As a general rule, people love to gripe, and air travel is perfect for that. Everyone has a story: the allegedly drunken passenger who bit a crew member’s ear on a flight from Amsterdam to San Francisco about a year ago; tales of ear-splitting, non-stop screaming babies; angry wrestling matches over arm rests. Although it’s been awhile, who can forget that fed-up JetBlue flight attendant who prematurely exited his plane via the emergency escape chute?
But, there’s good news about flying, too. A lot of stuff is getting better. A few examples.
1. Airlines are losing fewer bags
For years, travel experts said losing a bag was actually a rare affair, and while I don’t disagree, nearly everyone I know has lost a bag while traveling including yours truly. But the statistics have been moving in the right direction for years now. Per the federal government’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, in 1990 there were nearly seven reports of missing bags per 1,000 passengers; by 2017, that had dropped to 2.46 per 1,000. The most recent stats (November 2018) show a further drop, to 1.84 (and don’t forget, that included the busy and expensive Thanksgiving travel period).
Of course, bag fees have prompted more of us to go the carry-on route since many airlines don’t charge for bags you store in overhead bins, but the bottom line’s the same -- fewer of our suitcases get lost so we don’t have to stand in line at the airport and fill out missing bag forms.
2. You don’t have to tip
Remember when ride-sharing services were viewed as inexpensive, no-need-to-tip taxis? Times change and Uber incorporated a tipping feature to its platform, which Lyft already had, but at least you don’t have to tip on a plane, right? Uh, maybe, maybe not. Frontier has allowed tipping for food and beverage services for a few years now, tips that were pooled so all flight attendants would share in them. Now, each cabin crew member keeps what he/she earns by selling you that Diet Coke and little can of Pringles.
3. More luxury
Probably most of us won’t want this because we love our cheap flights (see No. 5 below), but if you want to fly like a movie star, there are ways to do this. American Airlines, for example, now offers Five Star Service which can include helicopter service for those in Los Angeles or New York so passengers won’t have to waste time in traffic. But for total luxury on a plane, it’s good to know that Etihad Airways still offers its class-above-first-class, called The Residence; it’s like having your own little pied-à-terre in the sky, complete with living room, bedroom and bathroom. Of course, it’s not cheap; I just checked Etihad prices for a flight in The Residence class from New York to Abu Dhabi and that’ll set you back $38,179. But you do get your own shower!
4. Fewer people are losing seats
This has nothing to do with airlines kicking bad passengers off planes. Heaven knows that still happens; earlier this month, a woman went on a profanity-laced rant because she did not want to sit next to a child (bet the child didn’t want to sit next to her, either). The point I want to make here is that fewer of us are being forced off planes because airlines overbooked the flight. Sure you get money when this happens – when it’s an "involuntary bumping" – but that doesn’t really make up for missing an important occasion or even the start of a long-anticipated vacation. But the airlines are getting better and better about this. In 2017 (January to September), the involuntary bumping rate was 0.44 per 10,000 passengers; last year during the same period, it had dropped to 0.12. It may seem like a little thing when it happens to someone else, but it’s huge when you’re the victim, so nice to see this number drop.
5. Flying is cheaper
We saved the best for last. Travel can be very cheap, especially for those who can sacrifice a little convenience, and by that I mean flying when you may not want to (weekdays, flights at dawn), or even suffering though a connecting flight instead of the faster but more expensive nonstop. But nowhere have we seen more deals than on transatlantic flights to Europe and here’s just one example of how prices have changed on certain routes in the past few years.
Round-trip fares for New York to London (for travel in late winter/early spring)
• 2013: $865
• 2016: $555
• 2019: $330
The key to getting a cheap flight, no matter where you want to go, is very simple: compare fares. It is the only way to be certain of getting the best available fare and the best way we know to start loving traveling again.
Rick Seaney is the CEO for FareCompare. Opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of ABC News.