I have done a fair bit of travel in the past six months both in and out of North America, across Asia and in and out of Europe. The carriers have included Alaska Airlines, AirAsia, British Airways, Finnair, Ryanair, Scoot, Singapore Airlines and United Airlines. I have also booked flights for others on British Airways with an Aer Lingus codeshare and Icelandair.
I have to say that with pretty much all of them, the experience of online booking and then checking in has been pretty awful and the costs of the tickets pretty steep. In terms of value for money, I am frustrated. In terms of how the value has declined further since COVID during which many airlines received governmental survival incentives and gouged the few remaining passengers, I am even more disappointed.
My earliest recollection of air travel was in the mid 1970s, a Vickers Viscount, the plane’s top cruising speed was about 500kph at an altitude of 25,000ft. I know these things because in-flight, as a youth, I was allowed into the cockpit to see the plane on a night run while it was in flight. Seating was a 3 + 2, with a single aisle running down the plane. The plane had gigantic oval porthole windows.
Airline tickets were a waxy carbonized booklet, often typed up with the details and the boarding pass was according to souvenir evidence, hand written. You were required to confirm your flight the day before departure by calling the airline and at check-in, luggage was weighed on a beam scale. With the country and era in which I was traveling, passengers had to explicitly identify their luggage on the tarmac before it was loaded into the hold for safety reasons. Family members stood on an open balcony at in the airport building and waved to you as you walked across the tarmac and climbed the stairs.
My next freshest memory is my first long haul flight to London in 1980; mostly unremarkable, aside from the fact that we left late at night and seemingly arrived in the morning despite flying for what seemed like a whole day. This journey was on a significantly more substantial aircraft, a Boeing 707 which flew into London Gatwick. The flight was not particularly memorable aside from the fact that I distinctly remember the plane had a smoking section!
Air travel was a luxury for many at least up until the late 1980’s. For us, tickets were bought by my parents on a layaway and planned as far as up to a year in advance. But these days, flying somewhere even only for a couple of hours is pretty much available to a broad swathe of people and is certainly not a luxurious experience. If you think commercial air travel is glamorous, you should think again.
The Golden Age of Air Travel
Post WWII Airlines competed to provide exceptional service, and passengers were treated to a level of comfort and luxury that seemingly has become a distant memory to all except those flying for obscene amounts of money.
Flying was an experience savoured, marked by exotic meals served on fine china, attentive cabin crew, and spacious seating. Passengers often dressed-up, adding to the atmosphere of sophistication and excitement.
Flying was an exotic experience accompanied by arrival at some far flung destination. The travellers would board these flying machines with a sense of anticipation, ready to enjoy the amenities that came as a part of their ticket. Long haul flights provided a collective cinema experience, passengers, especially the younger ones, were given keepsakes, games, puzzles, crayons etc and music or audio programming was piped to every seat. The experience was designed to make passengers feel some kind of privilege, a far cry from today’s reality.
The Shift in Airline Economics
As the airline industry evolved, so did its economic landscape. The deregulation of the airline industry in the late 1970s in the United States marked a significant turning point. It led to increased competition among airlines, which ultimately drove ticket prices down. While this made air travel more accessible to the general public, it also set the stage for a shift in how airlines operated. US Jimmy Carter Airline Deregulation Act, signed in 1978 witnessed the cost of air travel going down accompanied by a decline in the quality of service. Other regions would soon follow suit.
To remain competitive, airlines began to adopt cost-cutting measures that would fundamentally change the passenger experience. The focus shifted from providing an exceptional journey to maximizing profits. As a result, many of the amenities that once defined air travel were eliminated or reduced. The once-coveted in-flight meals were replaced by military rations-like snack boxes. And complimentary beverages have all but evaporated.
The Decline of Comfort and Service
Today, the experience of flying is characterized by discomfort and a complete lack of personal service.
Airlines have crammed more seats into aircraft, this has led to reduced seat pitch, reduced legroom and narrower aisles as described in the WSJ article The Incredible Shrinking Plane Seat .
An average economy class seat now offers less space than it did decades ago, seat width is down as much as four inches over the last 30 years. Seat pitch has shrunk from about 35 inches to 31 and in some cases as little as 28 inches – on some airlines, seats have NO Pitch at all — allowing airlines to add more seats they can then sell.
Many passengers now find themselves wedged between strangers for hours on end. The once spacious cabins have become cramped, and any sense of personal space has effectively been dissolved.
In-flight service has also suffered. Cabin crew are often stretched thin, serving hundreds of passengers with limited resources. The personal touch that once defined air travel has been replaced by a more transactional approach. Passengers are now often treated as numbers rather than individuals, leading to a sense of impersonal service.
The Rise of Low-Cost Carriers
The emergence of low-cost carriers has further exacerbated the decline of air travel glamour. Airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet, WhizzAir, Scoot, AirAsia and JET have revolutionized the industry by offering significantly lower fares. However, this has come at a cost. Passengers are now faced with a plethora of additional fees for services that were once included in the ticket price.
Additional fees are now charged for checked bags, carry-on bags, seat selection, paper boarding passes, and in-flight refreshments like water, tea and coffee, all add up quickly, turning what initially appears to be a bargain into something much more expensive.
The low-cost model has led to a homogenization of the flying experience. Passengers are herded like cattle, boarding and disembarking in an industrial flow that prioritizes efficiency over comfort.
The thrill of flying has been replaced by a long list of anxiety creating circumstances including, worries about overweight luggage, getting a middle seat allocation, being unable to find overhead stowage, having to arrive hours ahead of departure, inadequate lounge seating, being unsure about whether the plane will leave on time, not being able to pay for anything with cash, ungodly departure and landing times, inconveniently located airports, crowded terminals and long and arduous security lines.
The Impact on Passenger Experience
The cumulative effect of these changes has been a significant shift in how passengers perceive air travel. While flying is now more accessible, the magic and excitement of the journey is now simply not there. Travellers approach air travel with a sense of dread rather than anticipation. The stress of getting to the airport, navigating security, and enduring cramped seating has overshadowed the joy of reaching a new destination.
There is a general lack of amenities and the service is highly impersonal. Surveys indicate that a significant percentage of travellers feel that the in-flight experience has deteriorated over the years. The once-coveted experience of enjoying a meal at 30,000 feet has been replaced by the reality of overpriced snacks and limited F&B options.
The rise of technology has not necessarily improved the passenger experience. While online check-in and mobile boarding passes have streamlined some processes, they have also contributed to a more transactional relationship between airlines and passengers. The human touch that once characterized air travel has been replaced by automated systems and self-service kiosks, not all of which are available or functioning, queues everywhere and the proverbial cattle station handling experience that passengers are subjected to, at every stage.
Cancel your ticket or have it cancelled for you, and you have no guarantees of a full refund or restitution or compensation. Instead the industry has spawned a whole world of travel insurance, and reinsurance with middle men and brokers selling you tickets, selling you travel protection and everything in between.
Nostalgia for the Past
For me at least, the nostalgia for the golden age of air travel is palpable. I reminisce about the days when flying was truly an event, marked by some special novelty and excitement. The memory of being served a nice meal, spacious seating, and some level of personalized attention from flight attendants even in coach/economy class. It evokes in me, a sense of longing for a bygone era that I can only experience again if I am prepared to pay a massive premium.
The nostalgia is not just about comfort in flying; it’s a desire for the experience of non utilitarian travel itself. The thrill of embarking on an adventure, the anticipation of exploring new geography, cultures, and the joy of connecting with fellow passengers. It has all been overshadowed by an altogether more stressful modern air travel experience.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Air Travel
The airline industry may evolve further, balancing cost-cutting measures with passenger expectations may make low fares and air travel more accessible but there’s a growing demand for improved service and comfort. The airlines that can find a way to enhance the passenger experience while maintaining competitive pricing may stand out in an increasingly crowded market.
Improved in-flight entertainment systems won’t cut it, in fact some airlines are cutting back on these too. Enhanced seating designs might help, but not if the designs continue to shrink personal space and add discomfort.
Improved customer service training could help restore some of the lost glamour of flying but a renewed focus on customer satisfaction and personalized service is what is really needed in order for airlines to regain the trust and loyalty of veteran travellers.
