There's this notion that airlines have been squeezing more and more seats into coach. Really that's not true, and hasn't been true since the 1970s or so. If anything, on average, there is greater room in economy than there used to be.

Yeah, I'm going to have to admit that the reason why I feel cramped in coach is because I'm fatter, not because the available space is shrinking (and my neighbor likely being fatter doesn't help). Plus it didn't used to be a huge hassle when the person in front reclined their seat, but when that puts the kibosh on using my laptop, it just highlights the misery.

In less than a month I'll be visiting my 'home' in the states (have been living in australia for the past 5 years) for the first time in 2 years... and let me tell you, if there was a way I could arrive back in New England without actually flying to the US I would (I know, impossible for entirely obvious reasons). My options are Hawaii and LAX, 2 airports notorious for cranky TSA and customs staff.

I totally sympathise with all the aussies and kiwis are want to avoid the unecessary and totally unplesant expirience of flying anywhere near the US when said country is not their final destination (or hey, even when it is!)

Just a word of warning though - the TSA in Canada (or whatever they're called up there) is just as bad as that in the US (in my expirience). So make sure you pack your maple syrup in the check luggage, cause the fuilds/xray/patdown/shoe removal crap is just as bad there.

You're right, Patrick, it's partly the "secondary" amenities which mean the difference between awful and alright in economy class.

I recently had the opportunity to compare two almost identical 10-hour overnight transits within just a few days.

As they were essentially north-south flights (CAN-SYD / SYD HKG), jetlag was not a factor. Which is why you can't fairly compare (for example) LAX-SYD (fine) to SYD-LAX (jetlag nightmare).

CAN-SYD was on China Southern, with a level of cabin service and amenities that American domestic passengers would feel right at home with. Horror flight.

SYD-HKG was on Virgin Atlantic, in a literally brand-new plane with all the mod cons, and an enthusiastic crew. Pleasant, almost-enjoyable trip.

Two essentially identical flights, all the difference in the world in how you feel at the other end.

But even more crucial than amenities and service for coach is simply how full the flight is.

I seem to recall it was almost normal in the 90s to be at 20-50% capacity, I were often able to get the coveted "row to myself" in economy. Those days seem permanently gone, with flights almost unfailingly at 70% and up these days, with a brief break in 2003 for SARS (being one of around 10 people in economy on a Cathay Pacific 747 is something I'll always remember).

The difference between a good flight and a bad flight in coach in these days of routinely full airplanes can literally be armrest-thin.

For me, the last straw was the requirement to have ALL of my fingers printed. Having two printed on a trip to Hawaii last year was insulting enough, but being assumed to be a criminal right from the start was too much.

Not only is the fingerprinting requirement ridiculous, but the fact that the US doesn't allow transit passengers is annoying in the extreme. Even if you're flying "directly" from Auckland to London eastwards, you have to get off the plane in LA or Honolulu and go through the entire immigration routine. What for? To get on another plane for another 16 or so hours. It must have an impact on aircraft turn-around times as well.

For that reason, I haven't flown eastwards to Europe for the last 10 years. I won't be flying to the US at all now. All I want to know is if you still get fingerprinted at the Canadian border if you travel via road (if you're not a Canadian or US citizen).

Leaving aside those of us who wonder about a "free" country's policies in that area, what about the impact on the US itself? Headlines have been yelling that tourism is down 17% since "9/11". No, it's not since 9/11, it's since the stupid and escalating security regime that's been put in. I don't see that travel to other regions of the world (other than perhaps the Middle East, again) has declined by a sixth. Surely tourism operators in the US are not happy with this massive erosion of their margins?

Hell, all I travel is domestic and I don't want to travel through the US. Airport security makes those in power feel secure not the traveler. I worry about air traffic control and whether or not there's enough controllers in the tower and whether they've had enough sleep. I worry about the local radar and how old it is. I worry about the cargo that hasn't been checked that I'm sitting over. I worry about the traffic on the ground and whether anyone's paying attention where my plane is at any given moment. Any I worry about whether anyone's actually done a security check of everyone who walks into and out of airport secure areas including TSA. I don't worry about finger printing some 90 year old women from London.

"A pilot friend of mine worked for a time in Azerbaijan, which is nowhere near Kazakhstan, though it sounds like it should be."

Well,maybe you haven't spent much time in southwest Asia, I know I haven't. I do have that nifty little icon for Google Earth on my desktop, however, and quick reference there seems to show that Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, two former Soviet republics, are less than 150 miles apart across the Caspian Sea. That's a good bit closer than Flint to Harbor Springs in Michigan, which is where I'm driving tomorrow morning.

By the way, are Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan anywhere near Azkaban? Just wondered.

That way it just cuts out the middleman of going broke then going to Congress for a bailout like they routinely do every few years. The service can't actually get much worse and its doubtful they would make rates more expensive so as to pay for itself since that's why it would be nationalized in the first place. Just let it slowly rust until it falls apart like Amtrak. It's inevitable.