Fear of flying, for good reason

Flying was once an adventure, more than just a way to get from here to there. But over the years it has become something to dread. You wait in endless lines for the chance to be poked, patted, X-rayed, interrogated, generally insulted and, in the final indignity, separated by class as you, at last, board.

And it can get worse from there. On Sunday security officials at Chicago’s O’Hare airport literally yanked a passenger off a United flight because the airline needed seats for its staff.

That fiasco was captured on videos that set the internet ablaze with outrage, and could end up costing the airline future business. Clueless United dug itself in deeper after the story blew up. CEO Oscar Munoz apologised on Monday for having to “reaccommodate these customers” but not for the manhandling of the passenger, a doctor who was bleeding from the mouth in the videos. Munoz made matters even worse by calling the doctor “disruptive and belligerent” because he had the temerity to object to his removal. On Tuesday Munoz saw the light, and drop in the stock price, and said “no one should ever be mistreated this way”.

United’s mistreatment of the doctor was extreme, but inconveniencing customers is now standard airline operating procedure. This is an oligopolistic industry that has become increasingly callous toward customers as it rakes in billions in profits thanks to strong demand and low oil prices. In recent years, big airlines have squeezed seats in coach closer together. In addition to checked-bag fees, which have been standard on many airlines for years, more passengers are being required to pay extra for early boarding, more legroom and, in a recent insult, the right to stash bags in overhead bins.

As long as the big airlines face neither rigorous competition nor a diligent government watchdog, they will be able to treat customers like chattel and get away with it. New York, April 11.