- [Waiter] Excuse me, ma'am, you had the lobster?
- Ah, yes.
- [Waiter] Some champagne?
- Yes, please.
- [Waiter] Peanuts?
- Peanuts?
(baby crying)
- Where's my lobster?
- [Pilot] Ladies and gentleman,
this is your captain speaking.
We just wanna thank you for arriving at the airport
two hours before your flight
and enduring all those long lines.
You'll be pleased to know we've already
charged your credit card
for that awful turkey sandwich you ordered,
but don't worry about the peanuts, those are on the house.
- I'll take 'em.
- Flying wasn't always the headache it is today.
Airlines used to look more like cocktail parties,
where everyone dressed up.
Three course meals were served
and you walked off the plane with travel bags,
filled with toothpaste, deodorant and other life essentials.
- Why did it change?
To answer that we'll need to take a trip
through history, economics, and politics.
So fasten your seat belts and prepare for takeoff.
(upbeat music)
- Flying didn't become popular
until what many call the golden age of aviation.
There's no clear consensus on when this began.
Some historians date it back to the 1930s or even earlier.
While others think it started in the late fifties,
when jets were integrated into the market.
Regardless of its origins,
passengers during this time were treated like royalty.
Meals included dishes such as smoked salmon and caviar.
Drink offerings ranged from fancy cocktails to French wines.
Some planes even had a winding staircases
into separate rooms.
It was like a better version of first-class
except pretty much everyone was first class.
- As far back as 1938, most domestic flights in America
were regulated by the government.
They had control over fares, routes, schedules,
investigations, certifications,
market entry of new airlines.
So pretty much everything.
But with federal regulation came a lot of turbulence.
One of the biggest problems during this time was cost.
The government wanted to make sure airlines made more
than enough money.
So unless it was a short trip,
you could expect some pretty outrageous prices.
- How much exactly?
To give you an idea, a flight from Los Angeles to New York
in June of 1959 costs about $170.
Sounds like a deal, right?
Not if you adjust for inflation.
In 2021 dollars, that comes out to over $1,500.
No wonder the service was so great.
They were desperately trying to get people to dish out
what, back then, was a good chunk of their income.
- Unfortunately, high cost wasn't the only problem.
It also took longer to reach your destination.
These days you can fly cross country direct
or at worst a stop or two.
But back then, one cross country trip
could have as many as five layovers.
That could double your travel time.
- And if you missed your flight,
you probably couldn't catch another one until the next day
or even the following week.
Fewer flights existed back then,
and airlines had to apply for new routes,
which in some cases took years to get approved.
If they got approved at all.
On top of that, you had to deal with passengers smoking.
Something that wasn't completely outlawed
until the year 2000.
Planes also tended to be much louder back then,
and many weren't able to fly over extreme weather.
So it wasn't uncommon for turbulence
to cause broken glass, injuries and air sickness.
- Safety was another major concern.
Today it's incredibly rare
for a commercial airline to crash.
Back then it happened half a dozen times a year.
And in some years, hijackings happened on a weekly basis.
- Thankfully in the 1970s, politicians said
enough is enough.
The recent bankruptcy of the heavily regulated railroads
convinced Congress of what economists
had been seeing for decades,
that it was the regulation itself
causing higher costs and inefficiencies.
- The Carter administration finally agreed
that everyone would benefit from new players in the market,
less control over routes,
and the abolishment of price regulations.
But this didn't sit well with the airlines
since it meant their income wouldn't be guaranteed.
- But their plea to maintain the rigid status quo
was unconvincing.
And in 1978, the government began its departure
out of the airline industry.
Well, aside from safety inspections and air traffic control,
which it still handles to this day.
- As expected deregulation led to competition
in the marketplace,
which naturally led to lower costs
since everyone was competing for customers.
Plane tickets, including fees, dropped by 50%
between 1979 and 2011.
Causing the number of passengers to triple,
which is great for fliers, not so much for the airlines.
Eight major carriers and over 100 smaller ones
went bankrupt or were liquidated by 2001.
And the ones who survived has struggled to be profitable.
Sometimes even requiring government bailouts.
- They've tried to make it up in fees.
Perhaps you've noticed there are fees for
everything these days from checking bags
to changing your flight.
This has become a multi-billion dollars side hustle
for airlines, but unfortunately for them,
it hasn't been enough.
The airlines still see thin profit margins,
in the years they come out ahead at all.
- And that's why the amazing service of the golden age
has declined.
Airlines simply don't have the funds
or incentives to lavish passengers in luxury.
But now the costs are so low,
a lot more people can travel.
Which has led to crowded airports,
long lines and sitting closer to strangers
than any of us would prefer.
This is the complete opposite of the golden age.
When planes used to be much less packed
since only the wealthy could afford it.
Now you're lucky if this seat next to you is even empty.
- Seat pitches have also shrunk over the years.
This is the distance between your seat
and the seat in front of you.
It has decreased by four to seven inches in an effort
to fit more people on the plane.
Goodbye leg room.
- If you really want to return to the golden age service
of the past, you could always fly first class.
You'll just have to pay golden age prices.
But there are ways around this.
If you try to upgrade a coach ticket to first class
the day of your flight, they might offer you discounts,
or you could buy a coach ticket
and use frequent flyer points to cover
a first class upgrade.
- As we begin our final descent on this episode,
we just wanna say, we get it.
Modern air travel is a drag.
No one wants to arrive at an airport two hours early,
wait in line and sit in uncomfortable seats, eating peanuts.
That makes it easy to long for the past.
But don't forget that the past had problems too.
From costly fairs to excessive layovers,
to the increased chance of dying in a fiery crash.
- That's quite a perk .
While we lost fancy cocktails and food served on real China,
we gained safer, quicker, more affordable air travel
with wifi.
Don't take it for granted.
- And that's our 2 cents.
Have you ever wondered what makes words, well, words?
Other Words, PBS' newest show about language
and linguistics, has you covered.
- From determining the origins of language
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Other Words, dives into languages around the world
to uncover the fascinating, unexpected,
and sometimes weird stories behind the human trait
we all take for granted.
Check it out on Storied and be sure to let them know
that Two Cents sent you.
(upbeat music)