Short circuiting the air rage
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008A delayed flight, rotten weather, an exhausted airline employee venting her ire on passengers all lead up to the phenomenon called air rage. Airlines contribute their bit to increase the frequency of these air rages in the name of capacity cutting, or money losing. Whether you are an elite class passenger or flying on cheap airline tickets, we have no means to stop the incidence of air rage before it actually happens. But, we certainly can prevent this by adopting a few simple measures.
For a start, we will use the ‘P’ word – Planning: This is not a huge exercise stretching over long hours. Instead, a few minutes of quality time, reflecting over the day’s weather, possible traffic glitches, and estimating the time you will need to reach your airport comfortably. This is all the more relevant if you are taking a midnight flight because people often tend to take it for granted that the drive to the airport will be quick and easy. But, on the road, a different situation may greet you throwing your calculations to the winds. You may be on a last minute vacation, and potentially the situation can throw the spanner into the works.
These days airlines are not taking kindly to oversized baggage and excess weight. After all, we passengers are responsible for providing this ‘other income’ to bolster the sagging bottom-line and the airlines look at it as ‘the more the merrier’. Cheap airline tickets do not offer any additional protection either.
Now you can book your flight tickets online through the airline’s web site or other provider web sites, boarding pass can be printed right on your computer and even pick your favourite seat . Add all these up and you have a smooth take-off. Complement this effort with an update on security requirements. You can access the required information through the internet and there must be information carried under a title like “know before you go” or something closely similar. With airfares going through the roof, we can do our bit to atleast ensure that we get our money’s worth.
