Air Travel Gripes: Then and Now

As is the case with most things, air travel has come a long way. Gone are the days of breezing into an airport 30 minutes before your flight leaves and visiting the captain in the cockpit before taking your seat. What hasn’t changed, though, is the fact that people love to complain — so we’ve come up with the following list of travel gripes to take you back to the policies of yore. Read on, reminisce and be sure to leave your own additions in the comments section below.

Then: “My bags are so heavy I won’t be able to carry them all.”
Now: “My bags are so expensive I won’t be able to pay for them all.”

Forget nickel-and-diming. Fees for checked bags are becoming downright ridiculous.

Then: “I’ll walk you to your gate.”
Now: “I’ll walk you to the ticket counter.”

Regulations have become so strict that you can’t accompany a traveling friend or loved one to the gate anymore. In fact, you can’t even make it much past the ticket counter without proof that you’re actually flying.

Then: “Will this flight really take five hours?”
Now: “Will this security line really take five hours?”

Little known tidbit: Experts* say the amount of time it takes to clear the security checkpoints at the airport is equivalent to the amount of time it takes to plan for, pack for and work enough hours to pay for a trip.

*By “experts,” we mean nobody at all.

Then: “What do you mean I can’t bring a rocket launcher onboard?”
Now: “What do you mean I can’t bring a snow globe onboard?”

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As if packing weren’t already difficult enough, now we’re reduced to toting the world’s tiniest bottles of shampoo and conditioner. And does lip balm go in the quart-sized bag or not?

Then: “The person next to me is smoking.”
Now: “The person next to me is taking up half of my seat.”

Sure, the ways in which fellow fliers infringe on your personal space has changed, but the basic fact that they infringe hasn’t changed at all.

Then: “I’m 6’2″, and I have hardly any room to stretch my legs.”
Now: “I’m 6’2″, and I have even less room to stretch my legs.”

As airlines try to cram more passengers on each flight, seats have become smaller and smaller while passengers seem to get larger.

Then: “This food isn’t good.”
Now: “This food isn’t free.”

It used to be that passengers would complain about the quality of the food. Now they complain about having to pay for the right to complain about the quality of the food.

What would you add to this list?

— written by Ashley Kosciolek