I am so tired of hearing about how all the problems with the airline industry is because it has been "deregulated."

Not only do we limit competition from foreign carriers but airlines are exempted from standard contract law. They are allowed to unilaterally cancel flights without liability. They are allowed to lose or destroy your luggage with little liability.

Just look at the Wright Amendment and Southwest Airlines.

The government(s) have even prohibited competition within the U.S.

Then there was the Smokers Express Airline (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smokers_Express) that never got off the ground.

I think a lot of this could be cleared up with a few minutes reading at Patrick Smith's website.

An airliner is not allowed to take off until its destination landing site is clear. That is determined by the FAA, not by the airline.

Sure, if your flight gets canceled due to weather conditions, you should get your ticket money back. But the airline doesn't have any more say about weather conditions than you do.

Now: will someone explain to me how giving a contract to Japan Airlines means more jobs for Americans?

Airline service in the United States is seen as horrible because of consumer decisions based on price, price, and price, and because they are seen as a captive audience to whom anything can be done.

For the most part I have been very happy with Southwest.

And Radwaste is correct, you cant hold the airlines responsible for limitations and policies established by the FAA.

When government deregulates something, it is almost always in a "heads, I win, tails you lose" fashion, where they keep control of the annoying useless, and revenue making bits,while pushing the risk, and liabilities off onto the regulated entities.

> Now: will someone explain to me how giving a
> contract to Japan Airlines means more jobs for
> Americans?

If they sell tickets more cheaply, millions of Americans per year will have more money in their pocket to buy additional things, which will create jobs.

Hey, you can create full employment if you want - just draft ever able bodied person into the army. I'd rather a more prosperous life than army barracks.

But they don't have to be. Imagine if foreign airlines were allowed to offer flights in the United States, competing head-to-head with our new winged monopolies.

The term he is looking for is "cabotage". All countries have cabotage rules that prevent point-to-point flying by a foreign carrier within a country. (Caveat: EU countries don't have cabotage rules with respect to other EU countries, but in that respect they are playing the game just like the US.)

If I could fly Japan Airlines or Cathay Pacific on U.S. domestic routes, at prices comparable to American airlines, I would buy those tickets in a New York minute," says John Strohm, a software engineer from Huntsville, Ala.

And if pigs could fly, we would all need steel umbrellas.

I fly on JAL, Cathay Pacific, etc regularly.

The ticket prices are NOT comparable. I'm in coach tomorrow on Korean Airlines from Tokyo to Seoul. 760 miles, $500.

And that's the corporate rate.

I am really confused by this. Lets look at Japan Airlines because I have flown them the most on domestic (to them) flights. There was certainly less security hassles at the airport but that is a function of the airport...e.g. on flights in the US they would have to have the same security. It has been a couple of years since I have flown them, but the last time was comparable to US flights at the time. A tiny meal/snack. I think the seats were even more crammed together. The last flight I distinctly remember was from New Chitose (Sapporo) to Fukuoka. The bill was ~$500 US. It looked to me to be a similar flight in the US from Seattle To San Diego which was ~250 at the time. I just checked right now and that flight is ~$350usd with the US flight costing $185 (and a not that if I could flight out of Portland Oregon they (Expedia) have a flight for $105). So similar service for higher price. International flights always seem to have a much higher level of service.

My experiance with Air New Zealand was similar. I think the only one that has been noticably cheaper was Jet Star in Oz and that felt like a real cattle carrier.

Thinking about it another way:
Taxes will be the same
Airport fees will be the same...at least similar...might even go up in a bidding war
Fuel costs the same (maybe more efficient aircraft for a bit of savings)
Ground employee's - similar pay (same domestic pool as the others are hiring from)
So where is the cost cutting coming from? Pilots?

I keep hear about airlines going into bankrupt - they can't be making that much profit.

"I keep hear about airlines going into bankrupt - they can't be making that much profit."

Seriously. Profit margins are so razor thin right now that fuel price speculation brings in more revenue than the passengers do. Luggage fees bring in more profit than selling the seats does. A pilot who can stick it out for thirty years will do pretty well for salary (not remotely as well as they used to though), but the it's common for the young bucks flying regionals to be on food stamps.

There's not much more blood to be had out of the airline turnip.

The Japanese airlines do not run last minute specials so to get any kind of deal at all, you need buy 60 days out. If you do that the prices are very siimilar to the US, and it is possible to get a ticket from LAX to AOJ round trip for only a few hundred more than LAX to NRT.
This is cheaper, and easier than the Shinkansen, but you have to change airports in Tokyo.

By the way, the foreign airlines may be able to offer cheaper fares, because many of them are subsidized by their governments. Domestic based airlines would be unable to compete with that. We would be left with no choices again, except this time all the airlines available would be based out of foreign countries.

Want to know how little the airlines make on your ticket? Next time you look up airfare prices take a look at the taxes on it. That is more money than the airlines sees. According to the IATA the average airline profit per seat right now is $2.50.

So.

It looks like, NO, adding foreign carriers will NOT lower prices or increase employment.

How about your Safe Arrival

Last Year at SFO Assiana Flight 214 had a bad landing that cost lives and pain and suffering.

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/01/20/asiana-flight-214-passengers-sue-boeing/

Pilot Error and lack of training are the reported cause for this event

When foreign carriers can charge less are they doing it at a cost to your safety?

Californian (14)