Oh how I miss the CX L1011s, my own mental image of a bygone era. I think it can still be fun (despite the fact that my travel is increasing to levels which I didn't think were even remotely fun, let alone normal). You just have to make every trip an adventure or mission of some sort, imo. Who cares about TSA, you're only in there for a few minutes on a good day. Get in, pull your stuff out, get out.

Air travel is okay if it does not involve the US or its airlines.
If it involves anything American, you can forget about the fun part, and say hello to frustration, anxiety and nervous atmosphere for the whole duration of the journey....it is not enjoyable at all.

Hence people avoiding travel to a certain country, specially by air.

Meh--call me a bad hobbyist, but I didn't find it particularly cool flying on 727s when they were still common. The trijet element was nice, but otherwise, the experience of flying a 727 20 years ago was almost identical to the experience of flying most common narrow bodies today. If I got on a 727 nowadays, *that* would be cool and a bit of a nostalgia trip. When MD-80s are finally cycled completely out, we'll probably miss them too.

I think that 30, 40 years ago (before my time), the experience of flying was probably quite elegant compared to what it is today. 20 years ago, it had already deteriorated, and 9/11 (which happened when I was in college) was just the nail in the coffin. Personally, I still enjoy flying and the pursuit of status, but it was always route structures and the sheer brutality of the forces at work at 36,000 feet that always fascinated me about flight. It's still fun getting on a 777, but what makes it *really* fun is knowing that I will board this vehicle on one side of the planet and disembark on the other side after it has been hurled over the north pole at 4/5 the speed of sound through the thinnest of air, lethal pressure differentials, and temperatures below -70F, while those of us inside are, at best, sipping dom and dining on caviar or, at worst, comfortably watching movies and eating a couple of square meals.

Must be Canadians enjoy the service of AC..

But I don't mind US airlines.. gets me to the destination on my reward points more flexibly..:cool:

I don't think Air Canada is much better, from a staff perspective. The IFE & seats are nice though. WestJet is OK but then (I'm told) Southwest is OK too...

The comfort of flying takes some extra effort. If you are the sort who has a more flexible travel schedule, you can take steps to minimize the pain of contemporary air travel.

I avoid flying around holiday weekends. I avoid flying on Monday mornings, on the weekends and during the peak hours of any day. Flying at lower volume times reduces the stresses of dealing with the crowds and kettles. It increases the odds of mileage ugs, and reduces the number of full flights you will be on. It makes car traffic to, from, and at the airport easier.

I love flying when I am in an uncrowded airport getting onto a barely 1/4 flight. Sometimes I cannot, especially Int'l. But domestic US flying at non-peak times combined with online seat reservation, checkin and so forth can make it much, much easier.

My frequent flying began in the late 90's, but even now I still long for those "good 'ol days". Things that I hate about flying today:

1). RJs. Seriously, I hate RJs - I'd rather drive, thank you.
2). Self-check in with kiosks. In theory, it sounds great - but in reality, it sucks. All I want to do is check in and be on my way, but most of the time, the check-in area is total chaos. And god forbid if there is a problem with my reservation, because then I have to flag down an airline employee which is nearly impossible because they are busy assisting others. :mad:
3). Baggage fees. Just raise the damn price of the ticket!

Why should my frugal retired parents have to pay more for a ticket when they happily 'travel light' with no checked bags?

Many things were better before but not everything.

I was once an unaccompanied minor flying to see my grandparents. The connecting flight was cancelled. They handed me, a 9 year old, a hotel voucher and told me to come back the next day to catch a specific flight. They asked if I could read and then wrote down some simple instructions on a piece of paper, like the hotel name and new flight number. I was not a complete idiot in that I didn't cry or wander off or get molested. However, I was a bit of an idiot in not calling my grandparents to inform them of the delay. The airline was Northwest, now Delta.

I understand what you're getting at, but did you notice a reduction in ticket prices when they implemented this policy?

I didn't either.

I wish there was more variety in type of aircraft to fly on, but it's hard to argue that we don't have it better now in longhaul F/J with AVOD, suites, 180 flat beds, etc...

May I suggest Delta or perhaps US Airways?

Delta: D95, M88, M90, 319, 320, 73G, 738, 757, 753, 763, 764, 777, 744, 330
DL Connection: SF3, CRJ, CR7, CR9, E45, E70, E75

US Airways: E90, 733, 734, 319, 320, 321, 757, 767, 330
US Express: DH1, DH2, DH3, CRJ, CR7, CR9, E70, E75

Funny.. reward redemptions..

Just extra fees too on flight originating with AC *A partners..

Still, outside of RJ's and the odd maddog it's almost all Boeing or Airbus.

No you may not :p :)