Air travel: The right stuff

OPINION

By James Wysong

Travel columnist

updated 4:01 p.m. ET June 6, 2007

James Wysong Travel columnist • Profile • E-mail

Sure, it's easy to get on the air-travel hate wagon, and I admit I enjoy poking fun at the airline industry sometimes myself. And why not? There is just so much to ridicule, and as a flight attendant, I constantly see the stupidity that the airlines try to ignore. But this week I'd like to take a small break from what's wrong with air travel and take a quick look at the right stuff.

1. Safety. Despite terrorist threats and a huge increase in airplane traffic, air travel is safer now than ever. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration now investigate each and every accident, and follow up with new safety procedures to reduce repeat occurrences. Yes, your flight might be delayed by a warning light or canceled because of a mechanical problem, but your chances of making it to your destination in one piece have been improved dramatically.

2. Choices. With the increase in the number of airlines comes a wealth of new options. If one airline charges too much or treats you badly, you can almost always find a different carrier to get you where you are going. Remember the days when you often had to pay a fortune to an airline you couldn't stand? Well, thanks to Southwest Airlines and other low-cost carriers, you truly have a choice now.

3. In-flight food. Remember the lukewarm in-flight meal that was called "Salisbury Steak" but tasted like a salty piece of shoe? They said it was complimentary, but of course you paid for it in that sky-high ticket price. Now, on many flights, you have a choice whether to pay for it or not, plus the snacks on board have gotten better. Of course, you have to pay for those, too.

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4. Airline alliances. It is always a hassle when your flight is canceled or you miss your connecting flight, but new airline alliances improve your chances of making up lost time, as you can often take a convenient flight on a cooperating partner airline. Same goes for your mileage points: You can often use your frequent-flier miles to get a ticket on a partner airline to an exotic location.

5. Fewer bumps. While the skies produce the same turbulence as before, communication with air traffic control and between other flights has become much more prevalent. Shared information allows pilots and air traffic control to vector around trouble spots, making your flight much smoother. It also gives more adequate notice to the flight attendants, who can prepare the cabin when turbulence is unavoidable. I once got a call from the cockpit telling me to prepare for moderately choppy weather in 23 minutes. Not 22 minutes or 24 minutes, but 23. I decided to time it and it was indeed exactly 23 minutes.

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