Travel

Flying Used to Be a Luxury Event. Now It's a Bus With Wings. Was That a Good Trade?

Before 1978, flying across the country cost a fortune, the food was genuinely good, and you dressed up to board the plane. Today, a cross-country ticket can cost less than a tank of gas. The story of how that happened is more complicated — and more interesting — than you might expect.

Mar 13, 2026

Boarding a Plane in 1985 Looked Nothing Like It Does Today

In 1985, booking a flight meant calling a travel agent, waiting days for paper tickets to arrive in the mail, and strolling to the gate with zero security screening. Flying was a formal, expensive ritual reserved mostly for business travelers and the well-off. What happened next changed everything.

Mar 13, 2026