Defaults to U.S. carriers

We don’t fly a foreign carrier when a U.S. carrier has the route, even though we realize the U.S. carrier will not match the foreign airline in service. Why? Because our carriers need all the help they can get to stay alive; if not supported, more will go the way of Pan Am, TWA, etc.

We have found that Continental does provide comfortable seating and good service, having flown them many times on the Honolulu-Guam-Manila or -Hong Kong route and from Frankfurt to Newark or Dulles as well as Paris-Newark and New Delhi-Newark — all good flights.

The best foreign carriers we have found on other routes are Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Frankfurt and, closely following, Emirates from Singapore to Dubai and, on another trip, Dubai to Frankfurt.

The letters printed in the March ’08 issue raise the question as to why foreign carriers have young, attractive, attentive crewmembers who offer prompt, efficient and courteous service throughout the entire flight, when U.S. carriers are not comparable.

The answer is simple: unions.

Foreign carriers can still limit the age of the crewmembers and can terminate their employment at any time. If our carriers could still do this, we would not have meals pushed through during unusual hours so the stewardesses can sit and chat for most of the trip, as was mentioned in several letters.

We have witnessed this same kind of service on some of our carriers and noted some personnel who should have retired years ago who seemed to be sitting and resting most of the time, as they could no longer keep up!

MERLE CROW

Honolulu, HI