Amtrak Takes Aim at Airlines with New Ads

Amtrak definitely is taking advantage of all the bad news the airline industry has been facing lately with their latest ad campaign. 

Flight delays, baggage fees and other frustrating obstacles have made air travel pretty annoying at times for travelers to say the least.

I just so happen to be one of those unlucky travelers last night. My plane out of JFK Airport to London's Heathrow was delayed and then evacuated due to a security risk.

The disruptive passenger was escorted off by TSA agents and we finally were back on the plane and headed to jolly old England three hours after the original departure time. Ugh.

So with mine being just one of the many hundreds of airline horror stories weekly it seems, Amtrak launched ads exclusively at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport that are aimed convert plane travelers to train travelers.

The unique places in which Amtrak put the ads include the carry-on plastic bins that you usually put our laptop or shoes.

The X-ray trays have Amtrak trains plastered on them with such humorous slogans promoting trains and bashing planes as "Wear mismatched socks -- we'll never know."

Amtrak passengers do not suffer the same security measures as flying customers do. Officials for the train company said the ads are aimed at making customers laugh, but at the same time realize that there are other means of transportation out there if you are fed up with flying.

What Amtrak blatantly leaves out if that train travel is so much slower than plane travel and that delays occur as much, if not more often, on the rails than in the skies.

Are you fed up with planes, airports and TSA agents? Is rail travel something you have thought of switching to as an alternative to flying the somewhat friendly skies?

Source: Chicago Tribune

Flickr: jpmueller99