Unpopular opinion, airplane travel doesn't suck anymore
Airplane travel used to be terrible, but not anymore. The security lines move quickly and they have enough staff to keep the wait times down. There are tons of good restaurant and drink options within airports and the prices are pretty much the same as in the city. Phone chargers everywhere and free wifi is standard. Airline tickets have come way down. I actually like taking short flights now where I may have chosen to drive the same route in the past.
Hm. That may be the case now, but certainly wasn't true historically. Whenever folks complain about how terribly airlines treat their customers, or how they nickel and dime on every little thing, or how travel used to be this far more pleasant experience, I think that this is what we as a consumer base have asked for. It's absurdly cheap to fly these days, and that is a direct result of airlines realizing that a very few people/firms were willing to pay almost any amount of money to travel in style, and most others just want to cram themselves into a disgusting metal tube with no amenities if it means saving $50.
I do agree that there must be an opportunity to bring back a mid-range airline. I flew on La Compagnie a few years back and while it wasn't cheap (~1,500) it was far cheaper than a first class ticket and far more comfortable than flying economy. I feel like there must be a market for that, especially for longer, non-red eye flights like cross-continental flights or cross-atlantic flights.
Many of the problems OP lists were mainly American, while in Europe they mostly never existed.
Air travel sucks depending on what you do and where you go. If you visit big hubs, have TSA pre (or CLEAR), global entry, lounge access and decent status with your preferred airline, then air travel is OK. If you don’t have all this, it’s a bitch.
It has never been cheaper to fly long haul business/first class for either dollars or miles in lie flat seats with on demand/quality dining and entertainment.
I agree with OP.
Airports and airline companies are getting better.
I find the worst part is the other people. Percentage wise, people are normally great. But it only take 1-2 people on each flight to basically ruin it. For example, a person at the terminal taking up four seats for no reason, someone refusing to check luggage when they should, people bringing four week old babies on a plane.
I'm curious how many of you guys travel often (more than once or twice per month). I actually think air travel sucks if you don't fly first class, and even then it's not great. Seats are cramped and inevitably you'll get some douche next to you that wants to take all of their space and half a foot of yours too.
Also, airports may be getting better, but domestic airlines sure aren't. The only thing that has improved is the price (at the expense of comfort and service). Putting an outlet in between my seat doesn't make up for the fact that my knees are touching the seat in front of me and I have Joe Schmuck next to me that is 5'10 285 and doesn't fit in his seat.
I travel on average once every 1.5 weeks. Will have about 100 segments by year end. Been international 3x this year.
If you don’t fly first of MCE, the seats suck. Pitch keeps shrinking, the people around you are idiots and are largely slobs.
If you don’t have access to lounges, serious status and precheck/clear, air travel blows.
Tickets are cheap - big shit. They are cheap because more clowns are sandwiched into a tin can.
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