2y ago

Flying used to be this magical, miraculous thing!

these guys used to be daring adventurers with goggles and swag and now the pilots have to wear a button down and the airlines squeeze every penny out of you and every drop of fun or joy or magic or adventure out of the experience.

in the 20s it was a great adventure! in the 60s people wore suits and got proper meals! now we just get xrayed and told we can't bring in water! i love starting my vacation being treated as a terrorist!

47 comments

I personally avoid traveling by plane whenever I can, the experience and added stress just isn't worth the time saved.
- and trains are awesome!
  
  High speed rail is awesome. Amtrak in the US is a slow, lumbering joke.
  
  Welcome to Germany, where driving a car through the entire country for 8 hours is still a better experience than trying to go anywhere with Deutsche Bahn. 🤮
  
  You’re not from the UK are you?
- 1.5 days by car vs 2h by plane, I’ll take the plane, thanks. But you do you 😋
  
  For that amount of time yeah I'll take the plane, but for travelling from Montreal to Toronto (1h plane vs 5 hours train) I'll take the train as I'll be able to work in the train, I won't have to check-in and go past airport security, be there xx hours before departure, etc
- You don't even have to be that rich, there are semi private flights that remove so much of the frustrations of flying, and anyone can book them. It's an incredible experience, but it's usually about $200 more than a first class ticket on a commercial flight, and they're limited by availability and destinations.
  Still worth doing at least once.
- You can pay almost $100 to get your TSA pre check every year and skip lines. Or better yet not travel during the holidays when the airport is struggling to handle all the people as it is.
It also use to be financially out of reach for most people. You can still pay for the nicer experience by paying for faster and easier security and first class seats. It's been made access to more financial groups, and most people choose or can only afford the cheaper option.
- First class on most domestic flights is a joke. You get on first and get a nicer seat. That’s about it. Everyone still walks by you as they board the plane and bump your seat with their luggage.
  Back in the 60s and 70s there was a bar with couches, room to dance, and a piano!
  
  That's called a private plane these days and it costs the equivalent.
The airlines were deregulated in the late 70s. This meant they could compete on price, instead of just differentiating through features. It’s been going downhill ever since.
- Flying is also dramatically cheaper and more accessible today than it used to be.
  If you want the fancy treatment from back then, pay the prices people paid back then and buy first class.
- I wish I could of tried a plane in those days
  
  I don't. Every change in FAA safety regulations since then has been paid for in blood. The fatality rate per 100,000 flight hours was about 5x higher in 1970.
  
  I simply of to point out that you of used the wrong word there. You of to realise that doing so can of the effect have making you look very ignorant
  
  could have
  
  wakes up on a plane heading for the world trade center
Now compare what flying in the 60's cost to what it costs today. If you want some magical luxury experience, you can fly First Class and get a comfortable seat with extra amenities and preferential treatment, but you're still just buying the cheap tickets aren't you.
Yes, the airline is squeezing every penny they can out of everything they can, and they're doing it because consumers are dramatically more sensitive to price than quality. When you look at the booking selection and the available flights are all more or less going to get the job done, you and just about everyone else will pick the one that costs $20 less, completely ignoring the First Class option that costs $800+ more. It's why everything seems to be shitty and cheap these days, quality goods and experiences still exist, but we don't pay for quality when the economy option costs a third as much.
- I counter this perspective with the fact that quality doesn't improve proportionally with the price. You pay more and get Incrementally less. That's actually not directly the consumers fault. If you paid two thirds more but got 150% more, then it would be worth it. But the only way to do that is probably to reduce the quality of the cheaper seats.
Ok grandpa, let's get you back to bed.
Wait till you hear about the aviation impact on climate change !
- Meh. Luxury!
- What are we tilling?
stop flying and take the train then, maybe you don't have to take a vacation to the canary islands every year
You can bring drinking water onto a plane. bring an empty water bottle through security, then fill it up at a drinking fountain in the terminal. You're good to go. Fun & Magic restored!
In the 60s it also cost 10x as much, took 2-3 times longer with constant layovers, was 20x more likely to get you killed, and a lot more likely to give you lung cancer from second hand smoke.

47 comments