Travel letters: Norwegian Airlines deserves an F, not an A-minus

I was shocked to read that the L.A. Times gave Norwegian Airlines a grade of A-minus in Jenn Harris’ Aug. 28 article, “The Costs of Flying Cheap.”

I flew the airline from Copenhagen to New York the beginning of July and had the worst service I have ever experienced during a flight. The plane was 3½ hours late. The flight attendant was just plain rude. He pointed to a piece of paper in the aisle and demanded to know who put it there, as if someone would deliberately throw paper in the aisle.

When he began a beverage service, a man was rummaging in the overhead bin, temporarily blocking his progress. With hand on hip, he chastised the man with, “You had six hours to get into that bin, and now you decide to get something out?”

My suitcase was not on the JFK carousel upon arrival, and there was no one available to report the loss to for half an hour. My suitcase was missing for a week, with no progress report despite my efforts to get information.

It was finally located, and it took a full week to get it from the East Coast to the West Coast. Total time without 18 days of packed clothes: two weeks.

I can understand that on any given flight, on any given airline, there can be unexpected problems. However, there were too many incidents of poor service on this flight to think that this was unusual.

Sue Peelle, Westlake Village

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I agree, in most part, with Harris about her flight on Wow airlines. I flew round trip from LAX to Reykjavik, Iceland to Amsterdam. My savings, compared with other airlines, at the time, were substantial — almost half the cost of the other airlines.

I was willing to sacrifice comfort and convenience for the reduced fare. It worked for me.

Cathy Gardikas, Lakewood

Seat pains

Catharine Hamm’s Aug. 21 On the Spot column [“Ouch! This Airline Ride Is Hurting Me”] really touches a nerve about the ever-diminishing airline seat comfort in economy class.

I continue to experience the inhumane and nearly impossible seat and pitch dimensions the airlines are using. Just Google “airline seats” for a comprehensive study of the airline industry’s shrinking seat accommodations.

It’s not about weight and space as suggested in the article as designers “struggle” with dimensions. It’s all about how many passengers can be crammed into the tube for maximum profit.

The tortuous result is an uncomfortable and physically impossible seating space. Couple this with a reclining seat in your face and it only gets worse.

A recent 11-hour trip on a 747 from England was an example of tight, uncomfortable seats. I suppose I could save up a few more bucks and buy an extra 3 inches or, better yet, a business class area for thousands more. We should not have to pay for what should be a reasonable seat.

Hamm’s article mentions the many medical problems that can be encountered when a traveler is crammed for hours in a small area. I feel that flights of more than four hours should have seats with increased dimensions to ensure traveler comfort and to mitigate possible medical problems.

Additionally, reclining seats should not be allowed if no allowances are made for needed extra space. It is a maddening situation with no recourse.

Travelers need to complain to the airlines regarding this terrible packaging of passengers into their aircraft. Too bad we can’t revolt. They’ve got us nailed.

Tony Di Bona, San Diego

Ocean’s balm

I enjoyed the article “Soothing Seas” [Aug. 21, by Catharine Hamm].

It reminded me of the delight I felt when I first put a stethoscope to a pregnant abdomen and heard the sound of blood rushing through the umbilical cord. It sounded like the ocean and immediately made me think that since it is the first sound we hear in our development, it would certainly make the ocean a familiar and soothing sound.

Marilyn Alexander, Santa Monica