Rants and Raves

A Rant against airline ticket price gouging

With all my rants against airlines, you would think I would never fly again.  Unfortunately, when you’re a World Adventurer, you have very little choice but to be dependent on these mindnumbingly frustrating airlines to get you where you want to go.  Otherwise, you would find yourself sailing on a slow boat to China.  Tonight my wife booked tickets for my family to travel from Seoul to Shanghai, China over the Chuseok (Mid-Autumn Festival) holiday.  The price is over $800 per ticket!  I repeat, $800.  It’s a 2.5 hour flight.  868 kilometers separate Seoul and Shanghai.  That’s 539 miles.  That’s half the distance between Seattle and San Francisco.  When was the last time you paid $800 to fly anywhere in North America?  If you live in Europe, when is the last time you paid $800 to fly anywhere in Europe?  You haven’t.  Asian air travel is ridiculously expensive.  We would have liked to visit Japan, which is very close to Korea, but we might as well have traveled to Australia or Thailand.  It’s virtually cheaper than crossing the East Sea to Japan.  If you think the high ticket price just because we will travel during a holiday weekend, consider that tickets to fly the week before, during off-peak season, cost just $75 less.  About $725.
 
Why is it so expensive to fly internationally in Asia?  Domestic flights are a bit more affordable, but international fares are absolutely aggregious.  Two words–landing rights.  Asian governments offer national carriers preferential treatment and allow them to dominate their major airports.  Korea does it, but it is not alone in this respect–most Asian governments do likewise.  Incheon International Airport, which serves Seoul, is dominated by Korea’s two major airlines, Asiana Airlines and Korean Airlines.  Foreign airlines such as China Eastern and JAL fly in and out of Seoul, but they collectively control less than one quarter of the gates at Incheon Airport.  Asiana and Korean control entire hubs.  In addition, some major foreign carriers such as Delta Airlines must co-share with the Korean majors because they can’t secure landing rights for their aircraft.  Asian airlines take advantage of this competitive advantage by charging outrageous rates for their airline tickets.  Certainly, the quality of their service and the staff is top notch.  Asian airlines are well known for offering the best service in the world.  (Who doesn’t want to be served by a beautiful Korean air hostess in mid-flight?)  Honestly, like many Americans, I would much rather sacrifice this award-winning service for a modestly-priced ticket.  I prefer discount airline tickets.  That’s why I’m rooting for Jeju Air to succeed and expand internationally to other East Asia destinations.  I don’t need to fly from Seoul to Shanghai non-stop on a Boeing 777 in 2.5 hours for $800.  I’d rather fly on a Jeju Air Bombadier jet to Jeju Island, transfer, and arrive in Shanghai in five hours and pay $350-$400.  I can use the money I save to buy an overpriced Starbucks cappuccino while in transit.
  
In times like these, I wish I still worked for Intel and still had corporate jet privileges.  There’s nothing like driving to a county airport, flashing your company badge, bypassing any security checkpoints, boarding a small corporate jet, eating freebie snacks, and jetting off close to your destination.  When I left Intel, it was scaling back corporate jet privileges for employees and cutting some flights (who knows, maybe the corporate jet program has been discontinued because of high fuel prices and Intel’s recent struggles–I wouldn’t be surprised).  It sure was nice to have the privilege, if even for just a brief time.

A Rant Against China Eastern Airlines

…and a Rave for Shanghai Airlines

On Friday, April 21 my family and I left Shanghai for Xi’an.  We went by bus from central Shanghai to Pudong International Airport and arrived at 6:30 p.m. in time for our 8 p.m. China Eastern Airlines flight.  At 7:30 p.m. we arrived at the gate and waited for the boarding call.  The flight was delayed due to a freakish thunder storm.  We waited almost one hour to board, standing in line with hundreds of other passengers.  The flight was full.  At about 9 p.m. we were ushered into the plane.  The weak announcement overhead periodically announced that we had to wait for other airplanes to depart.  At midnight, our flight finally departed.

Waiting three hours for a flight is bearable, but China Eastern Airlines mismanaged the flight.  As China’s second largest airline, I expected better service.  The boarding was chaotic, and once we were seated, we were subjected to poor circulation and high temperatures induced by warm bodies cramped in a parked airplane.  The air hostesses brought drinks and peanuts but were at a loss to provide any other comfort.  The flight was miserable.  Our Airbus A300 did not handle the turbulence of the thunder storm and China’s central plateau well.  Airbus builds its jets so that flight stress is borne by the fuselage, not the wings.  You could feel every dip and crack during the flight.  It did not help that we flew on an older Airbus.  My son slept during the entire flight, but my poor wife paled and gripped my hand with each turbulent shock.  I’ve flown on China Eastern a few times and was satisfied with the flights.  This one failed miserably.  Because the flight was a domestic route serving Shanghai and Xi’an, it’s likely that the level of customer service was a notch below that of international routes.  While a regional carrier, China Eastern still serves several international locations, including London and Los Angeles.

I might let my experience with China Eastern slide, but I was surprised by the difference between their service to Xi’an and Shanghai Airlines’ return service to Shanghai.  When we flew back to Shanghai on April 23, we flew on a brand new Boeing 737-800.  The air hostesses reminded me of international hostesses.  They served real food, and the flight was smooth as glass and on time.  Our experience on China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines could not have been more different.  I was more concerned about flying Shanghai Airlines than China Eastern Airlines, but it seems that my concern was misplaced.  If you have plans to fly in China, give Shanghai Airlines a try.

On Thursday we will fly Delta Airlines back to the states.  I hope that our next experience with Delta will be better than our previous one.  One thing is for sure–we will not wait to be the last passengers on the plane.

Silencing the Yoduk Story

I am not often openly critical of my host country and try to avoid being overtly political, but I cannot remain silent on this issue.  Organized attempts in Korea to shut down "Yoduk Story" are absolutely appalling.  It is a story that should not be silenced, and it is an affront to free speech if "Yoduk Story" is shut down before it reaches the small stage.  "Yoduk Story" is a musical by North Korean Director Jung Sung San, who defected to South Korea in 1994.  The somber musical chronicles the brutality of life at Yoduk, North Korea’s largest concentration camp.  Although he was never imprisoned at Yoduk, Jung’s life was profoundly impacted by Yoduk.  In 1994 he escaped from North Korea while on his way to the camp, where he was scheduled to serve a 13-year prison term for listening to a South Korean radio broadcast.  Jung also claims that his father was executed in 2002 to punish the family for his own defection.
 
Attempts to silence this musical are very unfortunate.  The Chosun Ilbo is reporting that significant efforts have been made to keep the musical from opening in order to avoid offending North Korea.  Other than the Chosun Ilbo, not one single newspaper of the Korean media has picked up the story.  The Korean media assiduously reports on virtually anything happening in Korea, yet it is eerily silent on this issue.  When I visited http://www.yodukstory.com/ today to see when and where I could attend a performance, I found an HTTP 404 error message indicating the official web site could not be found.  (Dear Reader, can you view this web site from outside Korea?  If so, let me know.)  If you can view it from outside Korea, then very likely it means that Korean Internet service providers have agreed to either censor or shut down the web site, as they occasionally do at the government’s behest.  When I called the "Yoduk Story" phone number (02-569-4483 inside Korea, +82-2-569-4483 outside Korea), I could not reach anyone.   According to the Chosun Ilbo, government officials have invoked Korea’s National Security Law in order to water down the use of North Korean symbolism and propaganda in the production, and half of the musical’s budget has dried up under official pressure.  One theater even pulled out of its commitment to run the show.
 
This concerted effort to stop "Yoduk Story" from opening in Korean theaters is appalling.  Let Korean audiences decide with their hearts and wallets whether they want to support this musical.  After all, Korea seems to have no trouble airing a Korean version of "The Producers," a Broadway musical that includes Nazi imagery.  Imagine if the French had tried to suppress "Les Miserables" because of its serious theme and dark imagery of the French Revolution.
 
I plan to find out more about what is happening with "Yoduk Story" and will lend my full support to make sure "Yoduk Story" gets a fair hearing in the Korean court of public opinion.  If you’re interested in lending your support, let me know.  So often, Koreans pay very close attention to the U.S.’ actions and react whenever they disagree.  In this case, Americans are–or should be–concerned about what is happening here to "Yoduk Story."  Take note, Korea.  We noticed.