Air Travel Has Lost Its Romanticism

Traveling by air has lost its romanticism. From the months of planning, scouring for a good ticket price, to signing up for the ‘right credit card’, to getting the TSA Pre Check, to showing up three hours earlier than the length of the actual flight. 

And for what? 

To stand in a TSA Pre Check for an hour only to be told it’s not pre check today. To pack yourself into a train with zero ventilation and no personal space only to get to the gate and be told via a text from the airline that you are at another gate on another concourse and have to get back on said train. 

Why? 

Well there was the free food and booze at the airline lounge whose pass is included in your credit card. Oh wait, everyone has that so they are not letting those people in. Please wait in another line for your seat at an airport bar only to buy a grossly overpriced cocktail or beer or wine. But hey, it’s almost the same price as it is on the plane, wink wink. 

We could end up in a fun destination that cost us an inordinate amount for a hotel room just so you can have a view of the parking garage. But hey at least there is a gym, bar and room services vs doing all that shit yourself at an AirBNB. But wait, the drinks at the bar are like that at the airport in price and half of the cardio machines in the gym are broken. At least you are somewhere fun where the Uber can cancel on you just as easily as it can back home! But the photos you got for social media! Man, that will generate more content for those billionaires who founded them. 

Facepalm!

So we can have experiences over things? Boy that crowd went away quick when COVID hit. And all of this travel is having a massive carbon footprint vs riding your bike to the light rail and going to the park for an attitude adjustment. Maybe instead try using a train or luxury bus and going somewhere else for a fraction of the carbon. But hey, flying has a romanticism about it right?