Why the golden age of flying is never coming back — and it might not a bad thing

From pricey parking to pat downs at security and long lineups everywhere you turn, air travel these days can be unpleasant. 

"I get on a plane now at least once a month and to me, it's like riding on a bus in the sky. Herd me on, sit me down, get me off. They've taken away the lure of the travel," said Susan Barnes, 75, of Halfmoon Bay, B.C., who has been a frequent flyer for more than half a century.

Barnes, who was a flight attendant in the 1960s and '70s, says she remembers when flying was like a Mad Men cocktail party in the sky. She jetted around the globe pouring free champagne for passengers flying CP Air, a carrier that operated until 1986 when it was taken over by Pacific Western Airlines (PWA) and then, Canadian Airlines.

Barnes said her job was to provide top notch treatment to every passenger, even those sitting in economy. That meant handing out hot towels before and after every meal. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were served on real china, with silverware and cloth napkins — then out came coffee, tea and a fruit basket. 

"We were treating these people as if they were in a first-class establishment. We just happened to be in the air," Barnes said.

Barnes and other retired CP Air, Canadian and Air Canada flight attendants interviewed by the Cost of Living described flying back then as "a pleasure." 

It's a far cry from the experience thousands of Canadians had with airlines this past holiday season. Staff shortages, weather issues and computer outages resulted in lost baggage, cancelled flights and stranded passengers who are now battling air carriers for compensation. 

This, along with a summer of major travel disruptions due to COVID-19 labour shortages, has the federal government promising to overhaul Canada's airline passenger bill of rights.

If you've been caught in that tangled web of travel chaos, you may be asking yourself what happened. Experts say it comes down to costs, and competition — and that we're unlikely to ever return to that golden age of flying.

Keeping prices competitive meant airlines had to be more ruthless about the bottom line, said Frank Lazar, an associate professor of economics at York University.

"Here's a fare, it gets you a seat from A to B. Anything else costs more."

What most Canadians remember as the golden age of flying was the era when commercial aviation was regulated, explained Lazar. It was a time when airlines didn't have to cut costs to stay competitive, because the federal government didn't allow them to compete with one another.

"So it was essentially the government saying this is where you can fly, when you can fly and these are the prices."

Up until 1986, the two big players were private carrier CP Air and government-owned Air Canada (formally Trans-Canada Airlines), said Lazar, and the government did not allow much overlap on routes.