6 More Reasons to Hate Airline Companies and Flying

Perhaps you've flown recently and been shocked to learn that your airfare doesn't even include one checked bag--nope, you have to pay extra for that.

Perhaps you've been horrified to hear of people getting booted from frequent flier programs or discriminated against and kicked off flights, seemingly arbitrarily.

Maybe the absurd security theater with its long lines and its choice between body-scanners and pat-downs puts you on edge.

Or maybe you've been worried--we all have--by the fact that the FAA, the regulatory agency in charge of our safety when we fly, has been the latest, biggest victim of GOP legislative hostage-taking even if it's back in business now.

All these things mean flying feels more tense than ever while the big airlines are looking greedier than ever, at the expense of both consumers and employees.

Here are six big reasons it's less and less friendly to take to the air. (It's interesting to note how many of them are related to GOP policy.)

1. Union-busting

Delta Airlines, one of the behemoths of the air, has a "non-union" or "ani-union" approach. Over at Crooks and Liars, John Amato called Delta the "Scott Walker of the Sky" due to the limits it's gone to buck the rules regarding unionization.

Appeasing Delta's policies was one of the hostage-taking riders the GOP insisted on during negotiations over financing the FAA, and Harry Reid correctly called them on it. "The House has tried to make this a battle over essential air service," he said. "It's not a battle over essential air service. It's a battle over Delta Airlines, who refuses to allow votes [on whether or not to unionize] under the new rules...."

Read more about the fight over airline unionization at TPM and ThinkProgress.

Passengers may feel that flight attendants, pilots or airport staff are the face of the airlines, but common sense dictates that overworked, underpaid employees will create a much less pleasant environment for those of us trying to (literally) get on board. One of the best ways to stave this off? Unions fighting for fair wages and working conditions.

2. Hidden Fees

Those attractive fees that websites advertise may not actually be the whole cost of flying, as many of us know. We're subjected to fees for baggage and for extra baggage, for in-flight food and more. In Europe, these kinds of deceptive pricing ads have gotten so bad a commission is investigating. From the Guardian:

Siim Kallas, a European commission vice-president, who is also the organisation's transport commissioner, said he was concerned about the growing practice of airlines offering attractive, affordable, "headline prices" for flights that are then subject to baggage charges, credit and debit card fees, and airport check-in fees.

The practice, already criticised by UK consumer groups, has been under the spotlight for being used, as a matter of course, by budget airlines such as Ryanair. But it is also a feature of scheduled carriers...

In addition, programs like frequent-flyer miles have grown more difficult to get savings from, if a recent lawsuit from a passenger who was booted off his frequent flyer program and has sued--successfully, thus far--to get that status back is any indication. 

3. Discrimination and Harassment

There was the incident when two Muslim men heading to a conference on tolerance were kicked off their flight due to fears sparked by their traditional garb. Southwest Airlines is a particular culprit in this area. What about the sisters crying about their dad's heart attack? And then there have been the multiple headlines of "too fat to fly," which were given publicity by director Kevin Smith. Clearly, this sort of culture seems to indicate a top-down corporate approach toward passengers. And it's not just Southwest.