Word: ronay
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While Delta ranks a surprising first and El Al a merited last (see box), few of the airlines land unscathed. In an introduction headed "Thoroughly Fed-Up," Ronay writes: "Herded like cattle, kept uninformed during frequent delays, racked in their tight seats, air travelers are reduced to ciphers and dehumanized." Hungarian-born Ronay nears apoplexy on the subject of airline food: "Only the truly captive situation of the passenger explains how airlines can get away with serving unadulterated rubbish...
There are few kind words for the flight attendants who pass out "the antiseptic anti-chicken" and "glutinous casseroles." Once meal service is finished, Ronay and his inspectors conclude, the cabin staff forgets about the passenger. Worst of all is "the scandalous state of the toilets. Our experience of filth and discarded bits and pieces does not bear description...
...other hand, it may be worth the trip to Toronto to fly Air Canada to London. The food was only half bad, says Ronay, the service super: "We came away in a good mood, feeling that we had been served by crews who worked as a team and took pride in their job and their country." On Delta, the food had some flavor and was gracefully served, which is not always true on the airline's domestic flights. High praise goes to "the smiling Irish eyes" of Aer Lingus' stewardesses, though the non-Hibernian meals would be rejected...
...British inspectors' bitterest barbs are aimed at British Airways; pace Robert Morley, its "farcically pretentious Elizabethan menu heralded one of the worst air meals ever eaten." A British Airways official, who might have been speaking for most of the chastised carriers, retorted huffily: "I am afraid Mr. Ronay is totally out of touch with the views and tastes of today's airline passengers...
...inspectors, including Egon Ronay, flew each of the airlines three times, on day and night flights. They traveled economy class. (Not included in the survey, because they do not have direct U.K.-North America service, were Air France, Lufthansa and Alitalia.) Each airline was graded according to 14 criteria, with an optimum of 100%, ranging from in-flight announcements to the selection of magazines and newspapers aboard. The score...