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THEY DON'T FLY 'EM LIKE THEY USED TO
By Chris Barnett
September 4, 2008 -- Bob Meltzer spent 52 years in the toy industry and all of them on airplanes, hopping around the country and the world. Starting on the DC-3, he always flew first class. He has fond memories of the lush life on airlines that are mostly dead and buried.

But like a lot of other regular travelers, Meltzer is finding it rough going in the skies today.

American Airlines treated Meltzer like a crown prince for his loyalty more than 40 years ago. "In 1966, in a ceremony at [New York's Kennedy Airport], they presented me with a plaque for my 'contribution to air travel' and I was invited to join the Admiral's Club. It was an honor because you knew the other members were legitimate fliers."

A New Yorker for decades, the congenial Meltzer is now a marketing consultant living in Palm Desert, California. He also remembers the good times on United, National, Eastern, Piedmont, Alleghany, TWA and Pan Am.

"In the early days, first class was in the back of the plane on some airlines," he recalls. "The flight attendants were very, very, very attractive and friendly. The baron of beef was sliced to order on the rolling cart and the liquor miniatures were handed out nonstop during the flight."

When Pan Am sold its Asia routes to United during the mid 1980s, Meltzer switched to the Chicago-based carrier, where he already had a lifetime "million miler flier card" that never had to be renewed. His Pan Am miles were also switched to United with no hassles.

Today, Meltzer deems airline travel a disaster. "If I fly United, I am still accorded some comforts for my seniority. But if you're stuck on one of the old, surviving airlines, you're one of the herd."

In recent years, the former toy industry player has discovered JetBlue Airways, which flies from nearby Ontario airport to Kennedy. "Very, very friendly."

After 52 years of flying, Meltzer confesses that he hates every minute aloft. "I'm the world's worst white-knuckle flyer. My hands literally sweat when we hit turbulence."

He won't have to worry about any bumpy JetBlue take-offs and landings from Ontario International anymore. Just yesterday, JetBlue shut down all flight operations at the suburban Los Angeles airport.

John Torrey, who considers himself a "mellow flyer," realizes there is little he can do to buck the sad state of stripped-down domestic air travel today. Vice president and general manager of a printing firm, he's on the road as much as 80 percent of his life. I caught up with him boarding a Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland to Kansas City.

"I go with convenient flight times--early morning or evening flights--so that I can be available and productive during the day," he says. He flies coach everywhere and he's not a mileage junkie. "I'm responsible for people who travel and if they're paying extra money for the miles, that's an issue with me. I have to set the precedent."

Torrey usually books Southwest, but has been recently flying Delta, United and American as well. Southwest is the best airline to fly if the trip has multiple locations and reservations are made less than 14 days in advance, he contends. "United's service is not that great today--it's disappointing--and their rates are often much higher compared to other carriers."

On a recent flight to Japan, in fact, Torrey abandoned United and used Japan Airlines. The fare was 50 percent lower than United and the "service in coach was great," he says.

Torrey has his share of gripes, but keeps his blood pressure in check by not grumbling much. "Most flights are departing late today, but I don't think about it if we leave within a half hour of the scheduled time." On the other hand, he won't pay extra for a front-of-the line boarding spot using Southwest's Business Select scheme.

Torrey carries the "smallest Dell laptop" and works on every flight--if the passenger in front of him doesn't recline the seat. "I sent a note to Southwest and United suggesting they eliminate reclining seats and neither one responded," he says.

He's also noticed that airline cutbacks are slicing into his productivity. Torrey was a regular on the San Francisco-to-Cincinnati Sunday night "red eye" flight, but Delta scrapped the route. Now he spends Monday "taking multiple connections to get there. You're not as fresh and you've lost a day."

Start-up companies, hammered by airfare increases, are "rethinking" business trips, says Alan Bernier, the chief executive of a San Francisco-based commercial real estate search engine that helps small businesses find office space online. "As a bootstrap company that has to go to tradeshows, the roughly 30 percent increase in the cost of flying impacts us."

Bernier's company books its own flights using Kayak.com, the online search engine. The firm normally flies United, but "I don't like the way they're charging today," says Bernier. "We're getting nickel and dimed for everything and its fairly noticeable. And the flight attendants are working more for less."

If any travelers are protected from the decline, it's the international flyers. Talal Shamoon was boarding Singapore Airlines' business class for a flight from San Francisco to Seoul when I spoke with him. The chief executive of a Silicon Valley firm that develops intellectual property software, Shamoon also flies United when he has to do it.

"United has turned itself into two airlines," he says. "A domestic airline that's rough and the international United which, for the most part, makes the premium traveler's life pretty easy."
ABOUT CHRIS BARNETT Chris Barnett writes about business-travel tactics and strategies that save time and money and help minimize hassles. He is based in San Francisco and has written for a wide variety of major newspapers and national magazines. Barnett on Business Travel is syndicated by Creators Syndicate.

THE FINE PRINT Joe Brancatelli makes this space available to Chris Barnett in the spirit of free speech and to help encourage editorial diversity and the wider discussion of important travel issues. All of the opinions and material in this column are the sole property of Barnett. This material may not be reproduced in any form without the express permission of Chris Barnett.

This column is Copyright © 2008 by Chris Barnett. JoeSentMe is Copyright © 2008 by Joe Brancatelli. All rights reserved.