Air travel and what not...
Is it's possible that the hey-day of air travel as already passed? I've been told that at first the Internet increased the airline business, as businesses increased their reach from local/national to national/international. But that was before 9/11.
Internet communication is getting better and better, it's becoming less and less necessary to fly. I believe that businesses are going to be less and less willing to pay for travel, and that's the backbone of the airline industry as it's structured today. Furthermore, people I know are less and less willing to travel, as the service on airlines decline and the risks, or at least perceived risks, increase. And I doubt they are alone. This further increases the costs to businesses, as they have to pay an even higher premium for people willing to travel. This will also drive the development of alternatives.
It might be that in the not too distant future airlines are like cruise ships today, mostly for vacations. But then why go to Florida and risk a terrorist attack when you could go to Norrath (in Everquest)? Maybe it's a bad example, but air travel could go back to being for the rich.
Or maybe it will become like buses and cars, there will be basic planes for the commuters, fancy charter planes for senior citizens, and private jets for the rich.
Maybe what it means to be middle-class is being poor in a whole new way. I mean even a poor person in the US is probably better off than 99.9% of the population in Europe in say 1403. Today's middle class are tomorrow's poor.