Kyle Boatright writes:

I doubt that. What is happening is that people are spending their money
differently.

That is far less important than the fact that they simply don't have the money
to begin with.

I have a $100/month cable/internet bill. Plus a $50 cell phone
bill. Plus the maintenance, repair, and replacement expenses for 20
different devices in my home that people didn't have 50 years ago.

Add them all up and you'll find that it still doesn't cost anywhere near as
much as flying.

We have more discretionary income than before, we just spend it on day to day
conveniences and various iterations of the idiot box (TV, Computer, Gaming,
etc.)...

No, the income is actually worth less. Adjusted for inflation, discretionary
income is disappearing.

My personal theory is that flying is no longer the source of hero worship it
once was. Is there a current Lindberg? How about an Amelia Earhart? Maybe
a John Glenn? Not really. Flying has lost the public's imagination, and
therefore the publicity.

I think that very few people indeed are motivated to fly by hero worship.
People undertake hobbies because of a fundamental interest in the hobby, for
the most part, and not become some celebrity is interested in it.

And one reason we don't have aviation heroes any more is that aviation is much
more expensive than it used to be. Also, we have commercial flights every day
that exceed just about anything that can be done in a private plane, so there
aren't many records to break any more.

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