To play devil's advocate here for a second, I have to say the article is not all bad.

In my opinion, the outsourcing thing has gotten way out of control and I for one like to see that people call and complain when the buy a ticket on US Air and end up flying on some other mainline/regional/codeshare carrier.

The outsourcing has diluted the product for years now while being used as a way to fragment and weaken labor groups. While I do get sick and tired of the airlines being used as a punching bag by the media and general public, I for one could careless what they think. Ultimately, they are free to take a train, bus, or drive themselves if airline travel is so horrid.

A few years back, my wife used her OnePass miles to book a round trip ticket on CAL. She had a direct flight from EWR on the way out, but on the return they had her on a US Air flight to PHL followed by a 5 hour sit to connect on a Un-Named Regional Carrier to EWR. Meanwhile there were about 4 direct flights to EWR that same day. I basically called them up reservations and told them that my wife is a Continental OnePass member and chooses to fly on Continental, when she buys a ticket she is paying for Continental's reputation of experience, safety, and professionalism. The reservation operator basically told me she gets alot of these calls and switched my wife's flight.

If I order a Pepsi, I don't want the waitress bringing me a Coke. I personally applaud the media's focus on the dilution of mainline service and quality. I hope the big wigs start to realize that watering down the branding will eventually push customers away.