It's difficult to say that American carriers have not done a single thing to improve their service. The cost structure of United/American/Delta is very different than long haul international carriers.
I tried to read the piece you linked, but TBH I couldn't be bothered to wade through the fluff and stopped before I came to the part you were referencing.
Maybe you could quote it for us?
Anyway, the question I wanted to ask is: how does United/American/Delta's structure compare to, say, Lufthansa, or Air France, or Thai Airways? I've honestly never flown a US carrier, but long-haul complaints and horror stories tend to be about US carriers, not European ones, even though I suspect they have pretty similar structure.
"This was designed to put gulf carriers at a disadvantage because American airliners can't quite match their quality of service."
If you bother to read the comments on Schneier's blog, you'll notice andy's comment:
The ban impacts ten airports and all carriers flying out of those with direct flights to the US and UK. There are no direct flights from those airports on US carriers. So to say that the rule doesn't apply to US carriers is not wholly true, it doesn't apply because they don't fly those routes.
Re:The TSA's Selective Laptop Ban
by sandworm101 on Monday March 27, 2017 @03:27PM
(#13970863)
Apples and oranges. Frankly, on the short-haul flights of US airlines I don't want the type of service offered internationals leaving Dubai. I don't want in-flight hot towels or fancy entertainment systems when I am only in the chair for a couple hours. I want polite airport staff at well-designed and run airports. I want flights that leave on time and predictable security lines so that I need not arrive hours early. US airports are horrible but that is out of the airline's hands.
Re:The TSA's Selective Laptop Ban
by rajathagasthya on Monday March 27, 2017 @03:53PM
(#13971093)
Of course, I wasn't comparing US domestic service with the international ones offered by the gulf carriers. I know that's apples and oranges. The international service from US carriers is just as bad too. Just compare the flying experience from HKG to SFO on United vs Cathay Pacific. Cathay is better by a country mile.
What is your point? I don't understand why you focused on short-haul. US carriers do long-haul to, and they are terrible at it, but they are so lazy and incompetent that they just choose to whine about unfairness instead of competing. Typical. The funny thing is, these Middle East routes were wide open for the taking for a long time, and they still don't offer them.
This was designed to put gulf carriers at a disadvantage because American airliners can't quite match their quality of service. They have been crying about gulf carriers getting huge subsidies from their governments without doing a single thing to improve their own service.
Interestingly, UK also banned electronics but excluded major airports like Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.