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Originally Posted by 450knotOffice

Ok, so here's the deal. Waiting on the ramp or taxiway for takeoff clearance is not the choice of the airline.

If they hate it so much why did they lobby congress to make it legal to make us sit on the tarmac for up to 3 hours before taking the plane back to the gate? They have an incentive to keep us out there or they wouldn't do it and they wouldn't have spent money on lobbyists to make it legal.

Originally Posted by 450knotOffice

What you're describing is Business class seating - bigger seats with more leg room. If you want that sort of room, buy the Business class seat every time.

So, again, if you want a bigger seat with more legroom, buy a Business class seat. Really.

I was in the 4th row on the last leg of the flight yesterday and every seat within sight was just like mine. Maybe they put business class in the back of a CRJ 200?

Originally Posted by 450knotOffice

Cabin Crew in Business and First class will generally make a serious effort to help their passengers. In a coach class cabin, with 150 to 180 people all trying to get into their seats, find room in the overhead bins, etc., how do you expect a Flight attendant to come ambling up the aisle ('scuse me, pardon me, 'scuse me, coming through) to help you stow your bag?

Someone is going to have to go up and down the isle looking for storage space. It seems to me it would be better to have the passengers sitting and the crew checking the bins than to have 150 to 180 people in the aisles looking for an empty bin.
In the case yesterday, the "helpful" crew member put his hands behind his back and leaned on the wall and said, "You'll have to try to find space up front."

Originally Posted by 450knotOffice

This might lead to higher crew costs though, which might increase the cost of your ticket significantly.

Notice i never once mentioned cost? I fly business when it is available, but you know what? We are still subject to the delays and screw ups that affect the rest of the passengers.

Originally Posted by 450knotOffice

Let me remind you that an airline would LOVE to maintain their set schedule and NEVER be late, ever.

I'm skeptical. I knew 7 days before the flight that it was supposed to leave at 5:35. Somehow it was a surprise to US Air and they forgot to send a flight crew. We had to wait an hour for them to round someone up to fly the plane. Scheduling a flight without scheduling the crew seems pretty short sighted to me.

I run a business myself. When someone complains, I listen and try to help. I want my customers to be happy. Your "Screw you you're just a customer and this is as good as it's going to get" attitude is typical of the airlines and it's part of the problem.