In-Flight Travails: What “Cabotage Prohibition” Has Actually Achieved

I have been flying for both business and pleasure for many years now. The following is my assessment of recent domestic and international flights, as well as the state of flying in general.

First: the food. Meals are still included on long haul flights, and the least edible food is served on US carriers. On long domestic flights, US-based airlines offer barely any well-tasting food, if they offer any food at all. But in most short and medium-length flights, there is no “free” food offered anymore. Instead, you have to purchase junky on-board meals.

In contrast, a number of international airlines are upping their culinary game, including in coach and short haul domestic flights. As far as I’m concerned, Lufthansa and its associated Swiss and Brussels Air, Finnair, and Air France top my preference list for culinary quality when flying to and within Europe, as well as EVA Air, Emirates, and Singapore Airways when flying to and within the Asian countries they serve.  

In general, on the international carrier front, Asian carriers have good to excellent food, depending on the length of the flight. Even Garuda, one of the smallest Asian regional carriers, has upped their meal quality.

The Arabic airlines seem to serve very enjoyable meals, and so do a number of North African and South American carriers. European airlines span the gamut from excellent to just edible. I should give special kudos to Turkish Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, and EVA Air for their meal quality.

In contrast, one of our travel writers recently flew on a US airline on her way to Lima, Peru and said: “Bring with you a couple sandwiches; even a stale homemade sandwich is better than what is now served during those flights.”

US carriers are protected by Congress from competition on domestic flights, so they are allowed to overcharge customers at will. The last administration did try to eliminate the junk fees that domestic carriers impose.

On recent 2-1/2 hour flights from and to Newark, New Jersey from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on United Airlines, no “free” food was offered, even though both flights were at dinner time. Only snacks were available “for purchase,” and when I asked for my suitcase to be carried in the hold, they tried to impose a fee, which I refused and took my suitcase in the cabin with me.

We brought our own sandwiches, and I will agree with our writer that a stale sandwich was much better than what was sold! (Editor’s note: On recent JetBlue flights that were 2 to 3 hours long, we were given free snacks, but no meals.)

Meanwhile, US-based airlines are cramming more and more passengers into less and less space to squeeze extra profits, without regard to passenger comfort. Again, there is little competition domestically. And don’t let me start with the “service” the US in-flight crews give. They seem to consider it an annoyance to even give you a glass of water.

In the meantime, United, Frontier, Spirit, and American Airlines are nickel-and-dimming us for the sardine-style packed seating even though the federal government has tried to protect consumers from surprise fees.

Again in contrast, on Royal Air Maroc, we flew to and from Casablanca from the US, plus took domestic flights in Morocco. Both transatlantic and domestic flights had good-to-excellent food in all classes and pleasant and helpful multilingual cabin crews.

I recently flew on Delta Air Lines to and from Athens, Greece. The Delta direct flight to Athens from JFK was absolutely full, so I had to book from JFK to Boston and from there to Athens. I took a “Premium” seat in coach using frequent flier mileage.

The flight between JFK and Boston was delayed due to poor weather, and we just made the international flight because we were driven directly to our gate by in-airport bus. However, our luggage that was checked in at JFK didn’t make the rushed connection to Athens.

On the outgoing flight, they offered a poor quality meal that was barely edible. I should have asked for a kosher or other specialty meal that usually tastes much better. The cabin crew was pleasant but liked to congregate in the back galley during the long overnight flight.

My “premium” seat was nothing more than a coach seat with minimal extra leg room – almost the same as all the other coach seats around it. It didn’t even recline, even though there was no seat behind it. What a ripoff!

The Delta agents at the Athens airport said they would have my bag the next day and deliver it to my brother’s home in the afternoon after the Boston flight arrived. I was given a printout with a phone number to call. When I tried to call the baggage claim line to get an idea of what time the bag would be delivered, no one picked up the phone. After a dozen attempts, I gave up.

On the return flight I complained at the Delta desk at the Athens airport about it, and they informed me they were very “short-staffed and would NOT answer calls.” So why did they give me the phone number and tell me to check it if no one would answer?

The bag was actually delivered the third day after my arrival by a driver who was ready to just leave it on the front steps of my brother’s apartment building’s entrance. It was a good thing I was on my way to a local coffee shop to get a WiFi connection (my brother has no internet at home) when I intercepted the driver and signed for my bag.

Now, let’s talk about both transatlantic and domestic flights on Turkish Airlines in Turkey. They serve excellent food and wines on their international flights, especially since they have in-flight chefs actually cooking meals on board.

We were in business class on a flight to Istanbul, and the seating was very comfortable. The seat would recline enough to enable someone to sleep.

The domestic flights to and from Izmir that were single-class (all coach seating) with good leg-room were pleasant with good meals and functioning seats.

We also had an international flight to and from Buenos Aires on American Airlines not long ago. It was as overpriced with poor service as every other US carrier. Barely edible food. The flight was packed. The seats would be comfortable for a midget, but not an over 6-foot individual. I saw no first class, and business class was jammed.

The next day, when we flew from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia on an Aerolineas Argentinas chartered flight, there was edible food, and the coach seats had enough space for my height.  

We’ve had terrible experiences domestically on both United and JetBlue. (Editor’s note: my recent domestic flights on JetBlue were fine.)

Since the deregulation of the US airline industry in 1978, monopoly power is what has allowed US based airlines to act the way they do. Congress is responsible for the deterioration of quality on-board by protecting domestic carriers and their highly overpaid executives.

Domestic airlines have been allowed to merge and get rid of competition on numerous major routes. There were 12 large carriers in the 1980s, and there are only 4 left today with another 5 or 6 regional companies that are frequently divisions of or fly under the livery of the larger carriers.

There are 3 or 4 discount airlines, which are no-frills but overpriced for the minimal quality they offer flying the millions of sardines, I mean “passengers,” within the country.  

I believe that Congress should repeal the Cabotage Regulations that prohibit foreign carriers from picking up fliers between domestic US airports. There are plenty of international carriers for example, that fly in from South America to Miami, deplane many passengers at that airport, and fly with numerous empty seats to JFK, Newark, Washington DC, or other airports along the East Coast.

The same happens with flights on the West Coast to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. Those seats could be used to alleviate the chronic congestion for domestic fliers between Miami and New York City or Miami and other gateway cities or West Coast fliers to other final destinations.

Then, the US airlines would not levy their unconscionable rates for inferior service because they would be facing competition from multiple companies.

My final thoughts: Avoid US-based carriers as much as you can on international flights. Even using frequent flier miles isn’t worth it since you will be subjected to indifference at best or even abuse by the carriers and their personnel. Unfortunately, you have no choice on domestic routes.

From most foreign carriers, you will get much better service, better seating, and better pitch between seats. You’re less likely to be nickel-and-dimed, and there will be edible food and soft drinks included in the price of the ticket, as well as a free bag either in the hold or the overhead bins or 2 free bags (one in the hold and one in the overhead). That’s what most foreign carriers offer the flying public at present.