Synopses & Reviews
Award-winning journalist and leading consumer advocate William J. McGee offers a shocking, essential exposé that reveals the real state of the "friendly skies."
From outsourced call centers in India to the Alabama location where all lost baggage ends up, William J. McGee crisscrossed the country and traveled around the globe immersing himself deep into the world of commercial airlines. And what he found was shocking.
McGee interviewed countless industry insiders—pilots, TSA security screeners, FAA inspectors, legislators, the CEOs of the major carriers, and even Ralph Nader and Steven Slater, the disgruntled flight attendant who famously jettisoned a JetBlue flight. Here he reveals how airline executives are cutting costs in "a mad race to the bottom" by delegating flights to second-tier regional airlines and outsourcing critical aircraft maintenance and repairs to unlicensed "mechanics" in China, Singapore, Mexico, and El Salvador. And while the U.S. airlines have raked in tens of billions of dollars for checked baggage alone in recent years, our skies (and our airports) are not getting any safer. What's more, McGee explains how both political parties and all branches of the U.S. government have conspired to place corporate interests above the interests of consumers, workers, the nation's economy, and even the planet itself. Attention All Passengers will change the way you view the airline industry and make you think twice the next time you see the fasten seat belts sign.
Review
"The dissection of major airlines' use of regional carriers with lower safety standards for short flights, among other troubling practices, makes this an effective polemic...compelling read." Publishers Weekly
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“…well-researched narrative…McGees exploration of this lack of accountability is intriguing…Informative” Kirkus Reviews
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“McGee is making a serious and important argument, and he ends with a series of suggestions...that reflect both insider knowledge and common sense.” Boston Globe
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“A damning indictment of the airline industry, and the lax oversight and economic and political pressures that are jeopardizing the safety of everyone who flies.” Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, Retired Airline Pilot, consultant, speaker, CBS News Aviation and Safety Expert, And Author of < i=""> Making a Difference <> and < i=""> Highest Duty: My Search For What Really Matters <>
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“This book is the broadest consistent page-turner Ive read on airlines, including our own.” Ralph Nader, co-author with Wesley J. Smith of < i=""> Collision Course: The Truth About Airline Safety < i/="">
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“Attention All Passengers deserves to be heeded for its discussion of airline safety. Mr. McGee addresses areas of serious concern that have largely remained off the radar screen.” Wall Street Journal
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“[A] provocative new book… McGee makes a compelling argument that minor annoyances such as baggage fees and shrinking seats are symptoms of deeper problems that are eroding the bottom line and, eventually, the safety of passengers.” Cleveland Plain Dealer
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"Lively, funny, and rife with quick-read tips...White's enthusiasm and verve combine with tales of challenges and successes from a fascinating career. This as well as stories of celebrities and successful women make the book an energetic, inspiring career memoir." Publishers Weekly
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“This eye-opening book should be required reading for anyone who flies, as well as airline employees and government officials.” Chicago Tribune
Synopsis
A Fast Food Nation for the airline industry, Attention All Passengers is a shocking and important exposé revealing the real state of the “friendly skies” in which we fly. Award-winning Consumer Reports travel journalist William McGee, a former editor of the Consumer Reports Travel Letter, spent nearly seven years in airline flight operations management, and what he learned was less than uplifting. From TSA power grabs and an endemic lack of oversight to legislative battles and lobbying boondoggles to antiquated flight patterns and outsourced maintenance workers, the airlines and the Government are in cahoots, conspiring to turn a profit any way they can, no matter who has to pay the price. A provocative and hard-hitting call to action, Attention All Passengers will explode all our previous misconceptions about the airline industry.
About the Author
William J. McGee is an award-winning travel journalist for Consumer Reports and the former editor of Consumer Reports Travel Letter. In 2010 the U.S. secretary of transportation chose him as the lone consumer advocate on the Future of Aviation Advisory Committee. He also writes a monthly travel column for USAToday.com and has contributed to Condé Nast Traveler, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Money, New York, Parents, Good Housekeeping, and many other magazines, newspapers, websites, and blogs. Prior to becoming a journalist, McGee spent nearly seven years in airline flight operations management; he is an FAA-licensed aircraft dispatcher and served in the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary. He earned an MFA from Columbia University and teaches creative writing at Hofstra University. He lives in Connecticut.