In anticipation of the unexpected, I do follow the recommended interval between airport arrival and flight. Then, instead of going through the “elite” line as I am permitted, I find myself getting on the longer lines just to keep myself occupied.

My complaint about today’s flight from Toronto to Newark? I got to the Pearson “zoo” 3 hours before takeoff. You know how those customs officials can be! Well, everyone on the line was greeted with a, “Hello” and “How are you?” by the officers. Some of them were actually smiling! I was at my gate in 20 minutes. Then, on my full flight, the overheads were crammed and tempers were flaring at having to surrender wheelies to the FAs. Just the passengers’ tempers however. The crew handled each incident professionally and without anger. Flying may not be the fun it was before 911, bankruptcies and outrageous fuel prices, but it isn’t all horror stories either.

If the airline gets me there safely and close to on time, I’m a happy camper. I won’t starve to death, go broke if I have to bring my own snacks, or expire because they’re not showing me a mediocre, dreadfully-edited movie.

Hap, I love to travel, and travel sometimes means inconvenience. I don’t get the thrill and excitement out of the town I live in that you do yours. I want adventure, new people, new places, and new things. If I have to endure a bit of discomfort to ge to those new places safely, it’s 1000% better than looking at the same streets, same restaurants, and same faces that I see every other day of the year.

Mr. Wysong, it must be hard working for an industry so hated by its customers.

I’ll tell you one thing. I don’t go there expecting the airline to babysit me every step of the way. I’ll make sure there is food and drink for myself and my wife. If they can’t fly us or there is a delay, I make sure that my wife and I are able to deal with it and not be dependant upon others. I don’t like how it is today with all the extra fees, but I know how to figure out how much everything costs, so I just add it in. James has good advice and I intend to heed it when I fly in a couple of weeks. I don’t expect things to be perfect, but I think there won’t be any problems we can’t solve. I’m sure things will go just fine with the car rental company and hotels too.

I gather that you’re a flight attendant (or perhaps a pilot?). I feel very sorry for you. You’re caught in a vise as your bosses make you bear the burden of their mismanagement, while mistreated passengers have no other target but you for their outrage. It can’t be pleasant for anyone (except perhaps the CEOs who are entitled to award themselves bonuses and raises regardless of performance). Very sad.

I hope the legacy carriers DIE because they SUCK and are just one giant codeshare anyway.

Take the money (and fees) an airline would have charged you to lose your luggage, strand you in a strange city because of a missed connection, or (if you’re lucky) jam you into a middle seat between the feverish sniffling man and the lady with the continually screaming baby– and treat yourself to a fantastic staycation in a nice local hotel. Eat in some nice local restaurants, and enjoy the sights of your home town that you overlooked in the days when air travel was reasonably pleasant. You’ll have a much more enjoyable time that way, and perhaps end your trip with reduced stress levels instead of airline-induced apoplexy.

Don’t worry about the effect this would have on the beleaguered airlines. Despite what airline executives might insist, you have no “patriotic” duty or obligation to help out a failing industry that expresses its gratitude by treating its customers like self-loading manure. And those executives are doing a great job of nose-diving their companies into the ground all by themselves — and possibly their airplanes as well, since the FAA’s “laissez-faire deregulation” ideology effectively encourages cost-cutting in maintenance.

So it matters little whether if you put yourself first and avoid the ordeal of flying. The employees are going to suffer the Death of A Thousand Cuts no matter what. And the CEOs are going to get their bonuses and bankruptcy-proof pensions because they’re divinely entitled to them, even if the taxpayers have to fund it.

In the long term, perhaps the best possible thing for the aviation industry is for the “legacy” carriers to continue their death spiral into oblivion. Maybe that will allow new airlines to rise from their ashes. And maybe those airlines will have executives who recognize that customers and employees are as essential to their success as efficient management.