I personally avoid traveling by plane whenever I can, the experience and added stress just isn't worth the time saved.

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.

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.

Ok grandpa, let's get you back to bed.

Wait till you hear about the aviation impact on climate change !

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.

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.