I'm not so sure most people can fly for leisure. Setting aside the miseries of air travel, and whether it constitutes "leisure" or not, according to an AP-NORC

I'm not so sure most people can fly for leisure. Setting aside the miseries of air travel, and whether it constitutes "leisure" or not, according to an AP-NORC[0] survey, 43% of Americans were not vacationing this past summer, and, of them, 49% cite cost as the main reason. Only 12% of non-vacationers said they weren't vacationing in the summer because they were planning on taking a vacation another time of year. Putting that all together, 38% of Americans say they simply can't take a vacation for such reasons as cost, and "can't get time off." Given our culture of consumer debt, this doesn't speak to whether people can afford to vacation, just whether they intend to do so or not. And, it doesn't really break down flying vs other modes of travel to vacation destinations. Nonetheless, I think this suggests that "many" people, in fact, cannot "afford" to fly for leisure. [0]: http://www.apnorc.org/projects/Pages/Americans-Plans-for-Summer-Vacation.aspx http://www.apnorc.org/projects/Pages/Americans-Plans-for-Sum...