I hear what you mean about the empty planes. The best flying in my memory was in the 1970s. Everything was much more casual, less populated, and slower-paced. I

I hear what you mean about the empty planes. The best flying in my memory was in the 1970s. Everything was much more casual, less populated, and slower-paced. I remember eating freshly-fried eggs for breakfast on a 747, with metal silverware, in coach. After 9/11 I remember a lot of fear. I got searched a lot. Everyone was tense. All connection points became more isolated (e.g., you can no longer walk your family to the gate). Most non-white men I know immediately started having a worse time flying after 9/11. Now, there was also a smoking “section” in the back of the plane, and safety standards were nowhere near as robust as today, and everything was _way_ more expensive (relative to today). Sleeping was easier since the seats were wider. If the post-deregulation business model requires packing people in like little cattle, some sort of veal-cubicle isolation wings seem reasonable.