New York Times Opinion Laments Summer Travel’s Decline Since 2023
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 24
New York Times Opinion Laments Summer Travel’s Decline Since 2023
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 24
The New York Times published an opinion essay arguing that summer travel has become markedly worse, with the writer nostalgically casting 2023 as a less miserable benchmark.
2023 serves as the comparison point because today’s trips are described as pricier and more chaotic, marked by ballooning fares, flight cancellations and travelers arriving 4 hours early just to make gates on time.
A $150 pet fee and a recent Miami flight featuring a crying Pomeranian in seat 21D are used to illustrate how new in-cabin hassles have joined older air-travel frustrations.
The essay says the experience now feels more unequal as well, with premium lines, lounges and lie-flat cabins shielding better-off passengers while economy travelers absorb most of the discomfort.
As air travel splits into haves and have-nots, is the affordable vacation now just a memory?
How did one airline's collapse unleash a summer of misery and soaring prices for millions of travelers?