The decline of interest in travel

I'm old enough to remember when airlines served free food, free drinks, and service with a smile. Truth be told, I used to be a bit of a plane spotter. I think my interest in design started with an interest in airline livery. I would comb through the phone book and check out all the airline ads. I miss the livery and logos of People Express, Air Florida, Braniff, BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corp) and so on. I'd pour through books on aircraft, military and civilian.

Now my interest in planes and livery is waning as the travel experience becomes more about removing service than enhancing it. Airlines are moving to non-reclining seats, less distance between those seats, charging for even one checked bag, and even charging for carry ons. It's hard to respect companies that move in lock-step in the 'nickel and dime' games.

USA Today has a pretty good blog on air travel and one of the comments to an article about non-recling seats on Spirit made me think. I can't find the comment right now but the person said s/he was a former plane/airline enthusiast and is no longer interested in following the industry any more due to its' behavior.

When an industry loses its' enthusiasts, you know it's in serious trouble. I can't wait for the next step in long-distance travel to reveal itself because I know I'm sick of this one.