone down.)

Here's the other, which is pointed out in the article linked above. While customer levels have returned to pre-9/11 numbers, there are 200,000 fewer employees out there to serve them.

This is bad. This is also not something we should allow the airlines to get away with. Because if we don't miss those 200,000 people, heavens knows they won't.