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Now, even celebrity gossip blog Perezhilton is worried about the state of the airline industry. Constantly ranked among the top 20 blogs on the internet by Technorati, among hundreds of millions, it was surprising to see Perezhilton deviate from the regular celebrity scoop we find on that blog. When that happens, even the common man should pay attention.

The post, entitled “We must avert this disaster”, quoted a Yahoo News article that talks about various factors for concern about the American airline industry. Not surprisingly, one of the key causes is identified as poor customer service. Former American Airlines‘ Chariman, Robert Crandall, is quoted as saying, “Every major airline is losing huge amounts of money with service standards that are unacceptable, to be generous.” Interestingly, he believes that regulation is the solution to such woes. I don’t see how!

Customer service is something that customers deserve. To put it crudely, it is what separates customers from cargo – both of which are being transported from point A to B. The difference is that humans deserve to be treated humanely. But the way US based airlines have started to nickle-and-dime their customers, the near future looks bleak. Charges should only be put in place for value-added services, not commodities like pretzels or the first bag to be checked in. In fact, true customer doesn’t always cost too much as well. A courteous flight attendant and a smiling check-in staff member can make a trip pleasant for passengers.

A smile is probably a good starting point, to put the fears of Perezhilton at rest.

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