Flight of fancy
Today, the world is smaller than it was yesterday. The aircraft are faster and bigger, and capable of non-stop flights from Singapore to Newark. Onboard amenities today make the luxuries of yesteryear seem positively primitive, ranging from the hundred-plus movie inflight entertainment system on board to the improved seat design, and to the well-appointed business and first class cabins to the culinary offerings. Airports compete for business and many are architectural wonders and shopping paradises, a far world from the erstwhile grey and drab blocks of concrete and glass thrown up in the first 60 or 70 years of commercial aviation. The number of carriers and routes and connections have increased manifold, and the world appears better connected than ever before, all promising improved understanding between different peoples and cultures.
Sadly, the progress has been achieved at a cost — the growth of air travel, proliferation of airlines and marked competition in the sector have all led to a commoditisation of the experience. The human element, from planning your travel to buying your ticket, has been reduced in the equation to a recorded voice over the telephone in most cases. Onboard service levels have, on average, become businesslike; respectful yet terse, a far cry from the pampering and gentle attention one received in the 1970s and 1980s. Booking a ticket has become as bamboozling as solving the Riemann hypothesis, given all the permutations vis. route options, weighing perks versus costs, etc. Deciding what and how much one should carry is more important than the objective of the travel. The airport check-in and security screening experience is as pleasant as having a root canal sans anaesthetics.
The increased stress of air travel has led to the diminishing of our patience with, and tolerance of, others during flight — this has led to rude behaviour, which at times, leads to incidents now known as ‘air rage’. Our increased personal isolation, thanks to the world of smartphones, has reduced the human bonding with our fellow traveller. We board flights with a foreboding of the sociability of the person sitting next to us instead of with the hope of finding somebody to chat with for a few hours and enriching our knowledge of the human experience. Once the flight takes off, we bury our noses in our tablets or laptops, less out of the requirement of finishing a presentation or an assignment, but more with the hope of being left alone.
Technology, with all its wonders, has left a mark on the human condition that cannot be erased; it has made us better connected, yet made us insular; it has brought global knowledge into our homes, yet nearly obliterated our capacity to learn from a person sitting next to us; technology has improved the quality of our physical well-being but at a cost to our mental comfort. Modern-day air travel is a manifestation of this march towards progress: all the conveniences apparently visible, yet enjoying the experience as a whole is a flight of fancy.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 21st, 2014.
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asphyxiation -totally agree, Aircraft air contains just about adequate oxygen, A few days back on a US Air flight from Tel Aviv to Philadelphia, the air purification system got contaminated with engine exhaust, Around 20 staffers were gasping and almost choked. The plane landed in Rome, talk about maintenance in other airlines, why criticize/write harshly on our desi airlines and staff.
@Mirza: So very true. Moreover if one wants to carry more, one can pay for extra baggage and the travel will still be much cheaperi in inflation adjusted dollars.
Desis are able to isit home at a far greater frequency than was the case in 0s and 80s and thus ensure that their kids are not cut off from their original cture. This is very eident when you see desi kids orn in US in 80s to those orn in this century.
Foreign travel is no longer something that just the elite can hope to do. Also cheaper telecom costs allows the maids in Mumbai to keep in touch with family in rural India in a way that was uni maginale for even well heeled desis living abroad o communicate with family back home. , social media allow s people to icariosly participate in weddings, engagements, graduation ceremonies, naming ceremonies et al through the now common pracice of phtos being uploaded promptly through facebook and videso being shared through whatsapp at no cos.
If people are isolated, it is only those that choose isolation.
The writer makes paradoxical statements. I am a frequent flyer of several airlines and here are the facts My first flight in life was from Karachi to Denmark to the US all the way to West Coast. The SAS flight from Denmark was 747 jam packed a 16 hours flight. My young legs swelled up! I had paid more than $1000 for that ticket and after 35 years we are still paying the same in fact even less today! It used to be up to 1400 but now it can be had as low as 900 on highly rated airlines like Turkish or Emirates. People use flights for getting there cheaply not for social experience. While the prices of gas have increased three or four folds we are still paying the same or less and want VIP treatment. The passengers are tired and want to relax or take a nap. Why would one constantly disturb them? Buying a ticket used to be a real chore and dependent upon travel agents and their mercy. Now I sit on the computer and select the flights, stopovers, and airline vs. price and convenient timings at will. No need to go take trips to travel agents for "stickers" or reconfirmation. I have not seen a travel agent for decades!