Airline "Red Carpets"

I have been talking this up for a while now. The absurd "red carpets"-which are actually just shag rugs that look like they came from a whore's nest of a hotel off a thruway-that airlines have their preferred customers walk across when boarding. I am a preferred customer on United and its affiliates, and I refuse to partake in the lunacy. Finally, someone else is catching on. From the good people at Salon.com:
http://www.salon.com/2011/11/24/the_most_absurd_red_carpet_ever_at_the_airline_gate/