I fail to see where "the airline experience" got worse. (Maybe the 80s or early 90s) It has sucked for decades. I've had to deal with all kinds of BS on flights going back 20+ years. Over a decade ago I sat in a seat with a 6ft5 500pounder in the next seat. Nobody did **** about it. If it wasn't a 1 hr flight I would have raised hell though.
I'm white too, got the full jihadi terrorist treatment in the airport before leaving the US (on US military orders) and then entering another country. Like really? I'm already off the airplane and you still want to search all of my **** and then ask questions about all of it? Despite the fact that your country (Japan) has stores that sells the most ridiculous form of pron known on the planet? Ok, have fun then!
My most recent experience was the realization that I shouldn't ever again buy a ticket from any website like vayama, Travelocity, or expedia. I ended up not flying to my wife for Christmas last year because vayama didn't inform me that my flight changed and didn't give me a different itinerary. This was known to them 3 months before my flight in December (I know this because I filed a complaint with the US government and that was the response from the airline) yet I was not informed until the day before my flight that i needed to simply change my flight itinerary because my original flight changed by 2 hours in China making my exiting flight impossible.
Then Vayama, after calling them at least 10 times, tells me that they fixed it and I can fly on the same flight leaving the US and a different f!ight leaving Beijing but after I drive 4hours to Dulles I'm informed at check-in that I have a reservation for the flight but its not paid for by Hahn Air! So I ask who is Hahn Air? I bought a flight from Vayama! So I'm standing there for about an hour talking on my cellphone to Vayama while the guy is patiently waiting for my ticket to be paid for. But finally I'm told on the phone with Vayama that Hahn Air is refusing to pay for the ticket (despite the fact that they told me earlier not to worry, just go to the airport and get your ticket there) and therefore I am screwed. I'm yelling at the guy WHO the hell is Hahn Air? I have a reservation for this flight, I'm standing here trying to check in and all you have to do is Pay for it! I already paid you months ago!!! Nothing is done and the guy basically tells me that I shouldn't have even gone to the airport despite the fact that they told me earlier that it's not a problem that my e-ticket isn't available online and I can just check in at the airport.
So I have to find a way to get back home and find another ticket (on December 19th) despite already paying for a ticket. I finally get back home that night and file a complaint and immediately the airline tells me that my ticket was originally purchased by Hahn Air, resold to me by Vayama and that they notified Hahn Air in September that they changed the flight times. Therefore Vayama purchases their flights from a middle man company called Hahn Air. So do all of those websites apparently. From now on I'm only buying directly from the airline even if it's more money and I have to buy separate tickets from a different airline to get to where I'm going. I ended up having to miss my wife's birthday and Christmas and New year because vayama is a piece of **** company. I bought another ticket and didn't leave until January 6th because Vayama never found a ticket for me and I didn't want to wait anymore.
The airlines do suck but even worse is the BS you have to go through at the airports and changing flights in foreign countries, I.E. China.