Statistically, you are correct. That is a chance I'll take. Flying used to be a pleasurable adventure. People used to dress up for a flight. As the years passed, flying became a drudgery as informality set in. Crammed stinky slobs packed into a cattle car. 911 and its consequences were the final tipping point. It is not worth it to fly. I remain unswayed.
The problem here with the "enhanced" security measures is the same as with law enforcement everywhere. They are always at least one step behind the bad guys. While we are seeing alleged measures to combat known methods of destroying planes, other methods are being devised and tested, totally unbeknownst to airline security authorities. It will require another bit of luck in intelligence gathering to prompt the discovery of those new methods, or another incident in which the new methods are employed or tried. Then the cycle begins again. So the current "security measures" are probably a waste of time in that the new methods are already in development just as the old methods have been abandoned. Profiling works. Ask El-Al.
It's your choice to make.
Flying used to be a pleasurable adventure. People used to dress up for a flight. As the years passed, flying became a drudgery as informality set in. Crammed stinky slobs packed into a cattle car.
I've had a couple flights where the person sitting next to me was a bit over-sized and it made the flight a bit uncomfortable. I've also had some flights made less enjoyable by small children crying loudly.
However, what has made flying open to informally dressed commoner is affordability, and if you want a more exclusive environment you're free to pay the extra price for business class.
It's also a bit strange to hear someone who hasn't flown in 5 years complaining about the kind of people who fly these days since you obviously don't have current first hand experience.
911 and its consequences were the final tipping point.
The consequences to flying from 9/11 have been minor in the long run. It took a little time to get the TSA running and to remove some of the more stupid regulations that did nothing but waste people's time. It also took a little time to get enough lanes at the security check points so that they could move people through reasonable quickly.
The biggest impact now, is that you need to know what you can and cannot take on a plane and make sure you put the things you can't carry on into checked baggage.
You need to know the process of going through security.
It's pretty simple. Stick any sizable metal items in your carry on bag. Take your laptop computer out of the bag and put it in a bin. Take off your jacket and shoes and put them in a bin and send them through the scanner with your bag and laptop. Keep your boarding pass in your hand. Walk through the metal detector when the agent is ready and hand them the boarding pass so they can verify it is valid.
Unless you hit the early morning backup, it usually only takes a few minutes to get through security, and it's been a long time since it's taken me more then 15 minutes to get through security.
A friend who happened to be flying when they instigated the ban on liquids told me that other than having to put some items in his checked baggage that he normally put in his carry on bag, it was pretty much the same as usual. He said there were not big delays when he went through because most people can follow the simple updated directions.
It is not worth it to fly. I remain unswayed.
That's your choice, but it doesn't sound like your original assertion that "Until American airlines become truely as serious about security as El Al, I will continue, as I have for the last 5 years, not to fly." has much to do with that choice.