I don't disagree with anything posted so far - but I also think the airlines themselves have contributed to a shift in mentality. Their own policies serve to establish an almost-confrontational relationship with their clients (us). I'm not even talking about things out of their control, like the TSA. I'm talking about fundamental customer service, problem-solving, flexibility, thinking, and general mindset of the employees as they interact with clients. It is all very rules-based, adversarial, and underpins a culture that we, the clients, are somehow a nuisance.

Anyone remember seeing that "No waivers, no favors" internal email that some airline sent out to all of its employees? (I wish I had the link - I know I saw it here and perhaps also at F**kedcompany.com.) I can't imagine in a million years sending that kind of email to my team about how we interact with our client partners on a daily basis. It's classless and absurd.

It's not even that I ever really *got* any waivers or favors - it's more about the culture and empowering people to think and solve problems. That's gone, and as such we are now reduced to exploiting systems to try and gain some sort of advantage over 'The Man'. Why does air travel have to be us vs. The Man? That's sad... It does not have to be this way because of security procedures at airports - that's a bogus excuse.

Oddly enough, the one airline that seems to "get it" is Southwest. No, I'm not a big fan of the product itself and don't fly them often, but whenever I have to fly with them (and especially if my plans change or I encounter irregular ops), I feel like they deal fairly with me. It's more than I can say for most.