There is a furious sound of denial and exggerated indignation in the posts here. Many of you seem not to have understand the nuances of tone - someone truly smug doesn't call themselves smug - it's called irony, grim irony if you like. Get over yourselves. She is not arguing that there is direct causal link between wait times and the tragedy. She is implying two things. First, that TAM is not magically blameless. Do they think they are? How the hell do you know that? And if it's not lust TAM, could it also be the airport? Federal prosecutors in Sao Paolo have demanded the closing of the airport. It's long overdue. The Brazilian press has said for years that this was a disaster waiting to happen. Why would they say that if it's only the petty ranting of an "ugly American" ( and there, dear writers, you reveal yourselves oh so clearly ) Secondly, she is implying that the overall attitudes inside the air sector in Brazil is in some unprovable way connected to a climate of chaos and ineptitude which - somewhere down the line - has consequences. Sure, it's not an empirical argument. But are you claiming it's totally false? Alright, the same is true in the US. So what? She's not writing about the US. Both the US and Brazil use radar systems from the 50's. It's time to modernize and overhaul before alot of people get hurt. Why is it wrong for someone to point tis out about Brazil? And please, spare us the pious, sentimental third worldism. Brazil is not a third world country. It's the 10th biggest economy in the world. It's rich. This is about corruption, shitty attitiude and ineptitude. I fly all over, Africa, Asia, the Americas. The two worst countries to fly in are the US and Brazil. Perhaps it's because they are big, I don't know. But I do notice that Brazilian airports have an amazing attititude towards travel in general : endless arguments, confusions, indifference, baggage piled up in corners with no ID ( in Salo Paolo International! ), flights wrongly posted, lots of cynical shrugs and outright sloth. It's amateur. Most Asian countries poorer than Brazil have airports and airlines that make Brazil's look like Monty Python's Flying Circus. Fly to Shanghai if you want to compare. Per capita GDP in China : $2000. Per capita GDP in Brazil : $5000. The Chinese just have a different attitude, to put it mildly. The crash is a terrible tragedy. No-one is gloating over it. Indeed, Spiers' tone is one of anger. Why are you people more angry at her than at the airline and airport that killed 200 people? If it was Airbus' fault, fair enough. But you all seem terribly eager to prove that it had nothing to do with Brazil.

Oh, she finally gets a friend to come to her rescue!

You claim, among other things, that she's not writing about the US. Pardon me, but the title is "Worst Airline IN THE WORLD", and if that doesn't include the US, which world exactly is she talking about then?

You claim we're all trying to prove the cause of the crash "has nothing to do with Brazil". If you read the replies again, you'll see that most of them point out how Ms. Spiers missed the opportunity to write about the many problems plaguing Brazil's air travel, instead of ranting about her one bad experience.

Make sure you get the facts right before you come to her defense.

Once again another voice of the uncaring is heard from. No doubt a personal friend also bereft of compassion. The issue is mostly not with what she said about TAM and Brazil but what she did not say about those who perished. It amazes me how so many shift focus away from what really is important. People come first, everything second.

You are not versed apparently in any manner of US airport and air traffic problems. Those of us who are professional in aviation are quite used to the media getting it wrong and milking any angle for a story. Sleep well knowing that despite you and yours there are dedicated people who take great care to make sure you arrive safely.

You also join in the fray of the "unable to apologize" crowd. Shame...........

What I am supposed to be apologizing for exactly??? And why is it "uncaring" to point out Brazil's air problems if they are relevant to the deaths? What does any of this have to do with the aviation industry as a whole? One non-sequitur after another.

Beautiful! "frequentflyer" just answered a post addressed to "mary44".

Yep, having the same person posting under different names really adds to the cause. Genius!

I'll type slowly so you can understand me...... THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH POINTING OUT THE PROBLEMS OF THE AVIATION INFRASTRUCTURE IN BRAZIL BUT AT LEAST SHOW A MODICUM OF RESPECT THAT SO MANY HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES.

Congrats on learning Latin from the new Cab show based in NY...."it does not follow---Non-Sequitur" Bet that makes you feel elite?
I Learned Latin when it was still taught in Catholic school and in church as a kid.

ADEPTO A VITA!!!!!!!!!! DEDECUS!!!!!!!

Is that clear enough for you and the rest that just don't get the point??????????

You like, like the author misinterpret, many of the posters. A lot of Fray folks are open to criticism of Brazil's airline industry. The problem is that author made so many factual errors (large and small) in her essay it indicated she knew little about the airline industry in general and in Brazil. I found her tonality glib, but that was not the only issue.

Her personal experience was annoying and whiny, but more importantly it did not logically support her argument. That's why a lot of people have compared it to the US. If long lines and hassle indicated planes were going to be dropping out of the sky, then probably we should stop flying anywhere.

I actually think Slate should get an expert on the subject, from Brazil, the US, wherever, to provide a more substantial professional, criticism of the airline industry in Brazil. I am not one, you don't seem to be, Elizabeth Spiers is clearly not, but there are people who are qualified to.

One of many factual errors Spiers and her editors committed is the assertion that air traffic in Brazil has increased due to the "Rio-centric tourist boom." that's simply not true. others long before me pointed this out