The Ups and Downs of Airlines and Air Travel

There have been threads in the past about cheap fares, and problems with the B787 and then the B737 MAX, but post-Covid new 'issues' are presenting themselves. And some things are staying the same. Over recent weeks the stories seem to be the same around the world: delays, bad service, airlines and airports seemingly forgetting how to operate their services, and baggage. Baggage! Bags not arriving en masse or individually, and taking days or weeks to be reunited with their owners (if ever). I've seen pictures of an auditorium sized area at LHR full of bags, and read that Qantas didn't load any baggage on one Darwin-LHR flight to take on extra fuel (thoughtfully not adding to the LHR bag mountain. Almost every airport seems to be understaffed resulting in interminable queues at check-in and security. I haven't flown for a couple of months so can't speak to it first hand. In the comments on an article about the issue on One Mile At A Time, one poster said (by way of contrast with the article) that his recent travels in SE Asia and Australia had been a breeze. You wouldn't know that from our news and social media. I'm plotting a trip later in the year and QF (my only useful pot of miles) has almost no rewards available, and those that are, only in economy. I thought 'typical bastards' but another OMAAT article said it's the same everywhere. Fares to the US are insane (for the most part) even though QF has a daily A380 to LAX and UA is adding services. Fares to Europe are the same or less than LAX. (I found a Lufthansa fare to Frankfurt for less than UA to LAX even though the LH trip was via LAX and on the same UA metal for the SYD-LAX sector.) Anyone else bemused by what they are seeing or frustrated with their own air travel experiences either in the air or in the attempts to book? Hearing the funny side of things would be good too!