A Fast Food Nation for the airline industry, Attention All Passengers is a shocking and important exposé revealing the real state of the “friendly skies” in which we fly. Award-winning Consumer Reports travel journalist William McGee, a former editor of the Consumer Reports Travel Letter, spent nearly seven years in airline flight operations management, and what he learned was less than uplifting. From TSA power grabs and an endemic lack of oversight to legislative battles and lobbying boondoggles to antiquated flight patterns and outsourced maintenance workers, the airlines and the Government are in cahoots, conspiring to turn a profit any way they can, no matter who has to pay the price. A provocative and hard-hitting call to action, Attention All Passengers will explode all our previous misconceptions about the airline industry.
Attention All Passengers
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“A damning indictment of the airline industry, and the lax oversight and economic and political pressures that are jeopardizing the safety of everyone who flies.” (Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, Retired Airline Pilot, consultant, speaker, CBS News Aviation and Safety Expert, And Author of Making a Difference and Highest Duty: My Search For What Really Matters )
“This book is the broadest consistent page-turner I’ve read on airlines, including our own.” (Ralph Nader, co-author with Wesley J. Smith of Collision Course: The Truth About Airline Safety )
“…well-researched narrative…McGee’s exploration of this lack of accountability is intriguing…Informative” (Kirkus Reviews )
“McGee is making a serious and important argument, and he ends with a series of suggestions...that reflect both insider knowledge and common sense.” (Boston Globe )
“Attention All Passengers deserves to be heeded for its discussion of airline safety. Mr. McGee addresses areas of serious concern that have largely remained off the radar screen.” (Wall Street Journal )
“[A] provocative new book… McGee makes a compelling argument that minor annoyances such as baggage fees and shrinking seats are symptoms of deeper problems that are eroding the bottom line and, eventually, the safety of passengers.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer )
“This eye-opening book should be required reading for anyone who flies, as well as airline employees and government officials.” (Chicago Tribune )
“This book is the broadest consistent page-turner I’ve read on airlines, including our own.” (Ralph Nader, co-author with Wesley J. Smith of Collision Course: The Truth About Airline Safety )
“…well-researched narrative…McGee’s exploration of this lack of accountability is intriguing…Informative” (Kirkus Reviews )
“McGee is making a serious and important argument, and he ends with a series of suggestions...that reflect both insider knowledge and common sense.” (Boston Globe )
“Attention All Passengers deserves to be heeded for its discussion of airline safety. Mr. McGee addresses areas of serious concern that have largely remained off the radar screen.” (Wall Street Journal )
“[A] provocative new book… McGee makes a compelling argument that minor annoyances such as baggage fees and shrinking seats are symptoms of deeper problems that are eroding the bottom line and, eventually, the safety of passengers.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer )
“This eye-opening book should be required reading for anyone who flies, as well as airline employees and government officials.” (Chicago Tribune )
From the Back Cover
Award-winning journalist and leading consumer advocate William J. McGee offers a shocking, essential exposé that reveals the real state of the "friendly skies."
From outsourced call centers in India to the Alabama location where all lost baggage ends up, William J. McGee crisscrossed the country and traveled around the globe immersing himself deep into the world of commercial airlines. And what he found was shocking.
McGee interviewed countless industry insiders—pilots, TSA security screeners, FAA inspectors, legislators, the CEOs of the major carriers, and even Ralph Nader and Steven Slater, the disgruntled flight attendant who famously jettisoned a JetBlue flight. Here he reveals how airline executives are cutting costs in "a mad race to the bottom" by delegating flights to second-tier regional airlines and outsourcing critical aircraft maintenance and repairs to unlicensed "mechanics" in China, Singapore, Mexico, and El Salvador. And while the U.S. airlines have raked in tens of billions of dollars for checked baggage alone in recent years, our skies (and our airports) are not getting any safer. What's more, McGee explains how both political parties and all branches of the U.S. government have conspired to place corporate interests above the interests of consumers, workers, the nation's economy, and even the planet itself. Attention All Passengers will change the way you view the airline industry and make you think twice the next time you see the fasten seat belts sign.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
William J. McGee used to love to travel by air. Now he doesn't. I know how he feels. Like McGee, I've been fascinated with aviation since childhood and made it my career. For years, any time I could spend in an airport was fine by me. Now I avoid them. Once you're out of the airport and onto the plane, it's no better. Full flights, suspicious flight crews, cranky passengers, fewer amenities, higher prices. McGee says it doesn't have to be this way.
In Attention All Passengers, McGee explains how things work behind the scenes in aviation in a clear manner. He's obviously troubled by the way that a combination of deregulation and heightened security has turned the pleasure of air travel into an unpleasant slog.
McGee doesn't dispute that air travel is now safer than it ever has been, but he also observes that the margins of safety built into every aspect of aviation have been eroded to a dangerous extent by financial need and greed. At the top of his danger list is the outsourcing of aircraft maintenance. The repairs, maintenance, and inspections that used to take place in the United States, are now happening in China and El Salvador and elsewhere, where the standards may or may not be equivalent to our own. Even where the training and licensing are up to standard, there's another menace - counterfeit parts. Parts can be expensive and where the inspections are lax or nonexistent, rebuilt or counterfeit parts can easily be substituted for new parts.
McGee identifies deregulation as a mixed bag -- it brought ticket prices down but created more competition. That worked until the drop off of passengers after 9/11 and the astronomical expense of increased security measures. Airlines had to start cutting costs and it was only a matter of time until they found creative methods such as outsourcing, union busting, lower wages, a la carte pricing, and codesharing.
McGee's discussion of codesharing is fascinating, revealing how even a careful and observant customer can buy a ticket on a flight that appears to be on a major airline, but discover that the trip is on a small plane operated by a small regional airline. The pilot may have significantly less experience than a captain for a major airline and the plane may be subject to different inspection standards. And if anything goes wrong, the major airline that is named on your ticket may offer you no more than sympathy. Apparently the public as well as the airline executives are willing to tolerate more accidents involving smaller aircraft.
Attention All Passengers looks at many aspects of flying, mostly from a consumer perspective, and explains how we got to this state and how air travel can be improved. We may never return to the relative travel paradise of pre-9/11 days, but McGee clearly outlines how we can move from the sorry state of airline travel we have now to a system that is more secure and maybe even enjoyable.
In Attention All Passengers, McGee explains how things work behind the scenes in aviation in a clear manner. He's obviously troubled by the way that a combination of deregulation and heightened security has turned the pleasure of air travel into an unpleasant slog.
McGee doesn't dispute that air travel is now safer than it ever has been, but he also observes that the margins of safety built into every aspect of aviation have been eroded to a dangerous extent by financial need and greed. At the top of his danger list is the outsourcing of aircraft maintenance. The repairs, maintenance, and inspections that used to take place in the United States, are now happening in China and El Salvador and elsewhere, where the standards may or may not be equivalent to our own. Even where the training and licensing are up to standard, there's another menace - counterfeit parts. Parts can be expensive and where the inspections are lax or nonexistent, rebuilt or counterfeit parts can easily be substituted for new parts.
McGee identifies deregulation as a mixed bag -- it brought ticket prices down but created more competition. That worked until the drop off of passengers after 9/11 and the astronomical expense of increased security measures. Airlines had to start cutting costs and it was only a matter of time until they found creative methods such as outsourcing, union busting, lower wages, a la carte pricing, and codesharing.
McGee's discussion of codesharing is fascinating, revealing how even a careful and observant customer can buy a ticket on a flight that appears to be on a major airline, but discover that the trip is on a small plane operated by a small regional airline. The pilot may have significantly less experience than a captain for a major airline and the plane may be subject to different inspection standards. And if anything goes wrong, the major airline that is named on your ticket may offer you no more than sympathy. Apparently the public as well as the airline executives are willing to tolerate more accidents involving smaller aircraft.
Attention All Passengers looks at many aspects of flying, mostly from a consumer perspective, and explains how we got to this state and how air travel can be improved. We may never return to the relative travel paradise of pre-9/11 days, but McGee clearly outlines how we can move from the sorry state of airline travel we have now to a system that is more secure and maybe even enjoyable.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By nickgali
Format:Hardcover
A remarkable read. "Attention" manages to avoid cheap sensationalism, instead unfolding like the smart person's Whodunit where the stakes are...us, the passengers. McGee's reporter's eye and a storyteller's flair conspire to soberly grab you by the lapels and insist you pay attention, guiding you layer by layer, turn by turn through the labyrinthian airline industry, what it was, what it's become and, most importantly, how it can be fixed - which, as the author makes clear, is an urgent priority.
Mr. McGee's book on flying is essential reading for anyone that leaves the ground. Wow.
Mr. McGee's book on flying is essential reading for anyone that leaves the ground. Wow.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Rick
Format:Hardcover
There is one thing that nearly every American can agree on: Flying is a disagreeable experience. To no fault of the good, honest everyday airline workforce. Rather, it's the philosophy behind the whole darn industry. And that's a shame. Because air travel should--and could--be a way for America to excel and distinguish ourselves. We could still be the best in the world at this. Instead we've devolved. We cut corners. We focus on the cheap and profitable way to conduct business. Well, good on William McGee for laying out exactly what's wrong, and offering a lucid and practical vision for the future.
I love to travel and see our incredible country. And I would do it so much more...if it weren't the most disheartening experience. From the ticket purchase to the delays/cancellations to the moment when I see that my $500 has bought a seat that I'm embarrassed to escort my wife into. Let's all rally around ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS.
I love to travel and see our incredible country. And I would do it so much more...if it weren't the most disheartening experience. From the ticket purchase to the delays/cancellations to the moment when I see that my $500 has bought a seat that I'm embarrassed to escort my wife into. Let's all rally around ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very informative and scary
Not a book for those who are afraid to fly!!! This author knows his stuff and this is one you should not miss. Loved this book.
Published 1 month ago by J. Leonard
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Description of the Decline of and What Ails the US Airline...
The author, William J.McGee is a veteran airline professional and writer about the industry. If one is familiar with the industry as a professional or educated observer this book... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mark Carolla
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good but somewhat scary
I read this right before the 787s were grounded. Not surprising, given what McGee says about the FAA and the airline industry. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Paul G Rider
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reclaiming our skies
Just finished reading this book and had to comment immediately. I found that "Attention All Passengers - The Airlines' Dangerous Decent- and How to Reclaim Our skies by William... Read more
Published 3 months ago by KB
4.0 out of 5 stars
Only airline employees could relate.
I lived through the turmoil, like plenty of others. He is right of lack of faa oversight in these MROs, especially overseas.
Published 6 months ago by Aaron Chan
5.0 out of 5 stars
A look inside the book reveals what happened to air travel
McGee takes us inside the airline industry from the viewpoint of employees and those responsible for safety. Its a deteriorating situation. Read more
Published 6 months ago by LD
3.0 out of 5 stars
Runs out of steam...
Starts strongly, but gets a bit boring towards the final third of the book. Nevertheless an enjoyable read, though I expected more "dirt" on airlines to be revealed.
Published 6 months ago by Cliff
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a ride!
William McGee takes you on a roller coaster of emotions in this well-researched and well-written expose of the airline industry. Read more
Published 7 months ago by D. M. Barclay
2.0 out of 5 stars
Reader Rage
I purchased this book when I heard the author in an interview on NPR. Since I have flown over 3.3 million miles, I thought it would be a good read. Read more
Published 7 months ago by RJS
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Read
Attention All Passengers talks about the issues of the airline industry today, and the author gives a good description on how to fix the industry (starting with re-regulation), but... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Bostonkid13
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
