We were tickled to see a typically unlit corner of American travel shown on "Saturday Night Live" this past week in "Fran & Freba," in which two proper ladies (Kristen Wiig and guest host Neil Patrick Harris) chew over their personal problems while... directing air traffic. Neither a lecherous boss nor their giant fake fingernails could stop them from the task at hand! We could even use the phrase former Virgin America CEO Fred Reid used to describe the air traffic control system itself to describe them: "So retro [they're] cool."
But while we love Wiig with the fire of a thousand suns, and NPH brought the LOL this week, we wish the spot had tried to say something substantive about the problem the DOT is facing where over-congested airports are concerned. Last we heard, the DOT was asking airlines to voluntarily cut service to New York's LaGuardia Airport, one of the most plagued by delays. Not surprisingly, no airline has publicly stepped up yet. (A DOT spokesman claimed "strong support from at least one carrier" in December. Riiiiight.) And let's face it, these lovelies could barely deal with three flights on radar, let alone a traffic jam.
Maybe Lorne Michaels was afraid saying anything remotely critical would snag him a spot on the no-fly list or at least the dreaded SSSS secondary screening code. Lorne, may we suggest Amtrak?
Related Stories:
· Nov. 2007: Airport Hell: Is It Really That Bad? [Jaunted]
· The Best Travel Media Story of 2007 Is Airport Congestion [Jaunted]
· June 2008: Senator Sez NYC's Airports Still A Mess [Jaunted]
· Dec. 2008: DOT Lowers LGA Flight Caps [Aviation Week]
· Jaunted Interview: Chatting with Fred Reid [Jaunted]
· Funny Travel: Suspicious Samberg [Jaunted]]]>