Fly the contemptuous skies.

• Author: RUNDLES, JEFF
• Position: Brief Article

UNITED AIRLINES ISN'T BESIEGED WITH PROBLEMS -- THIS IS A STRATEGY TO CONTROL COSTS.

Boo hoo. Boo hoo hoo.

I have no sympathy whatsoever, nor do I believe any of the babble coming from United Airlines about weather problems or labor issues. What's been happening to travelers for the past several months -- cancellations, delays, headaches and rotten customer service -- is simply a calculated strategy by the carrier to boost its bottom line, and beat its pilots, ground crews and maintenance workers out of wage increases -- all at the expense of the traveling public, which the airline couldn't care less about.

I travel quite a bit, most of it on business, and I count on my carrier to get me to my destination on time safely. I have been flying United Airlines almost exclusively during the past three years for a variety of reasons, but for the most part because I fly from DIA and haven't much of a choice. I do like racking up the frequent flyer miles, and I admit that in 1998 and 1999 my experience with United was almost entirely excellent.

So what's different about 2000? Is the weather worse? No. Is the air traffic control system somehow, all of a sudden not working? No.

All these problems have come about -- mysteriously -- just when the airline has labor problems, and just when the price of fuel is going up.

Everyone I talk with has a United horror story Mayor Webb has asked for answers from the Secretary of Transportation.

Well, I know what's going on.

There is nothing magical about this year in terms of traffic; the public's appetite for flight travel has been great for several years now. But last year and the year before, it was an odd United airplane that I boarded that was full. I almost always had an empty seat in the middle (I like aisles) beside me, boarding was not a problem, and desk and flight crew personnel were courteous. Passengers and airlines themselves have differing philosophical perspectives: I always looked at airline travel as half-full; United, apparently, sees it as half-empty. So this year the carrier has changed everything. Every flight is loaded to the gills, the staff is mean and angry, and I -- along with just about everyone I know -- haven't met a schedule yet.

Someone told me recently that I shouldn't fly after the 15th of the month because the flight crews won't fly overtime and they have used up their allotted straight...