It is quite indubitable – the airline industry is changing dramatically thanks to the image it holds and the introduction of budget flying. Whereas the poorer members of society used to take buses on 3-day trips, they are now at their destinations in a fraction of the time at a fraction of the cost. This means that, whereas flying used to be viewed as a luxury and part of the top-class holiday or business experience, it is now seen as merely a means of transport. Thus, passengers are becoming more selfish and more bothered by the presence of more people on board. The new airline policy of ‘quantity not quality’ certainly has its repercussions.
An astonishing 73% of British passengers now say that passengers are ruder than ever before. This has been blamed on the budget airline introduction of free seating and the abolition of passengers having to have their own seat. This has supposedly created the ‘me first’ syndrome and an unpleasant atmosphere on board. Increased number of passengers now means an increased number of delayed flights; cancellations and queues which contribute to bad air amongst people both at airports and on board the aircraft.
Further complaints involve having to sit next to overweight people, sitting next to people with body odor and having to endure screaming babies on long-distance flights. Perhaps people are simply less tolerant, or there is simply a much lower level of customer care on aircraft.
Interestingly, 100 million aircraft passengers suffer from headaches on a global scale. Some of the blame has been placed on the problems mentioned above, whereas experts have countered the theory by blaming barometric pressure. Whoever is to blame for the problems and whatever is the root of the problems, one thing is for sure: the airline industry has changed dramatically in the last few years and, most probably, on a permanent basis.
