How Air Travel Has Changed and What The Future Holds

It's been a crazy, topsy-turvy decade in the airline industry, with everything from a subtle change to the dramatic.

The changes have touched everything from your comfort to the food you choose, to the price you pay for tickets.

Some of it has been debatable among travelers, but most of it has been for the better.

Here are the ways flying is different now, and one big way it's still going to change going forward.

This might not be a bad thing. Gone are the days of free meals in economy class unless it's an international or long-haul flight. That said, if you're willing to pay a few bucks, airlines have dramatically improved both the selection and quality of its food and drinks. Considering the price of fares have dropped, it's heavily weighted in the favor of the consumer. Speaking of which ….

No, really. Now, this is going back well beyond a decade but put it into perspective. In 1964, United Airlines advertised a one-way coach fare from New York to California for $145.10. That was before deregulation in 1978 and when the government fixed fares based on airlines' reported operating costs. Adjusted for inflation that $145.10 would be more than $1,100 today. The average one-way fare today is $283.

Technology has made it such that not only are there more nonstop flights, but they go further. Whereas a long-haul flight might have necessitated a stop - or two, or even three - airlines now have routinely direct nonstop to far-flung places. Qantas is even in trial runs for 19-hour flights between Sydney and New York, and Sydney and London.

Since the tragedy of September 11, 2001, passengers can no longer just pop their heads in the cockpit for a visit or take a look at the sophisticated inner workings of flying an airplane during the flight. Some airlines will let ticketed passengers visit the cockpit when the flight is on the ground though.

We bet when you board a flight with dozens and hundreds of your closest friends, you try to squeeze by in a tight aisle, struggle to find overhead bin space, and finally sit down in a seat that barely accommodates your backside, you think 'There's no way they can fit any more seats in here.' Think about it. The major airplane manufacturers are already at work trying to configure - or reconfigure - ways to add more seats to existing aircraft.

Probably the last major introduction into the airline world to make it was JetBlue Airways. In reality, due to attrition and mergers, more than 75% of domestic fliers today travel on just four airlines - Southwest, American, Delta, and United. Gone are US Airways, Northwest, Continental, TWA, America West, AirTran, ATA and Aloha.

Another factor from the 9/11 attacks, security is way more than just a plain old metal detector these days. And while some airports are relaxing their rules against non-ticketed passengers being able to go to the gate, for the most part, if you don't have a ticket you're not getting past security.

Decade after decade, improvements to aircraft have been made to the point where just in the last 10 years, manufacturers are using composite materials to reduce drag, help the environment and keep planes far quieter than they've ever been.

The advent and advancement of online technology has enabled millions to research fares and book their own flights - unfortunately sometimes at the expense of travel agents.

You don't need your physical ticket or boarding pass any longer. Since the introduction of e-ticketing in the 1990s, the technology here has also grown to the point where you can have your ticket and boarding pass electronically on your smartphone.

According to a report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global demand and frequency of travel is expected to increase by 3.5% per year, and air travel is predicted to increase from 4 billion travelers in 2019 to more than 8 billion passengers by 2037.

So how does the industry react to that?

Well, there are many predictions for the future, starting with what they're doing with cars these days - automation. There's going to be - if we're not already in it - a severe pilot shortage in the next 10 years.

But, don't worry. It's not like the cockpit will be empty.

"Take this concept a bit further and, in a few years, with enough automation built-in, you may really need just a 'safety pilot' to be there, in case something unexpected happens," says Bjorn Fehrm, an independent industry aviation expert at Leeham News.

The future of short-haul flights could be electric planes. "Alice," a prototype, was introduced at the Paris Air Show earlier this year.

Within the body of the plane, new seats with such exotic concepts as flip-up bottoms for easy entering and exit from the window and middle seats, as well as split armrests so nobody will (literally) fight over that one armrest.

For airports, biometrics will likely soon be upon us. Biometrics could replace the need for manual identity checks and be a cure for endless lines at check-in and security.

As long as you are on the passenger list and have no outbound restrictions, your unique biological traits, such as iris and fingerprint, will be sufficient.