What's changed with airlines/flights in the last 10 years

[ShokWaveRider]

What's changed with airlines/flights in the last 10 years?

Everything! I used to fly every week when I was Wo$king, it was a pleasure and a relaxation. Now it is tedious, uncomfortable, inconvenient, time consuming and boring. Nuff Said!

 

[wrigley]

I just flew last week, and it's been 5 years since I've flown. I don't fly very often but when I do, I usually fly Southwest. One big thing I noticed is how many people bring on "carry on" luggage/bags that don't fit in the overhead carry-on compartment.

 

[athena53]

I will admit that I mostly enjoy flying but I believe it's largely impacted by how you approach the travel day. I fully expect to run into the normal aggravations so DGF and I allow plenty of time to deal with unexpected issues such as traffic, TSA backups, flight delays or repetitive gate changes. In addition to changing to First Class/Delta One we also utilize available lounges and sometimes resort to limousine service to/from the airport when it makes sense. <snip>
We just expect to run into issues so we don't let it ruin our day when it invariably happens.

Yes, time and money make a huge difference. I also use a car service to/from the airport for long trips. I overnight on mission-critical flights so I'm less likely to miss a connection. On my last 4 transatlantics I overnighted in London in both directions. On my last trip we left O'Hare 3 hours late, burning up what would have been a reasonable connection time. For me, it just meant less time to explore London that day.

And Business Class with lounge access and (in Europe) priority security lines adds comfort and eliminates a lot of hassle.

I just flew last week, and it's been 5 years since I've flown. I don't fly very often but when I do, I usually fly Southwest. One big thing I noticed is how many people bring on "carry on" luggage/bags that don't fit in the overhead carry-on compartment.

Hard-sided "clamshell" bags are an unfortunate development. Even if they're only half full, they have no "give" so they take up the same amount of space. I see that my tour in the Spring of 2026 forbids them. Some of the local airlines have pretty strict luggage limits.

 

[wrigley]

What's changed with airlines/flights in the last 10 years?

Everything! I used to fly every week when I was Wo$king, it was a pleasure and a relaxation. Now it is tedious, uncomfortable, inconvenient, time consuming and boring. Nuff Said!

That's why there are so many bars in airports!

 

[Koolau]

As much as I love to fly, I've often thought that a 7 day ocean liner from NYC to London would be a great way to go. No jet lag, just a nice civilized, leisurely pace. A few good meals, a few drinks, a first class cabin....

And then fly home.

If you love to cruise, this sounds like the way to go. However, if comfort AND price is important, why not just fly first class? Yes, you have some of the flying "issues" but the actual plane ride should be decent and only a day out of your life (all, for less money.)

Just thinking out loud.

 

[Koolau]

What's changed with airlines/flights in the last 10 years?

Everything! I used to fly every week when I was Wo$king, it was a pleasure and a relaxation. Now it is tedious, uncomfortable, inconvenient, time consuming and boring. Nuff Said!

Heh, heh, other than that...

 

[marko]

If you love to cruise, this sounds like the way to go. However, if comfort AND price is important, why not just fly first class? Yes, you have some of the flying "issues" but the actual plane ride should be decent and only a day out of your life (all, for less money.)

Just thinking out loud.

I've flown over 4,000,000 miles exclusively in first class, including 24 circumnavigations (US to Europe to Asia to US). With the exception of one "never again" flight 25 years ago, I've never flown coach. I just liked the idea of a transatlantic cruise, no stopping, would be relaxing. Seven days with no one poking at me.

I was terminally jet lagged for 35 years...getting to Europe refreshed sounds appealing. I'll likely never do it as DW is not remotely interested, so worst case, I'd have to go alone.

Saving money, mine or the company's, has never been in any of my equations.

 

[Koolau]

^^^^^^^

Wow, I sorta envy you flying first class exclusively. I've only ever flown fist class when I got "bumped" to first class by the airline.

Have you seen the movie "Up in the Air"? The protagonist was shooting for 10,000,000 frequent flyer miles. Doing so would have made him more exclusive than the men who walked on the moon!

 

[marko]

^^^^^^^

Wow, I sorta envy you flying first class exclusively. I've only ever flown fist class when I got "bumped" to first class by the airline.

Have you seen the movie "Up in the Air"? The protagonist was shooting for 10,000,000 frequent flyer miles. Doing so would have made him more exclusive than the men who walked on the moon!

Hard to believe but it was company policy. We were big on optics. I was among NorthWest Airlines (now Delta) top 20 flyers for 25 years. A few years in their top 5.

After I retired, sitting out back never even occurred to me. Still doesn't.

DW and I actually won't fly anywhere that you can't get a First Class seat. It's a deal breaker. One exception: the 20 minute puddle jumper to St Barths as it's the only way to fly in there on a 2100 ft runway...6 seats!

No, never saw the movie.

 

[CO-guy]

I just flew last week, and it's been 5 years since I've flown. I don't fly very often but when I do, I usually fly Southwest. One big thing I noticed is how many people bring on "carry on" luggage/bags that don't fit in the overhead carry-on compartment.

Last summer I was on a flight where a family of 4 brought 8 roll-aboards, half of which didn't fit and needed to be brought back up to the jetway as gate-checked. Between the noise cancelling headphones and a general tuning out of reality, I might not have realized the absurdity. However, the dad of the group was loudly bragging to seat mates about how much money they had saved using this approach.

 

[audreyh1]

Some people just love to game the system for the bragging rights!

 

[Out of Steam]

Back to the OP, over the past decade flying has become more like bus travel. The accommodations are increasingly uncomfortable, the airport is a heavily congested and the customer service is very spotty.

Gates designed for narrowbody planes with 120 passengers now have to accommodate longer, closely packed planes with 160-200 passengers.

 

[Out of Steam]

I've flown only a few times since retiring in 2019, and have lost the habits that allowed me to travel reasonably efficiently by air, as well as losing TSA pre-check. Moving to a city where almost any trip requires changing planes is also an annoyance.

It's enough to make me question whether flying domestically is worth it at all, but my wife couldn't handle multiple days of more than 8 hours in a car.

 

[jrcunniff]

Thanks for all the responses. It sounds like the biggest changes in the last ten years have been the introduction of (basically) a third-class, services becoming add-ons and not automatically included, and reducing the size of carry-ons.

I’m always of two minds with carry-ons. It’s nice to not have to worry about the airline losing my bag, or wasting time in baggage claim at my destination. But sometimes that’s not worth the convenience of not having to fight for space in the overhead, or struggling with luggage when your connecting flight is at the other end of the airport, ten miles away. But I’d better measure my old carry-on just to make sure it still qualifies if I decide to go that route.

 

[brett]

When we retired 13/14 years ago we swicthed to carry on only . International size/weight. Slightly smaller that NA limit BUT with weight restricitions. Usually 6-9KG depending on the airline. One week or three months is all the same for us.

We switched for two reasons. Physical abililty to handle our own bags on flights and on land. Money was not a consideration. It is nothing compared to the costs of extended travel. In fact, we get free bag check on the NA airlines that we typically use.

What we have noticed in the past 10 years is that boarding and de-planing NA carriers is a nightmare. Why.....because of NA carrier carry on rules and because NA airlines do not apppear to enforce the restrictions that they do hve.

Such an incredible customer difference boarding a flight in SE Asia or Europe where the regs are enforced. So much faster and more enjoyable from a customer perspective.

I will not longer help doe eyed people lift overweight/oversize carry on into the overheads. I am in my 70's and I am not about to risk a shoulder injury for some knob who wants to carry on the kitchen sink.

 

[CO-guy]

When we retired 13/14 years ago we swicthed to carry on only . International size/weight. Slightly smaller that NA limit BUT with weight restricitions. Usually 6-9KG depending on the airline. One week or three months is all the same for us.

Same! Mine is a 30L backpack that fits under the seat in front of me. A week or a month, it's the same stuff.

Some people seem aghast at the idea of doing laundry while traveling, but my wardrobe is wool and other quick drying fabrics. Every few days, I'll soak the dirties in the sink, rinse them while I'm showering, and they dry by morning. Seems like a minor inconvenience for the benefits of traveling ultra light.

 

[Golden Mean]

I’m sure glad I’m not flying regularly anymore, like my Megacorp days.

We used to think nothing of vacations that included flying. We fly less than once a year now, we think long and hard about vacations that require flying. We’d rather drive one or two days each way than fly now. Don’t know what that says about us. Most of our vacations now are in a 700 mile or less radius. Helps that we can reach the ocean or mountains within 3-5 hours from where we now live.

We have slowly gotten to this point over the last 3 years. We traveled Southwest at the start and now the only way I'll fly (for more then 1.5 hours) is first/business class with an assigned seat and a more or less guaranteed overhead bin. This of course costs more then our actual accommodations. So we traveled (via air) twice this year and probably only once next year.

 

[audreyh1]

Some people seem aghast at the idea of doing laundry while traveling, but my wardrobe is wool and other quick drying fabrics. Every few days, I'll soak the dirties in the sink, rinse them while I'm showering, and they dry by morning. Seems like a minor inconvenience for the benefits of traveling ultra light.

We do laundry while traveling, no problem. Go to a laundromat - easy in Europe where everything is tap to pay.

In the summer packing light is very easy as no heavy jackets needed. Cold weather with heavier clothing is a little more challenging.

 

[audreyh1]

After many years roaming the country in our big motorhome we set a limit on how far we were willing to do a road trip. ~3000 miles round trip (not including side/day trips) is about it. We can still visit lots of excellent places that distance and we enjoy the occasional road trip. But farther, we fly.

We haven’t reduced or given up on flying yet, maybe have even increased. What we have also done is pay up to maximize comfort/minimize discomfort and hassle while flying. We never regret it.

 

[Ronstar]

Same! Mine is a 30L backpack that fits under the seat in front of me. A week or a month, it's the same stuff.

Some people seem aghast at the idea of doing laundry while traveling, but my wardrobe is wool and other quick drying fabrics. Every few days, I'll soak the dirties in the sink, rinse them while I'm showering, and they dry by morning. Seems like a minor inconvenience for the benefits of traveling ultra light.

We always do laundry on trips exceeding a few days. Our trips usually include hotels with laundry facilities, so once every 4 or 5 days we do laundry after dinner in the hotel laundry room.

 

[Koolau]

We do laundry while traveling, no problem. Go to a laundromat - easy in Europe where everything is tap to pay.

In the summer packing light is very easy as no heavy jackets needed. Cold weather with heavier clothing is a little more challenging.

I won't go anyplace cold! I got rid of all but my lightest weight jacket. I'm done with cold. Last time I went someplace cold was Chicago area in early Oct. for eldest's wedding. Other than that - forget it.

Regarding clothes. I don't own a suit or tie. I own one pair of long pants for "dress up." Otherwise shorts and T's or maybe an aloha shirt (for dress up.) Laundry is a snap. YMMV

 

[audreyh1]

We did laundry in Dresden and Vienna this past year. Google Maps I’ve had good luck in finding convenient laundromats. I think the hotels we were staying in were to fancy to offer a guest laundromat.

Usually we end up chatting with someone interesting. In Dresden we ran into a very young couple who had flown all the way from Brazil to attend an AC/DC concert, haha.

 

[brett]

Same! Mine is a 30L backpack that fits under the seat in front of me. A week or a month, it's the same stuff.

Some people seem aghast at the idea of doing laundry while traveling, but my wardrobe is wool and other quick drying fabrics. Every few days, I'll soak the dirties in the sink, rinse them while I'm showering, and they dry by morning. Seems like a minor inconvenience for the benefits of traveling ultra light.

They may be aghast...but would they carry enough clothing to last on an eitght week trip without doing laundry or having it done Or would they like to lug a big suitcase on and off a water taxi, up two flights of stairs, or over a few hundred metres of cobblestones?

We are at the point that whenever we buy clothing the first question is how will it travel followed by how will it wash.

When we come home and unpack we take note of anything that we did not wear very much. It gets replaced by something else on the next trip.

Some of our best travel tips have come from fellow travellers who we have met in laundromats or in sidewalk cafes opposite a laundromat while waiting for the load to finish.

 

[Koolau]

I was sitting in a laundromat in Vancouver, waiting for our travel duds to dry. Across the street in the parking lot of a bar, a car reversed out of a parking spot and side swiped another car.

I jogged over and got the license number/description of the offending car as it drove off. I went in the bar and told them what I'd seen. 15 minutes later as I was hanging stuff up, the Vancouver police came in and talked to me for 10 minutes. They couldn't believe someone from the Lower 48 would "get involved." Just the way I roll.

Returning you now...

 

[rodi]

Since the discussion has migrated a bit... we are carry on only types and definitely focus on 'tech' fabrics... Think stuff from Columbia brand... it can be washed in the sink and dries quickly. We carry a bungy cord with clips from drying. We carry detergent sheets in a baggy. I don't want to spend time in a laundromat - I do the laundry before bed (takes 5 minutes) - and it's dry in the morning.

Another baggage saver is limit your number of shoes. Shoes are bulky. Wear your bulkiest shoes (often hiking boots), have 1, or at most 2, pairs of shoes in your carryon. Shoes (and all your clothes) need to work with many outfits/combos. If you can limit your shoes to 2 pairs you're golden in doing carry on.

Our longer trip next fall we are doing 1 checked bag, shared between the two of us... That's because I want to bring three Italian language books (dictionary, verbs, and percorso (which is specific to the citizenship language exam)). They are not cheap books or I'd just by copies there. It will also allow us to pack warm jackets since there is a big delta in temp between September transatlantic cruise and December in Florence. I can't just mail the books ahead like I would to a hotel, since we are staying in an airbnb.