Air travel has lost its luster

I had a collection of in-flight stationary and playing cards with the logos of various airlines.

I also remember climbing up a long set of steps outside to board the plane. And I remember propellers … well, let’s not go back that far.

Air travel was different then. There was civility when we flew. It was a polite world up there. Today I’m sad to report that the civility is all gone, and so are the playing cards and elbow room.

During a recent trip we were treated like we were in a cattle car. For lunch we got a tiny bag of pretzels and a small bottle of water. That is just one small step up from bread and water, you know.

Boarding is the worst. Passengers pushed and shoved and cut in line. Our seats were already assigned, so I couldn’t understand why.

It turned out that people were lugging two and three huge so-called “carry-on” bags to avoid paying the $25 per bag check-in fee. Even though flight attendants kept announcing only one small bag was allowed, they didn’t stop the hoarders at the door. It looked like some sort of evacuation was going on.

I watched out the window for the arrival of zombies.

In no time the overheads were stuffed to the point that they would barely shut and every square inch around our feet had baggage. There was no way we could have quickly exited if there had been an emergency.

And the last, unfortunate folks to board had to check even their carry-ons because all the overhead compartments were already full when it was their turn to board.

Enon resident MaryBeth Ratliff told me she ran into the same situation when she flew back from Tampa recently.

“When we got to the gate, they told us we had to check our carry-ons. I was really worried because there were items in them that I didn’t want out of my hands,” said Ratliff. “I about had to walk sideways down the aisle just to get to my seat.”

Because of the selfishness of the earlier boarding passengers, she didn’t even get one carry-on bag.

Obviously this $25 a bag rule has created mayhem on board. It seems to me if you cannot afford a $25 baggage fee, you probably shouldn’t be dropping a few C-notes on the ticket.

Airlines need to get this situation under control and just raise the cost of everyone’s tickets by $25. They also need to enforce the one small bag in the cabin rule. It would make air travel so much safer and more comfortable.

Yes, we got there and home safely, but air travel just isn’t fun any more.