“Attention All Passengers: The Airlines’ Dangerous Descent — and How to Reclaim Our Skies”
Harper, $26.99
Hard to believe now, but not long ago flying used to be fun. Author William J. McGee remembers those days fondly. Things changed, he suggests, with the passage of the Airline Deregulation Act in 1978. “It took the government out of the airline-scheduling business and empowered the free market to determine where and how often carriers would fly and how much they would charge passengers.”
With that stroke of the pen, the airline industry would never be the same. Out went customer service (and civilized behavior); in went an obsessive concern for the bottom line, he writes.
But he also argues that it doesn’t have to be this way. The masses continue to behave civilly in other crowded situations, from shopping malls to offices. Passengers on trains and buses typically do not go into bus or train rages. Why should airlines be so different? McGee has his theories, but basically they amount to greedy executives and lax government regulation. With the exception of American Airlines, nearly all U.S. carriers, for example, outsource their maintenance and repairs, “thereby preventing the Federal Aviation Administration from providing adequate oversight.” Essentially, passengers are nothing more than statistics.
McGee is a travel journalist with experience in managing airline flight operations. But he also considers himself a passenger advocate who speaks out on customer service and safety. What’s more, as someone who knows the industry inside out, he is able to examine its history from a unique perspective. He points out, for example, that most Americans had never flown before the 1970s; in fact, only 15 to 20 percent of the American public had even been on an airplane. Today the number of people who have flown is closer to a whopping 85 percent.
McGee covers many aspects of the modern airline industry in this important book. He devotes a good portion of an entire chapter toward lost luggage. It takes tremendous effort, he notes, to locate the Unclaimed Baggage Center, which is where millions of suitcases end up after no one has claimed them and/or the airlines have failed to reunite passengers with their lost bags (the airlines have 90 days to do so). The center is in Scottsboro, Ala., some 40 miles from the nearest airport. Among the many topics he discusses are the complicated world of airfares; outsourcing in all its multifaceted aspects and drawbacks; the dicey safety record of regional airlines; corner-cutting in aircraft maintenance; choosing the right seat (he recommends selecting a seat in an emergency exit row or close to an exit); and the Kafkaesque passenger-screening process.
McGee concludes with a self-proclaimed “manifesto for taking back our skies.” This eye-opening book should be required reading for anyone who flies, as well as airline employees and government officials.
“Angels of Paris: An Architectural Tour through the History of Paris”
Little Bookroom, $19.95
Who knew Paris had so many angels? In order to see them, though, you will have to look up. Author Rosemary Flannery finds them in every arrondissement (or neighborhood) and in all shapes and sizes, ages and genders, from the medieval era to the 20th century.
They hover over the entrances to apartment buildings. They watch over churches and chapels, and can be found on museums and even bakery shop signs. There are mosaic angels, joyful angels and battling angels as well as archangels (from Raphael to Gabriel) and guardian angels.
In their own way, these angels tell the story of Paris, its triumphs and its defeats during times of peace and days of turmoil.
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