It’s a tough subject that a friend of mine and I discussed in some depth yesterday on a 10 hour flight from Los Angeles to London. If you can imagine going back to the 1920s and explaining to someone that we were going from the west coast of America to London in 10 hours, they would think you were crazy. Witchcraft would be the only answer.
London to the West Coast used to be LONG! A boat to New York and god knows how long it would take to cross the country to eventually get to the city of angels.
So why is it that I don’t feel so lucky to be in an age where I can acheive this and so much more so easily and affordably?
I don’t seem to enjoy the experience as much anymore. The long security lines, having to nearly strip naked, take off shoes, belts (which results in half of my arse showing), getting swabbed for drugs or explosives and after all that spend most of the time wrestling with the seat in front of me for enough room for my knees to not feel like this is in fact Guantanamo Bay and torture.
The reality is, I’m probably just becoming spoilt, like so many of us today. The ease to travel the globe, the fact that I’m lucky enough to get to travel a fair amount of it, fairly often. But I still stick to my point, it looked so much more glamorous when it first started, and now I think it’s need of hack. Here has to be a better way.
On European flights you would get a meal, a drink and a nice big smile from a stewardess. Today your lucky to get a seat and access to a toilet without being charged more.
When flying to the USA I always use great carriers (like BA or Virgin), but in my eagerness to get a good deal I will try to use the “budget” airlines… The expression is true today more than ever. “You get what you pay for!”
