Let's Compare, Shall We?

"f86sabre" (f86sabre)
08/22/2015 at 15:11 • Filed to: Planelopnik

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . It amazes me that Gawker and Jalopnik exist in the same universe.

DISCUSSION (41)

My citroen won't start > f86sabre
08/22/2015 at 15:16

I don’t think there was nothing really wrong with that Gawker article, Delta is not very good.

Jayhawk Jake > My citroen won't start
08/22/2015 at 15:19

Delta is perfectly fine.

My citroen won't start > Jayhawk Jake
08/22/2015 at 15:21

Second worst airline I’ve ever taken, Iberia takes the prize.

Sneaky Pete > My citroen won't start
08/22/2015 at 15:21

Never flown US Air or United?

Jayhawk Jake > My citroen won't start
08/22/2015 at 15:22

Sorry you had a bad experience. I’ve never had a problem with Delta. United on the otherhand...

I’d still rather deal with a ‘crappy’ airline than take a bus

My citroen won't start > Sneaky Pete
08/22/2015 at 15:24

US Air never, United probably once or twice in short flights but long ago.

Sam > Jayhawk Jake
08/22/2015 at 15:25

Seriously. A 3 hour flight on a ‘crappy’ airline beats a 7-8 hour ‘somewhat okay’ bus ride any day.

Jayhawk Jake > Sam
08/22/2015 at 15:27

With regulations as they are today airline travel is the safest it’s ever been, so even the worst airline will very likely get you there safely.

Ive never quite understood why people get so worked up about air travel. Did you get there reasonably close to on time? Good.

f86sabre > My citroen won't start
08/22/2015 at 15:27

Kinja'd!!!

Based on what metric? Taking a quick look at the last published DOT results, Delta doesn’t look like it finished below 4th in any category. Granted, it was just a quick look. You know who really struggles? United, Frontier and Southwest.

whoarder is tellurium > My citroen won't start
08/22/2015 at 15:28

I’ve never had a real problem with Delta. I like their simple and clean paint scheme too. As well, their infotainment is acceptable to me and offers enough free features to keep me occupied.

On the flip side...Delta have the same issues as the other major airlines do: overbooked flights, mechanical issues with aircraft, running late... etc.

A lot of people don’t realize (gawker included) that its a major PITA for airlines to keep day to day operations running smoothly.

Steve in Manhattan > My citroen won't start
08/22/2015 at 15:28

Agreed - it’s just Gawker being Gawker. It’s as if they’ve sinned like, say, the Huffington Post. Clickbait anyone?

Sam > Jayhawk Jake
08/22/2015 at 15:31

I recently flew United IND-CLT-EWR and back and my only complaint was that being in EWR feels like you’ve just landed in a third-world country. So really, it’s usually the airports that make the flights seem shittier.

scoob > f86sabre
08/22/2015 at 15:31

Did he even try to write anything? Ballaban did it better . And earlier.

But Jalopnik definitely has pointless articles too sometimes.

Matt Hardigree > f86sabre
08/22/2015 at 15:33

I mean, I’d like to think that Gawker readers aren’t the only ones with a sense of humor but maybe I’m wrong.

Jayhawk Jake > Sam
08/22/2015 at 15:37

Usually I find that people’s complaints are beyond the airlines control. It’s other passengers or weather that cause the issue most of the time.

I had a bad experience with United recently. Airplane had an issue, needed a part flown in. 4 hour delay. Rescheduled my connection, part comes in, no updates. Kept delaying but never told us anything, I kept rescheduling my connection. Long story short they delayed an additional 2 hours before canceling the flight, and now I was screwed and had to schedule a flight the next day. It was handled truly poorly by the airline.

Sneaky Pete > My citroen won't start
08/22/2015 at 15:42

Consider yourself lucky. Haha

I had a free voucher on US Air due to a previous flight that was, let’s call it “eventful” and chose not to use it they suck so much.

DrJohannVegas > f86sabre
08/22/2015 at 15:44

Kinja'd!!!

f86sabre > Matt Hardigree
08/22/2015 at 15:44

Point I was trying to make was Balban wrote something interesting and Gawker went the easy, click bait route. Fixed my links above by the way. Looking forward to the followup.

Kinja'd!!!

Matt Hardigree > f86sabre
08/22/2015 at 15:47

I think both approaches are valid. One fits better for Flight Club and the other for Gawker. Gawker also does very substantive work on topics on which we’d probably only end up making a joke.

For Sweden > Matt Hardigree
08/22/2015 at 15:49

Oh, we know it’s a joke, it’s just not a very funny one.

My citroen won't start > Steve in Manhattan
08/22/2015 at 15:49

They took another shot at the old “Airlines are always shit" joke, there is no sin whatsoever there.

Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready > For Sweden
08/22/2015 at 16:00

Hey, it was at least as funny as you.

For Sweden > Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready
08/22/2015 at 16:01

Then why are they paid?

Steve in Manhattan > My citroen won't start
08/22/2015 at 16:01

True - I think, however, that the “first world problems” thing is played out. Just my take on it.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Jayhawk Jake
08/22/2015 at 16:02

The only time that doesn’t happen is when flying TUS-ATL and the plane has mechanical problems so Delta has to fly a mechanic and parts in for this 757-200 from SLC.

That’s about the only time I was really really really late (Supposed to be on the first flight in about 11AM or so, we finally left and got to ATL at 11:45PM)

Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready > For Sweden
08/22/2015 at 16:08

Because they went to the job interview.

My citroen won't start > Steve in Manhattan
08/22/2015 at 16:09

Both played out and slightly hypocritical on Gawkers behalf.

f86sabre > Matt Hardigree
08/22/2015 at 16:12

True, good work can come from anywhere and does. Perhaps I was just a little taken aback seeing that story in the Jalopnik feed after Balban’s piece went up a couple of days ago.

My citroen won't start > f86sabre
08/22/2015 at 16:15

Granted, I don’t really fly with american airlines that much, I’m used to Swiss Air and TAM, but my experience with Delta isn’t all that good.

Steve in Manhattan > My citroen won't start
08/22/2015 at 16:35

Eh - I’m a bit more forgiving than I used to me. Just edit your posts - don’t fuck up possessives or serial commas. And if you don’t know what a comma-splice error is, I don’t know you.

My citroen won't start > Steve in Manhattan
08/22/2015 at 16:40

Sorry. Is that directed at me?

Birddog > f86sabre
08/22/2015 at 17:42

I saw that one too. I couldn’t believe that was part of their “FP”.

John Norris (AngryDrifter) > f86sabre
08/22/2015 at 18:22

Both Jalop and Gawker have their roles. Jalop is a little more reality based.

Steve in Manhattan > My citroen won't start
08/22/2015 at 18:52

Not even in the slightest - your comments are read by me eagerly, and are perfectly written ... just other posters need to ... ugh, I’m pedantic all of a sudden. Please, someone slap me.

My citroen won't start > Steve in Manhattan
08/22/2015 at 18:57

That’s perfectly fine. My favorite alter-ego is Captain Pedantic.

Matt Hardigree > f86sabre
08/22/2015 at 20:32

Nicole was out this week and didn’t see it, I’m guessing.

f86sabre > John Norris (AngryDrifter)
08/22/2015 at 20:41

Just a little.

f86sabre > whoarder is tellurium
08/22/2015 at 20:49

If you see the post above with the DOT stats click on the images. The top one of them shows the number of cancellations by each of the major carriers. Delta was at 0.3% for June and only second to Hawaiian (0.1%) for the smallest percentage of cancellations. If you look over to the right you will see the number of flights. Hawaiian was able to do that with 470+ flights operated in June. Delta did it with 58,000 flights. Ponder that for a sec. Another fun fact is that Delta maintains about half of Hawaiian’s fleet.

Michael Ballaban > f86sabre
08/22/2015 at 22:14

Gawker’s made me laugh.

Steve in Manhattan > My citroen won't start
08/23/2015 at 02:19

I saw them at the Roxy back in ‘96 - with their original drummer.

ttyymmnn > f86sabre
08/24/2015 at 10:42

I get what Matt is saying, that the two sites have a different style of writing. But I find the Gawker piece (I can’t call it an article) to be nothing more than a excuse to get readers to hate on air travel in general and Delta specifically. It’s also an excuse to put “f**k” in a headline. I think that’s a pretty sophomoric way to go about reporting events. It’s like a clown who can’t get a laugh, so he pulls his pants down to get a laugh. There is an art to writing good snark, and Hudson didn’t even try with this one; he just mailed it in.

Of course, you and I, and others in the aviation community, have a vested interest in stories like this being reported correctly, so we may be a little more sensitive than others who feel less passionately about it. I haven’t bothered to read anything Gawker has written about the Shoreham tragedy, though I did reply to one commenter who believes that people only go to air shows in the hopes of seeing a crash.