In 1975, this was the case. It was a breeze to travel globally and a real treat. This was a significant benefit of an airline job and, as a bonus, airline jobs were both fun and paid well back then.

Now, none of those things are true.

On paper, you're right. Most airline employees have access to deeply discounted industry fares, but they're based on availability on day of travel. In 1975, load factors of 50% were considered good -- that meant that half of the seats were always empty. When's the last time you saw that?

It's impossible really for an airline employee to plan a family vacation and count on being able to bring the spouse and the kids along on a non-rev flight. Even they don't want to put up with the hassles of overbooked flights, mx cancellations that roll into other flights, etc. ALL of my airline friends these days simply book confirmed flights like you or I do for trips that are important for them. Occasionally, they'll get special discounts even for confirmed trips on Jet Blue and other carriers, which they love, but that's rare.

So, I'm not willing to trumpet the "free travel" benefit much these days. It just 'aint what it used to be.


And, you ask why employees who are so miserable with their jobs don't just leave and do something else. Good question. Several who I know started back in the early 1970s with AL or PI and now they're in their mid to late 50s and feel very "stuck." They have no training and no other professional skills -- their fault? Maybe. But, they're just wanting to get another couple of years out of this job until they can walk away forever. It's this group that has the hardest time with what US/HP has become. For decades, the emphasis was on professionalism and service. As the industry devolved, all of that fell to the wayside and we're left with the shambles that we have today. These folks have to hit the front line day after day with complaining customers, irregular ops, and miserable coworkers. Who among us would want to do that?