A fair amount of hackles have been raised regarding the new,
$15 checked baggage fee on American Airlines. (To groan a while longer: How will this pay-per
luggage scheme square with the new restrictions on carrying liquids onto
airplanes? Either many folks will be grumbling into their billfolds at airport
counters this summer, or a parking lot toothpaste racket will not be far behind.)
But the rest of the announcement is even more troubling: as the summer travel
season kicks into high gear, AA plans to reduce the frequency of flights along
well-trafficked routes, and straight-up ground 85 planes in their fleet.
At the same time, the first-ever National Train Day, under
the direction of Amtrak's anodyne marketing department, came and went May 10 without
significant fanfare. No groundbreaking outreach to get cars off the road this
summer. No new service lines announced. No innovative ticketing schemes to take
advantage of the airline crisis. Acela trains zoomed around the nation (or
rather, trundled, and at extreme cost) as usual. In a parody of sponsorship, the
Harlem Globetrotters performed on behalf of the decidedly static organization.
Primarily, the checked baggage kerfuffle recalls what a miserable
job these private companies are doing to fulfill their obligations to customers
who just want to get where they're going. Sure, we're a step up from the Oregon Trail,
but chronic lateness, price gouging, and profound physical discomfort now seem
standard fare in the air and on the rails. No wonder American's stock is tanking, at
$6.22 a share today. (National Railroad
Passenger Corporation's shares are not traded publicly--a slaughter-rule of
sorts for the "for-profit" albatross.)
Of course, now that some see $200/barrel oil as an
inevitability, airlines criss-crossing our skies are at a competitive
disadvantage. See Barron's post
for fair discussion of their logic. But when New York's
MTA or Portland's
TriMet are aggressively pursuing
state-mandated "green" rail transport strategies, it's galling to see such
mismanagement of our best chance at reducing miles driven on a national level.
None of this is to say we ought to nationalize our rail or
airline systems (my word, though, India's full-service, far-flung train
network is a marvel to ride). I actually think air competition is a good thing,
especially in such a large country. But unless the train monopoly--federally
funded in extremis, seemingly without
conditions--engages some hard-nosed reforms, my guess is we'll all just have to
stay put.
--Dayo Olopade