What are some of the reasons that the quality of air travel is decreasing?

One and only one reason...money

We take air travel for granted. Only 40 years ago, only the well-off and business travelers flew. Thanks to Airline Deregulation act of 1978, we got increased competition for airlines, causing at least 50 or so to rise and fall since that act. We, as a society, got so used to cheap airfare and cheap oil that went with it, it's a shock when we have to pay what it actually costs the airline to move us from point A to B. And we aren't even to that point yet.

All these little charges they tack on now for bags,drinks,etc. are fuel surcharges, they just aren't stated as such. Your average airliner burns $3/gal jet fuel at about 8 gallons per minute. That's at cruising altitude, not accounting take-off and climb, where you could double that figure.

The airlines give no room in their schedules for bad weather or broken aircraft. In a 12 hour day, I could be scheduled for 8 flights, most with only 30 minutes or less between landing and departing. That doesn't leave much room for any delay of any variety.

Be very surprised your luggage gets to you at all. All the bags, all the automation and the fact the airlines don't pay people enough to haul around your bag makes it a big challenge to get your bag to you. Now you throw in your delay or you changed airlines or you arrived late,etc. Sometimes, we have to leave luggage behind due to weight restrictions. Would you rather make it to your destination or your bag? Yes, in a perfect world, both of you would make it all the time. But...

Airlines have dramatically cut service and personnel. The folks that are left have lost pensions, taken dramatic pay and benefit cuts. And that's if they haven't been laid off or their company disappeared. You say so what, all businesses could tell that story, especially manufacturing in the US.

Well, as an assembly line worker, steel worker,etc, you didn't have to deal with the public face to face when your company was going under or cutting back did you? Airline employees do and it's tough to care about you getting to Cancun for your vacation when my job could end tomorrow.

Sorry this is so long, but there are so many reasons air travel has declined.

Democratization and rising costs. Today, almost anyone can afford to fly, but making air travel cheap enough for the masses involves cutting out all but the absolute essentials.

In addition, when everyone can fly, a lot of people who would probably be better off on the ground start to buy tickets, and the crowds you get aboard the airplanes change in character, and not necessarily for the better.

Finally, the sheer volume of air travel has an effect on the experience. In the days when air travel was reserved for the rich elite, there weren't many flights, airlines could afford to provide all sorts of frills, and the hoi polloi couldn't afford to get on a plane. Now all that has changed: everyone can fly (and everyone does), airlines can no longer afford to fly anything but basic transportation at current ticket prices, and the rich elite have often moved on to fractional ownership or their own private planes.

Becasue passengers would rather have a $49 ticket to Orlando than a gate agent treat them with respect, a F/A act kindly toward them, the airline not lose their luggage....

The old answer to the question of why American used to be HQ'ed in Newark was, "because they breed faster than we can p**s them off."

Most Major Airline Pilots are bearing the stress of 50% pay cuts, the loss of their pension, and working second jobs to make ends meet. Many are in bankruptcy and losing their homes.

Pilots can barely concentrate on keeping the flight safe, because Airline Management, while giving each executive millions in bonus $$ each year, are skimping on pilot salaries, fuel, maintenance, and ground safety personnel. All to keep ticket prices and pilot salaries as they were in 1980.

Low airfares = Low safety. How much is your life worth?

Ticket prices go down, Airplanes go down. With a Crash. Stop Greedy Airline Management. Keep flying safe. Support Your Major Air Line PIlots Association. Vote Union.

Boycott low fare airlines: JetBlue, Virgin America, Spirit, AirTran, Frontier, Midwest Express, Alligiant

Buy from brand name Major Airlines: American, United, Delta, Northwest, Continental, America West/US Airways, Southwest, Alaska, Hawaiian.