It’s been a week since Alec Baldwin was booted from an American Airlines flight.
The entire incident may have cost the actor a bit of his dignity, helped the game Words with Friends, cost him his twitter account and done little to change boarding procedures, but we still think Greyhound is getting bad wrap.
Sure, Baldwin was relying on cliches and ignorance when when tried to compare American Airlines to Greyhound — but sadly, he was just wrong. Greyhound, which is undergoing a bit of a revival, is actually really nice.
American Airlines doesn’t offer leather seats. Greyhound does.
American Airlines charges $ 10 to use its wifi. Greyhound has it for free and includes a 110 volt power outlet for every seat — also at no additional charge.
American Airlines requires passengers show up hours before the flight and go through the TSA — please check your civil rights at the door and enjoy a dose of cancer causing radiation. Greyhound requires passengers get on the bus. Here’s the boarding procedure. “Welcome to Greyhound.”
American Airlines has the force of the FAA to make people turn off all electronic devices before take off and landing — and it’s a move that feels more like a TSA strip search than an actual safety reason. Greyhound encourages people to use electronic devices the entire trip.
American Airlines tickets can have more fees listed on the ticket than a phone book. Greyhound has a straightforward price.
American Airlines personnel and other passengers watched in horror as Baldwin threw a tantrum. Greyhound passengers just might have thumped him on the head and told him to shut the fuck up. Self regulation is a mighty good thing.
And the list just goes on and on.
A few years ago, I was aboard the Lucky Streak — a Greyhound shuttle from New York City to Atlantic City — it was a fabulous drive and perfect for the modern day Greyhound. It was on that ride that I got a chance to talk to president of Greyhound, who talked about the image problems Greyhound faced, and the strategy it was using to improve that.
Basically, Baby Boomers had such a bad image of Greyhound that the bus company wasn’t even going to bother trying to win them over. They may be a huge consumer group, but they are often wrong about what they think they know — just like Baldwin.
Greyhound has moved away from those cross country trips — leaving those to companies like American Airlines. Instead, Greyhound has found that focusing on trips that around 400 miles makes a lot more sense.
The roomy seats, the internet connection, and the significant savings will lure many customers to the bus company instead of considering planes. The 350 mile trip from LA to Phoenix will take about the same amount of total time without the hassle. Same goes with many of the other city connections, and in fact, many trips will take even less time than flying.
But Alec doesn’t know that. Why should he? A bus has seats all the way to the back that feel like first class — he wouldn’t feel special on that ride. But it’s not like we should really expect our television stars and cults of personality to actually know what they are talking about.
A savvy traveler, however, understands exactly this. A smart traveler, who might ride the scariest bus in the world in Columbia shouldn’t shun a much better ride back home.
