I just got back from Phoenix and had peanuts given to me by the flight attendant on both legs of the trip. Don't know what carrier your flying on, but America West still hands out peanuts.
Maybe America West still does, but a lot of them have stopped. Many have been sued. You haven't noticed getting more pretzels, trail mixes, and biscotti cookies?
In the 70's and 80's, the peanuts were as close to a flying ritual as you could get.