USAirways to let military board first

[freedom]

I'm well acquainted with our nations military history , I enjoyed reading about it as a child .

In some ways I'm like many of you. I was just reading about our troops coming home from Iraq , and I thoght to myself awww could it really hurt to let them board first , my heart says OK but my head says it's still not right. I could possibly see an exception because it's the end of the Iraq war , but a permant policy is still not right.

Principle , many Americans have forgotten what this word means. Rome fell because it's people lost theirs , we must be ever vigiliant not to lose ours .

Don't forget 700 that I love our troops as much as anyone here , but we should not forget what they fight and die for , it's just not for money or family or friends , it's for our way of life and everything that stands for .

It's sad to see how so many people cannot understand how putting the military before the general public is not in the spirt of what this nation stands for . We should give our soldiers every courtsey we can behind the scences , but in public we should honor the principle of civilian rule.

 

[700UW]

What does our government stand for then?

Do you realize you wouldnt have a country and the freedoms if it wasnt for the military.

Guess you didnt read about a pesky army that invaded the US when we declared independence from Britain, who saved the country, the military.

 

[freedom]

I'm sorry, I don't understand your anologies . Are you suggesting that I'm saying we don't need a military ?

If somehow you have misunderstood me that has not been my intent , we of course need a powerfull miliary to protect our interests and I stand behind our military.

 

[ChockJockey]

Principle , many Americans have forgotten what this word means. Rome fell because it's people lost theirs , we must be ever vigiliant not to lose ours .

Ah yes, the ol' "Rome fell because of [FILL IN THE BLANK]", that what comes from people that think the two century decline of an empire can be summarized in a single word. Nicely done, I can tell you know your antiquity.

Don't forget 700 that I love our troops as much as anyone here , but we should not forget what they fight and die for , it's just not for money or family or friends , it's for our way of life and everything that stands for .

What do they fight and die for? What is "our way of life"? It just sounds like you're repeating same sappy, hollow patriotic dogma most of us were spoon fed growing up, just like those outdated censored, sanitized and dumbed-down textbooks we hand out to our kids year after year and call it history.

It's sad to see how so many people cannot understand how putting the military before the general public is not in the spirt of what this nation stands for . We should give our soldiers every courtsey we can behind the scences , but in public we should honor the principle of civilian rule.

Translation: "It's sad to see that other people don't share my highly-idealistic, misplaced paranoia and sentimentality regarding vague notions of 'what this nation stands for.'" Letting uniformed people board an airliner in a different sequence is not going to bring down Western civilization. Now, I know that it has been raining in PHX the last couple of days so your "sky is falling!" sensibilities are piqued, but I think your concerns on this matter are entirely misplaced. It's absurd to bemoan something like this as a loss of principle while Congress works on a National Defense Authorization Bill that provides for the indefinite military detention of U.S. citizens without trial, on the simple suspicion of terrorist involvement. Get your priorities straight.

 

[freedom]

Ah yes, the ol' "Rome fell because of [FILL IN THE BLANK]", that what comes from people that think the two century decline of an empire can be summarized in a single word. Nicely done, I can tell you know your antiquity.


What do they fight and die for? What is "our way of life"? It just sounds like you're repeating same sappy, hollow patriotic dogma most of us were spoon fed growing up, just like those outdated censored, sanitized and dumbed-down textbooks we hand out to our kids year after year and call it history.


Translation: "It's sad to see that other people don't share my highly-idealistic, misplaced paranoia and sentimentality regarding vague notions of 'what this nation stands for.'" Letting uniformed people board an airliner in a different sequence is not going to bring down Western civilization. Now, I know that it has been raining in PHX the last couple of days so your "sky is falling!" sensibilities are piqued, but I think your concerns on this matter are entirely misplaced. It's absurd to bemoan something like this as a loss of principle while Congress works on a National Defense Authorization Bill that provides for the indefinite military detention of U.S. citizens without trial, on the simple suspicion of terrorist involvement. Get your priorities straight.

LOL ...letting the military board first won't bring down western civilization and to be honest if i felt strongly enough i could always write the military and share my concerns with the type of "message" that having the military board first before civilians sends .... but i don't care that much ... i just think our policy was fine the way it was ... the reason you see me so vigriously respond is that if i feel anyone questions my patrotism i will fire back , over and over and over again ...

(p.s , i had to one up your troll face with my own super troll face , and no i'm not exactly sure what this means but it sounds close enough to what we're discussing lol )

 

[LD3]

I stand behind our military.

Good, make sure your standing behind them when they board.....

 

[28L_or_10R?]

once again ... i'm not denying their sacrifice , this isn't a question of who's more patrotic ... i feel as deeply for them as any person at US airways ...... This goes back to what is apporiate for civilian life ... In this country there is a special and deep divide between military and civlian ... In general we do not operate as a military society ,BTW, i've had close family memebers in the military as well ... i'm one who worries because i see a growing military creep into our civlian society and i find it distressing ...

As a veteran, please accept my apologies for creeping into your civilian society.

 

[SparrowHawk]

Ah yes, the ol' "Rome fell because of [FILL IN THE BLANK]", that what comes from people that think the two century decline of an empire can be summarized in a single word. Nicely done, I can tell you know your antiquity.


What do they fight and die for? What is "our way of life"? It just sounds like you're repeating same sappy, hollow patriotic dogma most of us were spoon fed growing up, just like those outdated censored, sanitized and dumbed-down textbooks we hand out to our kids year after year and call it history.


Translation: "It's sad to see that other people don't share my highly-idealistic, misplaced paranoia and sentimentality regarding vague notions of 'what this nation stands for.'" Letting uniformed people board an airliner in a different sequence is not going to bring down Western civilization. Now, I know that it has been raining in PHX the last couple of days so your "sky is falling!" sensibilities are piqued, but I think your concerns on this matter are entirely misplaced. It's absurd to bemoan something like this as a loss of principle while Congress works on a National Defense Authorization Bill that provides for the indefinite military detention of U.S. citizens without trial, on the simple suspicion of terrorist involvement. Get your priorities straight.

Well said! VERY VERY Well said.

One thing some have difficulty with is separating public policy from the individual military man or woman. If you wander over to the Water Cooler threads you'll note that I am a frequent and harsh critic of Presidents Obama and Bush as well as an ardent supporter of Ron Paul. We don't belong in the Middle East with our interventionist, imperial empire building policies. HOWEVER, the military is sworn to uphold the COTUS and take direction from the Commander in Chief. So these young men and women are in harms way whether we like it or not.

Taking all of the emotion out for a second look at it this way. Any job/task is mostly mental in that the more positive your attitude and approach to the task at hand is the better you will do performing that task. Allowing service men and women to board first helps maintain morale, knowing that your fellow citizens support your efforts. How many on their way to deployment are buoyed by the thank you's from total strangers, being allowed to board first, etc etc? Maybe knowing the citizens appreciate your efforts makes you more alert and you spot an IED and disarm it BEFORE it blows up you and your unit. Esprit de Corps is critical to a successful military campaign. Does boarding first help? No idea but it for sure doesn't hurt.

 

[freedom]

As a veteran, please accept my apologies for creeping into your civilian society.

no need to appolgize ... thank you for your service ....

 

[skinvalve]

Rumor has it that bell ringing kettle tenders for The Salvation Army will be offered priority boarding during the holiday season. Members must be ringing bell at time of boarding. Submitted by Vet, and SA financial supporter.

 

[LD3]

Freedom won't like this: STORY

 

[Phoenix]

I cannot believe what I am reading.

A couple of years ago, I was upgraded to First Class on USAir due to my status as a Platinum member. No big deal but I saw someone in the military headed back to coach and approached the lead FA on how to switch my seat with him. That fat, ignorant, miserable, crammed in her flithy, wrinkled uniform POS looked me up and down and said contemptuously, "I really don't care what you do."

I sat back in my seat and fumed at the nastiness that I witnessed for maybe the 100th time from usair FAs. I contacted my company and don't fly on Usair anymore.

That being said, I fly only on Delta and when they board military first, we all applaud.

I am soooooo sorry that you consider our heroes to be an inconveneince to you, Freedom, honey, but these patriots have more honor in one molecule in their pinkie fingernails than your entire passel of snot nosed brats will ever possess.

And to all of our heroes, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! You make me so proud to be an American!!!!

The way you switch seats with someone on a plane is you simply discuss it with the person you would like to switch with, and then if you both find it to be agreeable you simply sit down according to your new arrangement. Some folks might be hesitant to move contrary to their boarding pass assignment but no one is going to arrest you if two passengers decide to exchange seats . The FAs really don't care if you change seats, as long as the exit rows are occupied by folks that meet the required criteria, and as long as the exchange doesn't cause a delay in departure.


I think letting the military board first is too trivial and does not show an adequate level of respect and gratitude. All first class passengers (both full fare and upgrades) should be willing to forego their seats for military in coach. It would be a good airline policy to outdo Delta. B)

 

[ggiby]

The way you switch seats with someone on a plane is you simply discuss it with the person you would like to switch with, and then if you both find it to be agreeable you simply sit down according to your new arrangement. Some folks might be hesitant to move contrary to their boarding pass assignment but no one is going to arrest you if two passengers decide to exchange seats . The FAs really don't care if you change seats, as long as the exit rows are occupied by folks that meet the required criteria, and as long as the exchange doesn't cause a delay in departure.


I think letting the military board first is too trivial and does not show an adequate level of respect and gratitude. All first class passengers (both full fare and upgrades) should be willing to forego their seats for military in coach. It would be a good airline policy to outdo Delta. B)

Oh Boy I cant believe that someone would be upset by this. I have had, on many occasions, Chairman, Gold, Plat etc see a serviceman, and Get up out of their first class seat, ask the serviceman where his seat is?, and
get up and go back to his seat. They are willing to sacrifice their life for you, and you grumble because a fat f/a asked you to do the right thing and not sit in first class for and hour or two? You are up their all of the time.
This poor guy usually flies on a cargo plane with no seat at all. And now he is going home to see family, and you can't offer your seat? How do you know he was not coming home to a funeral for a loved one? I would do backflips down the isle to thank him...... IMHO

 

[Phoenix]

Oh Boy I cant believe that someone would be upset by this. I have had, on many occasions, Chairman, Gold, Plat etc see a serviceman, and Get up out of their first class seat, ask the serviceman where his seat is?, and
get up and go back to his seat. They are willing to sacrifice their life for you, and you grumble because a fat f/a asked you to do the right thing and not sit in first class for and hour or two? You are up their all of the time.
This poor guy usually flies on a cargo plane with no seat at all. And now he is going home to see family, and you can't offer your seat? How do you know he was not coming home to a funeral for a loved one? I would do backflips down the isle to thank him...... IMHO

Yes, good chance they are flying to a funeral. This is a good opportunity for USAir to do better than other airlines. They should also mandate that people traveling to a funeral also have priority over other first class passengers, but lower priority than military that aren't traveling to a funeral. USAir management is so slow at adopting new, innovative ways to improve the image of the airline... and at no cost to anyone other than the first class passengers. Can you imagine the nerve of folks that question others taking from them to give to others, especially over such trivial things that mean nothing to them but make a world of difference to the ones that benefit?

P.S. I actually think it is really admirable that a bunch of first class passengers have been extending such kind gestures to others, and I think it is laughable that anyone would laud a "policy" that would cheapen the genuine gesture by making it mandatory. The company sells tickets. They don't need to get involved in "putting gold stars on the board" for passengers who do a mandatory good deed for other customers. Kindergarten was a long time ago.

 

[ggiby]

Yes, good chance they are flying to a funeral. This is a good opportunity for USAir to do better than other airlines. They should also mandate that people traveling to a funeral also have priority over other first class passengers, but lower priority than military that aren't traveling to a funeral. USAir management is so slow at adopting new, innovative ways to improve the image of the airline... and at no cost to anyone other than the first class passengers. Can you imagine the nerve of folks that question others taking from them to give to others, especially over such trivial things that mean nothing to them but make a world of difference to the ones that benefit?

P.S. I actually think it is really admirable that a bunch of first class passengers have been extending such kind gestures to others, and I think it is laughable that anyone would laud a "policy" that would cheapen the genuine gesture by making it mandatory. The company sells tickets. They don't need to get involved in "putting gold stars on the board" for passengers who do a mandatory good deed for other customers. Kindergarten was a long time ago.

I can not speak for the mgt of this company... I don't know how they decide how to let Members use their miles... I can not speak as to how they let people board...
I work on the a/c.... I just wait for the folks to board and I welcome them... but I do try to take care of our military... and I do what I can to accommodate them. If I can move
them to a f/c seat I will... I have never asked a f/c pax to give up their seat. But when I see the f/c pax offer it I do not get involved.... I just thank him/ or her and give them what they
need in the back of the a/c.... as well as I do when I have Chairman pax in the back... there are many times that Chairman are back there too.... and I try to take care of them as if they
are in f/c.... but there are many times that I have as many as 30 preferred pax in the back and I can't do it....

but If there is a person in uniform... I do it ... no questions asked.... and if a regular pax has a problem with it... ???? who cares... this guy has given us our freedom... if he did not...
many others have done it as well.... I must say... I have worked many, many HONOR AIR flights... (WW2 ) veterans... and... you would come down off of your cloud to be with these Men..
It is the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my 30 years working here.... I live for these flights...
So when you talk about veterans.... just get up and PRAISE them.... PS.... there will be lots coming home now!!! PTL....