Air travel has been a roast, a least in steerage, for a long time.
One of the gals I dated in flight school was also a flight student. She had been a flight attendant and decided to move up front and move the sticks. She is still flying for one of the majors, set to retire in a few years.
She went to the CH-46 RAG in San Diego and a lot her flight attendant friends lived in the area and flew out of Lindbergh. Their stories were unbelievable, even back in the 80's.
After 9/11, so much changed that made the whole commercial flight experience a complete grind and the TSA and the airlines have all been complicit, including charging for luggage which has people trying to take more crap into the cabin area than Hannibal took over the Alps.
I also know a number of airline pilots and they tell me everyone is on edge, "you can sense it..."
Since I live two hours from the nearest large airport, I'll drive rather than fly if the drive is ten hours or less. It pencils out, trust me. I have at various times flown 3 times a month, often 4. I know all the tricks and efficiencies, how to best navigate the entire experience, trust me, but I hate it. I will be flying to Tucson in January, flying for the forst time in years. I am trying to arrange meetings accross the country so I can drive
Some the recommendation in this thread I had not considered but have been spot on.