Airplane travel is out for me in 2005

That's it, I'm done. I guess I have reached the point where I have traveled enough by airplane to have had some good experiences and some bad. Most recent good experience: A delayed flight from Wenatchee Dec. 20 allowed more time to chat with some folks I know while waiting in the terminal and resulted in a better seat on the flight from Seattle to Phoenix (bulkhead row with no one in the middle seat -- like first class, almost). Most recent poor experience: The 40-minute delay coming back from Phoenix Dec. 30, the middle seat I was assigned, the niosy and unpleasant environment in flight.

Air travel has become, as I read somewhere, mass transit -- poorly run mass transit at that. The days of flying being a pleasant experience are gone. Even with a delay from weather or equipment, you could always count on a friendly smile and a nice snack, even the full can of Coke. Now, it's get in line and shut up and we-don't-owe-you-a-thing attitude. Example: As a result of the Phoenix delay, I was just minutes away from missing my connection to Wenatchee. It would have been nice to have had an attendant help me out in some way, at least to tell me the Wenatchee flight had also been delayed -- a fact I did not learn until practically shoving past passengers to get oout of Row 29 and sprinting to the gate. Arriving out of breath, I asked if the flight was boarding, and the snotty representative looked at the sign and sarcastically said he guessed it was. I bit my tounge from replying that the departure time listed was still the original and that the "delayed" tag was at least somewhat confusing. Regardless, I got on the plane, the ride to Wenatchee was uneventful (the flight attendant could barely speak and no one could understand her instructions), and my luggage also arrived intact.

So, I will minimize my air travel this year. I just need a break because I don't like it anymore. Maybe a few days in a car on the highways will convince me that air travel is not so bad after all.
-- Wenatchee, Washington