Air travel since 9-11 has become slightly less luxurious than bus travel.  The long lines at security, the uncleanly cabins, the lack of food and drink & inability to bring our own from home, the cutbacks in service, the diminished flight schedules, flight delays, shoddy maintenance due to quick turnaround times, and germ filled cabin air have all diminished what used to be a fantasy experience.  A more serious smoldering issue is the aging of the American fleet itself.  This is considered by shareholders and management to be a "long term issue." This aging is a blatant, foreseeable catastrophe that needs to the moved to the front burner and should not be overlooked as a safety issue by the supervision of the FAA, Transportation Secretary, President and Congress.  According to www.airfleets.net which compiles information from the FAA, Northwest Airlines has the oldest fleet averaging 15.9 years, American & ATA next with 15.3 years, then Delta at 13.8 years, Southwest with 14.4 years, United with 13.4 years, US Air with 12.0 years, and Continental at 10.1 years, and Hawaiian averaging 10 years old.  The youngsters are the AirTran and JetBlue newcomers fleets that are merely 4.5 and 3.2 years old on average. Foreign airlines generally have much younger fleets.  Structural stress over time needs to be seriously reassessed.

Routinely, in the name of airline security, we all parade around the terminal in sock feet, remove not only our jewelry, cell phones and belt buckles, but overcoats and other clothing layers. We undergo a puffing experience to detect any chemicals on us (I'm not sure how most people's colognes and perfumes don't trigger an alert) and a physical body and bag search by wand and hand are about as intimate as you want to be with a stranger in the airport, even if he or she is wearing a Transportation Safety Authority uniform. Yet, Americans have bucked up and done what has been asked of them in this decade in the name of national airline security.  But are we really safer? Or have we focused on these gestures that merely give us a false sense of security, while everything that keeps us safe day to day has deteriorated in the airline business behind this smokescreen?
 
At summer's end, I went on an out of town jaunt and flew first class both ways.  When I was handed my hot towel, I wiped my hands before my meal and pulled out my tray.  After viewing the absolute filth on my tray table and armrests, my still steaming cloth was resurrected into a second life to clean the eating area where my hands and arms and food would rest.  And,  while I was well aware of friends who were hospitalized after flying to northeastern cities last summer and then within 48 hours having the diagnosis of swine flu, I'm not speaking of "hidden" bacteria and viruses either airborne or on surfaces, I'm talking filth that you wouldn't tolerate anywhere in your home.  And, there are plenty of other demons waiting to sicken you on airplanes these days. 
 
Since I teach about lifestyle risks to the chemically injured, including those with autism and Gulf War Illness, I am frequently asked, "What should we do to protect ourselves when we fly?"  The answer is, "Don't fly unless it is absolutely necessary and you have back-up precautions to protect yourself." For these groups who are often immune-compromised, the onslaught of items that might trigger either immediate or subsequent medical reactions on an airplane are simply growing all the time.  For healthy individuals and flight crew, there are the same risks each time you fly, but with potentially lesser consequences.  All it takes is one chemical exposure to push YOU over the threshold of what your body can tolerate.
 
There is always the risk of jet fuel being sucked in through the air system intake.  We've all smelled that in the jet way, on the tarmac, or while seated in the plane when it backs up taxiing.  For those with reactive airway disease or asthma, this can be a trigger to a deadly asthma attack.  Winter flying presents the additional risk of de-icing chemicals being sucked into the air system of the plane.  I am unaware of any short or long term human studies that demonstrate the safety of these chemicals if they are inhaled or on your skin from the air for any period of time.  De-icing chemicals and sucking in a little jet fuel have merely been viewed as operationally "necessary" parts of flying to date, however, I predict that shortly they will be being re-examined.  There are now lawsuits being brought by employees and passengers who have been sickened by these toxic fumes.
 
Flight crews report that toilets are emptied less frequently in airplanes and therefore, a couple of airlines have added scented sprays to the bathrooms in order to "cover up" the putrid odors emanating from within.  Keep in mind that the first class toilets are a mere couple of feet from the food and beverage prep area on most dual engine plane models.  Studies show that if a cover is not put down on a toilet before it is flushed; feces can go up to 15' through the air.  Are you thinking about where you locate your toothbrush yet?  Or, are you thinking about that snack bag you are about to open?  Well, the flight attendants are working in those conditions all day long.  And, here's news for you, putting a chemical spray over an organic odor just adds one more odor for your liver and brain and senses to process, it doesn't eliminate the underlying problem.  In addition, the chemical, "perfumed" scents are the number one trigger of allergies and asthma and prevent some passengers from even using the facilities, and therefore, don't solve the problem, but create another problem of barrier to access.  The solution is easy and doesn't involve chemicals:  we either need to legislate or the Transportation Department needs to order how often on which routes toilets need to be emptied and airlines need to be cleaned.
 
Scarier yet are the holding tanks full of water which are RARELY ever cleaned and virtually never, if ever, inspected for cleanliness.  No, the health departments of municipalities don't board airlines, so who is in charge of that anyway?  Why is hygiene important there?  In several interviews with flight attendants that I have conducted, they indicated that they routinely run out of bottled water on flights and are forced to fill cups or refill bottles with water from the holding tanks.  We won't talk about the ice cubes.
 
One bright spot is that the FAA has finally acted on the runway delays.  By now, everyone has heard the horror stories of passengers held captive by airlines awaiting takeoff for hours on the tarmac without food, water or toilet paper.  In light of those instances and many others, Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, announced this past Monday that if passengers are kept aboard a plane for a domestic flight on the tarmac for over 2 hours without food and water, or for 3 hours without going back to the gate and letting them get off, the airline will be fined $27,500 for each passenger.  This rule is slated to go into effect in approximately four months.  I suspect it might prompt airlines to routinely stock a few peanuts and granola bars on board every flight in case of emergency.  In recent years, delays exceeding these new time limits have affected 1,500 flights and 114, 000 passengers per year.  Hopefully, this new rule will bring much deserved relief to those held domestic hostage by an airline unable to deliver timely takeoff or other service.  This has been approximately 1 out of every 6,200 domestic flights in the United States.  The penalty is financially prohibitive, therefore, I predict the airlines will eliminate or somehow otherwise adjust their chronically late takeoff routes, and seriously rethink other congested airports and times.  The only question that I haven't had answered yet is, "While the fine needs to be paid to the Treasury Department, will the passengers ultimately get the $27,500 or some pre-defined portion in compensation so that they can avoid the horrors of litigation, and will the remainder go toward an overdue air traffic controller system update fund, or will it just simply be washed into another bailout slush fund?"
 
I've been doing my part along with everyone else in submitting to these extensive "security" procedures, but I assure you, the least dangerous thing on that summer outbound flight was the steak knife that I had left in my briefcase from cutting cord during a homeowner's association event the weekend before.  It flew with me one way to my destination, unbeknownst to me, without detection, and I was horrified to find it when I was repacking to return.  I felt deep fear of what could have happened had it been found, and then graduated from that thought to, thank God it was me and not a lunatic with the knife that stowed away in a bag.  This was not a plastic knife but a wooden handled stainless steel sharp knife.  Despite the knife being practically new, I discarded it in the garbage in the name of "national security" instead of returning it back home to rejoin the rest of the set.  All the while, I was shaking my head in disbelief. 
 
Flying in a sleigh with reindeer is looking like a pretty good option indeed these days compared with our domestic airline system.  Santa at least has consistently demonstrated efficiency and on time departure.  And, if he really delivers to all houses on Earth in one 36 hour night, he has to hit approximately 845 houses per second.  Now that's productivity! 
 
On a positive note, I sincerely congratulate the airlines industry for their survival following an almost complete shutdown after 9-11.  While the industry has suffered numerous financial setbacks with spiking jet fuel prices at the hands of the oil industry, and security concerns about general air travel, they never tapped the federal government or the American taxpayer for a bailout as funds were being handed out to the financial, insurance, and auto industries in the last year. 
 
Good American citizens have done their part after 9-11 by being searched, buying lighters on the other end, leaving sharp objects at home, and throwing away knives, now, let's see the airlines, Department of Transportation, and FAA work for the passengers and clean up their act as planes have become little more than flying cesspools. 

Kimberly Wilcox is currently freelance writing about financial politics, as well as Healthcare policy, specifically, Chemical Injury and its medical & lifestyle consequences.  She is a lifestyle coach to others with chemical injury, chronic fatigue, autism, Gulf War Syndrome & Fibromyalgia, as well as to professional athletes desiring peak performance without use of illegal PED's.  She is an expert on Green Living and her new book will soon be published about the Green Life that she has been forced to live for the last decade.