Flying used to be classy. Flying used to be expensive.
Now everybody can afford it. If someone wants the class of bygone days, they can pay the bygone prices and ride first class.
Sorry, my wife also remembers the old days, she was raised in an airline family and still works in the industry. She remembers having to wear white gloves when they travelled.
She and I see it the same way now: Airplanes are the Grayhound busses of the 20th century.
Flying used to be classy. Flying used to be expensive.
Now everybody can afford it. If someone wants the class of bygone days, they can pay the bygone prices and ride first class.
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Actually, the price depends on the market where you live. For a long time, Useless Airways held the monopoly on air travel in my neck of the woods and charged twice as much as everyone else as a result. There are some low cost carriers now, but Useless Airways continues to charge outrageous prices for lousy service. At least with the cut-rate carriers, I don't tend to mind the lousy conditions as much -- I guess it's because the cost is so cheap -- the term "getting what you pay for" applies and I know that. But with a major carrier such as Useless Airways I would like to get a little more "bang for the buck" so to speak. Even an occasional kind word from the crew and ground personnel would be nice. Heck, I get kindness from Southwest personnel all the time, and I'm not paying outrageous prices for it.
I remember that era, too.
To this day I still like to "dress up" for air travel, especially since flying is still a once-in-a-while treat for me. The style, though, is "dressy casual" -- not the total slob look I see nowadays, but not overly formal, either.
My theory is, you feel different about yourself when you look nice. Hopefully, people treat you better.