This was the second leg of a flight from Tokyo to Minneapolis. The first leg was on All Nippon Airways, and when I boarded the Northwest flight after a three-hour layover, I immediately noticed the difference.

First of all, the seating was extremely cramped. It took forever to get everyone on board, because the aisles were as narrow as possible, and the seats were narrow and shoved close together. I shudder to think what would happen in case of an emergency, because it is very difficult to get out of one's seat even in a non-emergency situation, and there isn't quite enough room to walk except single file. The flight was full, and it felt overcrowded in the way that the sold-out ANA flight on the way to Japan did not.

Take-off was delayed because of some malfunction with the airport's computers, but the flight was smooth from there on.

The flight attendants, unlike the ones on ANA, seemed bored and perfunctory, although they weren't actually unpleasant. Still, they suffered in comparison with the cheerful and solicitous care that Asian airlines offer their passengers.

We flew over the dinner hour and were offered a "snack." This consisted of a turkey sandwich or Italian sub, a bag of raw baby carrots, and an Adkins chocolate bar. Having had a turkey sandwich for lunch at the airport, I chose the Italian sub, which was served on tasteless bread with no butter or mayonnaise, processed cheese, and very chemical-tasting cold cuts. The chocolate bar tasted "chemical" as well, and I was thinking that the carrots would be a consolation until I found some with rotten spots in the bag. The only saving grace was that I could get La Croix sparkling water in the beverage service.

The landing was fine, but again, deplaning took longer than it should have as people struggled to get out of their seats.

As a resident of Minneapolis, I'm stuck using Northwest a lot, but I'm not a happy customer. Cramped seats, indifferent flight attendants, and bad food may be endemic in the U.S. airline industry, but I have to wonder why a financially troubled industry is trying to make the flying experience as unpleasant as possible for the average passenger.