We are told, for instance, to arrive 2 hours before boarding — three if the flight is international. Three hours! And that clock doesn’t even start until we’ve arrived at the gate, excluding traffic, and parking; and once we are inside the terminal, the entire security apparatus is simply abominable. And time consuming.

Domestic flight times in the US hover around 2.5 hours. A useful flight-length number is hard to find. Wikipedia says 1-5 hours domestically in the US, but even so, the point is clear. Flight times are quite short. Barely long enough to consume a meal or watch a sitcom or read. The are short. And yes, international flights are in a different category.

Of course minimum seat dimensions exist; the airlines are doing everything they can to find an ideal set of seat dimensions that yield a tolerable amount of bitching while still filling the seat.

But folks, listen up. It’s only a few hours , m’kay?

In olden days, a glimpse of stocking
Was looked on as something shocking
But now, heaven knows
Anything goes

That song was written in 1934!

Replying to Simon: My wife and daughter swear by DL. UA was my go-to airline for domestic and trans-pacific for many years (after they assumed Pan Am’s pacific routes). Since relocating to HKG though 18 years ago, CX became more or less a necessity for intra-Asia business travel and is now the only airline that I can take non-stop for my commutes between JFK and HKG. So yeah, points and miles. But in the realm of cabin technology and comfort they are still a bit behind some of the other Asian carriers; not to mention the Gulf-based airlines (recently RT HKG-DXB on a CX 777 that was a bit worn at the heels–Emirates envy!!!)

Damn, I didn’t realize there was a bluetooth option for the headphones. Never saw it.

I thought I did a pretty good inventory on the amenities. They need to show it off a little more.

It’s good to be the patrick, these days. Long way from piloting a dash 8 in a threadbare uniform jacket.