With Southwest's meltdown, we sure could use a bullet train

Letters to the Editor: Southwest passengers deserve an alternative. How about a bullet train?

As Southwest Airlines continued to cancel flights, travelers wait in line at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana.

Jan. 1, 2023 3 AM PT

To the editor: The daughter of columnist Sandy Banks, like thousands of others, experienced air travel delays and nightmares due to bad weather in other parts of the country, a shortage of pilots and flight attendants, and one airline’s organizational failures.

Had there been a high-speed rail train running between the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, Banks’ daughter and many others would have had a fast alternative to travel between the two regions.

They would not be dependent on the weather in other parts of the country. In California, the weather over Christmas was not too bad.

Matthew Hetz, Los Angeles

To the editor: Yup, I was one of the many that got my flight canceled — three times over. I couldn’t get a car, and I even couldn’t get an Uber. I took it all in stride; after all, if you’re traveling on the holidays, it happens.

Did I receive fair compensation for my troubles? I doubt it, but what I did get, and I’m sure many others did too, was COVID-19. And I was one of a small percentage of travelers who was masked.

So as I write this, I am in bed, at my destination, and I will probably have to re-book my return flight because I won’t be well enough to fly.

That is the real tragedy of this mess.

Gregg Ferry, Carlsbad

To the editor: With airline consolidation and fewer consumer choices, this catastrophe was inevitable.

It is easy to blame the airlines. But they are just businesses that by nature will try to cut costs and maximize profits. They have learned it is cheaper to reimburse a customer who complains persistently than to have systems in place to avoid poor service.

Where are the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration? Are they not properly regulating how airlines maintain their information, customer service and communication systems?

Michael Krubiner, Valley Village

To the editor: Did I miss the news? Elon Musk bought Southwest Airlines last week?

John Broecker, Upland