Why air travel sucks

It is amazing how the price of airfares has stagnated due to competition. Airline deregulation: one of the few good things to happen on Jimmy Carter's watch. I think this is a good thing. Buy a first class ticket if you want more of that 1970's experience and are willing to pay for it. I'd rather have inexpensive air travel. Could I afford 4x for the ticket? Yes. But I'd rather spend the extra money on something else when I get there (e.g. dancers) or go four times.

Maybe I'm just too used to American air travel being a hazing ritual--the tight ass seats, the lack of decent food, and the ritual submission to the TSA.

But I'll admit I get a thrill when the millimeter wave scanner picks up my bulging quadriceps muscles as a foreign object. Next time they pat me down there, I should make a grunt of sexual pleasure.

Air travel sucked after 9/11, prior to that most of my flights were short duration and between 3 & 5 hours, now all travel takes a minimum of half a day, considering you need to arrive 2hours before departure and the very limited amount of direct flights. The cost is not that bad, but fucking time wasting in airports and the crap you need to deal with in a the hubs trying to find the correct gate in airports like Atlanta and NY, or OHare makes traveling by air suck

@25 - partially related, airline loyalty programs have gotten so devalued that they're not worth it. Get to board a couple minutes earlier? So what. Free checked bag? Unless it's a longer trip, so what.

I have a United credit card from when they had more routes up here, only reason I don't cancel it is because it would fuck my credit. I prefer either JetBlue (which is more point-to-point) or whatever airline goes direct.

Except Spirit. I'd almost rather take a bus.

^ Yep that’s true I have a Merryl Lynch Branded Visa that gives me access to most of the major airline lounges, but they’ve become less and less accommodating over the years, the only reason I keep the card is because it’s free to me, and it allows me to make purchases in other currencies without any bank conversion fees.

^ I got spoiled from the Lufthansa lounges. Now that's what a lounge is supposed to be.

Domestic American ones are crap. It is a more comfortable workspace though.

I'm curious about what else you misremembered?

lol - you can probably pay $720 instead of $189 and get a better seat. Food’s still gonna suck.
In the forward of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” the author wrote about how it was cheaper to fly mostly anywhere in the country than going out to dinner in NYC. So he and his dinner companions would take trips instead of being gauged at restaurants- which prompted his trip to Savannah.
Complain about a dirt cheap flight is definitely a 1st world problem.

What I remembered incorrectly: 1) That my handwriting was always illegible. It used to be pretty good. 2) That I broke up with my girlfriend because she did the equivalent of ghosting me after we got in a fight and never spoke to me again. I found the letter she wrote me and taped to my bedroom door, unopened, with an apology, red stuff which I think was either decayed rose petals or anthrax, and a request that I respond in one of three ways, which I never did because I never opened the letter. 3) That I missed a Jethro Tull concert because I got too drunk in the afternoon and passed out. That was the Doobie Brothers. I missed Jethro Tull due to apendicitis/surgery the day before the concert and instead went to a Bruins game when I got released. Sort of explains some of the insane anti-bruins comments my Mom has made over the last 45+ years.

Rod FTW!! Lmfao, so true…so true

^Kind of a smart response ....for you.

At the risk of sounding racist and elitist, with the devaluation of airline fares, air travel is now accessible to people who should not be flying. As a result, the air travel experience is now comparable to riding a bus. This was especially true during, and just after COVID, when people who had no business flying, and who did not know how to behave on an airplane suddenly had free government stimulus money to spend, and decided to fly to places like Miami Beach.

My dad was a travel agent after retiring. He started calling air travel "Greyhound in the Sky" around 1990. Miami is one locale that you can usually get first or business or whatever they call it on American pretty reasonable, especially when it doesn't sell out early.

I fly a lot with work. Planes are more full than they’ve ever been. There was a point in time some years ago that you’d still see flights only 10% full. Spiking fuel prices here and there plus covid forced the airlines to create flight schedules and pricing that put tons of butts in seats. Meanwhile seats and space between rows are tighter than ever despite Americans being fatter than ever.

I get upgraded a lot since I fly so much but first class is only marginally better than the back. More elbow room is the single biggest advantage. The food is generally not good. I’ve gotten sick from it twice in the past 2-3 years. I did fly Polaris (United’s business class) both ways to and from Europe on two separate trips in 2024 and the lie flat seats and personal space are superb.

Sitting in the way back of the plane these days could only be comfortable for someone that is 5 ft tall and 100 pounds.

Some flights are really cheap, it's gonna beat driving a lot of times. I live near a couple hub airpots with LGA and JFK not far away so traveling to other hub airports like LAX, DFW, Atlanta, Chicago, Most aiports in Florida, really cheap. Like a hundred something bucks round trip. Especially outside of summer, really great time to fly if you get a couple days free.

I can't stand flying nowadays and only do it when I need to.

I remember the old Midwest Airlines. The entire plane was a first class cabin, with roomy seats, warm chocolate chip cookies and even wine service. I really miss that type of flying experience.

Back in the day I used to fly from Pittsburgh to DC. Eventually, between COVID, 9/11 that 45 minute air time took a total travel time of 5 or 6 hours! At that point, it became much more convenient just to make the four hour drive, with the added advantage of paid mileage.

I fly a lot for work. IMO it is mostly a USA/CAN issue. Security in some other countries is 1/10 the hassle of US TSA. (CAN sucks too only because they have to integrate / pre-clear with US.) Star gold is amazing overseas compared to laughable United 1k in US. If you are less than 1k, United doesn't care one bit. US airlines are credit card companies that happen to fly airplanes as a side hustle. There is at least 2 if not 3 time per capital the number of people flying in US than any other western country.

My main goal when flying (solo) is the quickest and most direct flight. I am willing to suffer on a shitty airline to avoid a layover.

These days though, with the lack of direct flights, the excruciating time it takes to get through an airport if the drive is less than 5 hours I drive.

One thing I do that most people think is insane is check bags. I hate lugging all my crap through an airport if I’m going somewhere for more than a few days.

I can't stash an eighth in my sock anymore. Unacceptable in the first world.

I've flown first class a couple times. All I can say is it's not as bad as coach. Better seat, better food, but you're still a captive in a flying metal tube prison for as long as it takes. There's not enough champagne and caviar to make me say that's "enjoyable".

I had to venture into an airplane bathroom once, and even the shittiest club bathroom couldn’t have prepared me for that experience. A soup can in a broom closet would have been an upgrade over that thing…

Does first class get the occupants a more reasonable bathroom???

Air travel sucks because SkiDumb blows!

^Someone needs to travel back in time and shoot your parents before they could breed. It would be one thing if you had an ounce of humor, but your abject stupidity ceased to be funny a long time ago. Hey fuck your Mom in the ass for me, I have to work.

^ go mount Washington, you homo.

I travel a fair amount. Base airfares seem to have risen a bit over the years but nothing crazy.

However, the latest money grab is annoying which is charging for seat selection. A window or aisle seat can sometimes run $40 - $80 extra. I often say F it and skip this step. As a result I'm sitting in middle seats far more often the last couple years. But in my head, my thinking is I will enjoy a massage or nice meal for that 40-80 bucks much more than I will not enjoy sitting in a middle seat.

@wld4tatas - what airline do you fly that does that? Are you flying Spirit or one of those? I'm surprised they haven't bolted giant black dildos to their seats that you have to pay an additional fee to unscrew.

According to your profile you're in Jersey, which probably means United (if you're flying out of Newark)...they used to be a clusterfuck but now I find they're one of the better airlines out there.

@Puddy - wld4 pays extra for them to bolt the giant black dildo on his seat.

I often wonder if air travel would be better if the other travelers were better. People have seem to forgotten that they are in a public space, and should try to be courteous and considerate of those around them. There are too many anti-social behaviors that have become normalized- manspreading, face-timing/speakerphones, gate lice, seat squatting, misusing overhead bin space, companion animals, people too fat to fit in their seat, etc. Air travel is hard enough when you have to arrive hours early, worry about missing a connection, deal with endless lines, gate staff who hate everyone, and troglodyte TSA employees.

In 2020 we decided to ski Big Sky in Montana. Airfare was $600 per person and a rental car for a week with all-wheel drive and the winter package was $1,700.00. If you get to the airport 2 hours early thats 3 hours off the bat. 5:45 on the plane to Dallas. 2 hour layover. 4.5 hours dallas to Montana. 1 hour getting baggage and rental car. 90 minutes to big sky. Travel time: 17 hours. Decided to drive: 40 hours, 2500 miles. Let 11 a.m. est on a Friday and watched the super bowl, plus part-of the pre-game in Bozeman, Mt. Was it worth it? Hell yeah. We chatted, napped, sang along to tunes and got high for 2 days in the car. Gas was under $275.00. Hotels were free with accrued bonus points. Net saings of $2,600. which allowed us to stay at the Marriott 20 feet from 2 lifts. Driving is way better.

@skibum
I don’t know that driving is better, but it definitely is more comfortable if you have the time

It's actually pretty remarkable how little prices have gone up in my lifetime for air travel.

Airlines have also gotten very good at targeted pricing, milking business travelers whose companies will cough up while letting pleasure travelers book Tuesday midday flights for much less.