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#1
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Why I prefer to take the train over the plane
Just came back from a trip from DC to Vermont. I decided to take
Amtrak, even though it's a 10+ hour trip vs. flying (about 4 hours, if you count dealing with travel to the airport and check in and security BS.) And the price was reasonable: ~$130 r/t vs. $178 r/t on Southwest BWI-Manchester. (Those touted $39 one way fares are actually $49 after they add various taxes and service charges, and they're not always available.) Both trains were 100% on time, the seating was nice and roomy. (On the northbound trip, they put some coaches normally used for bisiness class for the coach passengers.) And despite some funky track, slow speeds, and a weird reversal of directions north of Springfield, Mass., the trip was actually faster than I usually drive it. But the best part of the rip was my homeward journey. Strapped to my belt I had my trusty 6-inch Bowie knife that I had forgotten to take off when I got out of the woods. On boarding the train -- no taking off my shoes, no TSA security weenies treating me like I was some kind of criminal. Heck, the conductor even helped me with by bag and skis, even though I think I was slightly over the Amtrak carry-on limit with the size of my bag. I just climbed into the train stowed my gear and found a seat. And also, there's enough room so that someone stowing stuff overhead isn't blocking the passage of 100 other fellow travelers. The it was lunch time, and I went to the cafe car, bought a bottle of Cabernet, took out a nice chunk of genuine Vermont cheddar cheese and started hacking at it with my knife, eating Vermont cheese with California wine, watching the scenic countryside roll by. Now, can you imagine doing such a thing on an airplane, unless you actually owned it? At best, my trusty bowie knife would be confiscated, at worst, because my accent slightly resembles that of certain other middle eastern nationalities, I might have gotten an intense 'secondary" inspection or even been detained. At worst, on Amtrak, sometimes the conductor briefly inspects your driver's license, and if you buy the ticket at a ticket machine with a credit card, nobody insepcts any ID when you buy the ticket. Unfortunately, next week, I have to travel somewhere for business that's too far to justify taking the train. So I'll have to endure the TSA, the narrow seats, the bumpy ride, and the pressure changes that give me gastric distress. Yucchhh! Curse you Orville and Wilbur! |
#2
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Why I prefer to take the train over the plane
"Abe Kouris" wrote in message
oups.com... And despite some funky track, slow speeds, and a weird reversal of directions north of Springfield, Mass., Can you provide more details on those three things? |
#3
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Why I prefer to take the train over the plane
Abe Kouris wrote:
Yucchhh! Curse you Orville and Wilbur! Well, with all due respect to you, I don't think it makes ANY sense to curse Orville & Wilbur. Plane trips were once very pleasant. Better to curse, first, Mohammed Atta and his henchmen, now thankfully dead, who did such a number on the US via planes; and second, the stupid, idiotic airlines, that seem to think the more unplasant they make flying, the more people will fly. |
#4
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Why I prefer to take the train over the plane
"sechumlib" wrote in message ... Abe Kouris wrote: Yucchhh! Curse you Orville and Wilbur! Well, with all due respect to you, I don't think it makes ANY sense to curse Orville & Wilbur. Plane trips were once very pleasant. Better to curse, first, Mohammed Atta and his henchmen, now thankfully dead, who did such a number on the US via planes; and second, the stupid, idiotic airlines, that seem to think the more unplasant they make flying, the more people will fly. More realistically blame the travelling public who want the lowest ticket price no matter how crappy the service. Those airlines that have done best are the low cost airlines who cram more seats in and cut services to make the op profitable. Keith ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---- |
#5
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Why I prefer to take the train over the plane
Please distinguish between airlines. I fly an enormous amount and think
that JetBlue and Southwest provide excellent service. JetBlue gives me plenty of legroom (I am very, very tall), a console to watch the news, regular tv program or sporting events at no cost, lots of beverages and snacks and extremely friendly folks. Southwest is a little barebones, but still very good on the customer service side of the house, and it does not put my knees up against my chin. The real problems lie with the 'legacy' carriers who have suffered from awful and greedy management, hub-spoke systems that are dreadfully hard to sustain, and visions of customer service based on a 'transportation' rather than 'customer service' philosophy (sounds like a passenger rail carrier I can think of). Oh, and go back 20-30 years and today airports are cleaner, offer endlessly more service, etc. Sure, security can be a joke (like so many things our government does these days) but I must say I have never been inconvenienced, treated rudely or seriously delayed. |
#6
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Why I prefer to take the train over the plane
On 21 Feb 2006 20:02:13 -0800, "Abe Kouris"
wrote: Just came back from a trip from DC to Vermont. I decided to take Amtrak, even though it's a 10+ hour trip vs. flying (about 4 hours, if you count dealing with travel to the airport and check in and security BS.) More like 13 hours from DC to Burlington. And the price was reasonable: ~$130 r/t vs. $178 r/t on Southwest BWI-Manchester. (Those touted $39 one way fares are actually $49 after they add various taxes and service charges, and they're not always available.) Both trains were 100% on time, Is that the usual situation, or were you lucky? [...] The it was lunch time, and I went to the cafe car, bought a bottle of Cabernet, took out a nice chunk of genuine Vermont cheddar cheese and started hacking at it with my knife, eating Vermont cheese with California wine, watching the scenic countryside roll by. Now, can you imagine doing such a thing on an airplane, unless you actually owned it? At best, my trusty bowie knife would be confiscated, at worst, because my accent slightly resembles that of certain other middle eastern nationalities, I might have gotten an intense 'secondary" inspection or even been detained. At worst, on Amtrak, sometimes the conductor briefly inspects your driver's license, and if you buy the ticket at a ticket machine with a credit card, nobody insepcts any ID when you buy the ticket. Of course, if you had taken that four hour flight you would have been in Vermont by lunch time instead of near bed time and could have had wine and cheese al fresco in beautiful Vermont. ************* DAVE HATUNEN ) ************* * Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * * My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps * |
#7
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Why I prefer to take the train over the plane
Is that the usual situation, or were you lucky?
I reckon it's the usual situation; I've only used the Vermonter once (before they cut the Thruway bus to Montréal *sniff*) but have heard others describe it as super comfy (yep, they were Metroliner coaches) and scenic. It's a nice little corner of the network that's worth exploring, possibly more beautiful than the 'adjacent' Adirondack. In an ideal world, of course, they'd both run through to Montréal, but I guess that would hardly make sense. *j* |
#8
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Why I prefer to take the train over the plane
Ron wrote:
Please distinguish between airlines. I fly an enormous amount and think that JetBlue and Southwest provide excellent service. JetBlue gives me plenty of legroom (I am very, very tall), a console to watch the news, regular tv program or sporting events at no cost, lots of beverages and snacks and extremely friendly folks. Southwest is a little barebones, but still very good on the customer service side of the house, and it does not put my knees up against my chin. The real problems lie with the 'legacy' carriers who have suffered from awful and greedy management, hub-spoke systems that are dreadfully hard to sustain, and visions of customer service based on a 'transportation' rather than 'customer service' philosophy (sounds like a passenger rail carrier I can think of). Oh, and go back 20-30 years and today airports are cleaner, offer endlessly more service, etc. Sure, security can be a joke (like so many things our government does these days) but I must say I have never been inconvenienced, treated rudely or seriously delayed. And what about security measures BEFORE boarding your vaunted JetBlue or Southwest flight? |
#9
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Why I prefer to take the train over the plane
What about them? Five or ten minutes to get through. And, why the
cynicism about 'vaunted'. Do you work for United? /r |
#10
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Why I prefer to take the train over the plane
Ron wrote:
What about them? Five or ten minutes to get through. And, why the cynicism about 'vaunted'. Do you work for United? No, I work for myself (when I work). Cynicism because of all the bad stuff I've read about the security checkpoints, which just confirms my resolve not to fly again until there is a radical change. |
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