This list is long for the non rookies
Thanks Nos I love these trips down memory lane with you 😀
AWA320
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2001/0611/105.html
America's Worst Airline
America West stands out as a paragon of badness. It ranks worst in customer complaints, worst in lost luggage, worst in cabin comfort and next-to-worst in on-time performance
February 17, 2000 would prove to be an omen for the year. Eagle, the automated dispatch system, went down for over five hours. At the time, America West had no backup dispatch system, leading to over 280 cancellations over three days. Passengers were left stranded around the system, boosting the industry-high complaint rate. America West was rapidly becoming known as "America Worst" for its customer service and operational problems.
The relationship with the FAA was poor, leading to further restrictions on growth until the FAA was assured maintenance could handle the extra aircraft. The airline was not in good shape.
Tempe-based America West Airlines was hit with a $5 million fine over aircraft maintenance and operations issues. At the time, it was the largest fine in U.S. aviation history.
Among the allegations: that America West flew 17 Airbus A320 aircraft that were overdue for required inspections. Public documents showed that the airline flew an additional 185 times after the airline was notified that inspections had been missed.
Yet AmWest is only the worst in a field crowded with incompetence. The major carriers have turned business travel into an inescapable evil--a hair shirt with wings. You call an airline and are told your flight will take off on time, only to arrive at the airport and be kept waiting for hours. The food is awful, when you can get any, and thousands upon thousands of bags are misplaced or lost (see Baggage, p. 108). Airline seats seem designed for stick figures (see Comfort; p. 110). Complain about any of this and you risk arrest (see box, Seething on a Jet Plane, p. 106).
AmWest (nyse: AWA - news - people ) almost goes out of its way to cultivate rocky relations with its work force, and employee bile poisons every public interaction. A senior executive at a rival airline says he has never seen a carrier whose approach to workers was so confrontational. "Employees feel they're being used," he says. "It's tough to get them to win one for the Gipper."
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2001/0611/106.html