Initially I flew a lot less since 9/11. In fact, I drove to Alabama (from Massachusetts) a couple years ago to avoid it. But about a year ago, I discovered the airport in Manchester, NH which is much closer to my house than Logan in Boston. That airport is a breeze to use, in and out with no hassle, and Southwest operates out of there, which is even a bigger plus.
I used to hate flying 737s (that Southwest uses) but since 9/11, I would be more nervous getting on a widebody. This 7E7 looks like a real nice plane though. I'm planning a trip to Hawaii in 2009 and maybe I'll take my inaugural flight on one of these then.
BTW, as a sidebar, some might wonder why I am choosing 2009 to fly to Hawaii. Well, ever since the first state quarter came out in 1999, I have been hoarding them. I vowed back then that I would save every state quarter I come across and by the time the last one came out in 2009 (which happens to be Hawaii), I would have enough to take my wife there on a two-week vacation. Everybody laughed at first, but I already have nearly $2,000 in state quarters saved up. So it looks like we'll going first class.
See my post no. 14 about TSA idiots. When I was in Oregon last year the morons in a small regional airport singled out my buddy and I. We were both Naval Reserve Officers, and we got subjected to the full search while everyone else just whizzed on through.
Good for you on the vacation. NH is nice country and I would not mind living there. I use one of those frequent flyer credit cards. I charge everything on it and use the miles to upgrade. I pay $225 for some flight (it has to be over four hours or I won't bother upgrading) and upgrade it. It's nice being up front for the coast to coast flights.