As the weather warms up, the mainstream press takes more interest in stories about airports and flying. You can expect to read tales of woe at the check-in desk and shrinking legroom and luggage space in the cabin as well as a number of articles on tardy flight attendants, obnoxious fellow passengers and the tastiness (or lack thereof) of the onboard catering.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s often a nostalgia for a time when air travel was perceived as being somehow better by being more relaxed or more luxurious and it\u2019s common to see photo montages in the Sunday supplements of glamorous air travel from times gone by.<\/p>\n
But was it ever really that glamorous? In the past couple of issues, we have run sections from Jennifer Coutts Clay\u2019s excellent Jetliner Cabins where she talks about her experience on board Concorde, surely the high point of the \u2018jet set\u2019 era. In her book, she describes the cabin being smaller than you might imagine, with no in-flight entertainment beyond being able to look at the edge of space through the window. Passengers generally didn\u2019t mind (after all, they were going to be at their destination in half the time of a regular airliner) but even the best aircraft couldn\u2019t provide the amenities that travellers would expect today.<\/p>\n
In truth, the average holidaymaker travelling on a trijet would be on a flight that would have been far more expensive and needed to be booked via an agent months in advance. The aircraft would have been far louder, both outside and in the cabin, and while the seats might have been wider, they would have been less supportive.<\/p>\n
All these stories miss the real issues that affect us taking people on their holidays. Things like staff shortages, engine inspection, supply issues and a lack of aircraft are far harder to explain to the public.<\/p>\n
The one place where all media will attend is AIX. This is the industry\u2019s chance to tell the world the truth of modern aviation, and I\u2019m all for that.<\/p>\n