This week, over 40 million Americans will experience air travel as they fly around the country to visit friends and family for holiday events. But how they go about it, the experience they will have on any given airline is a great deal different now than in the past.

"Thanksgiving travel hit a decade low in 2008 when only 37.8 million Americans traveled," AAA President Robert Darbelnet said in a statement reported by the Washington Post. "Since that year we have seen a steady increase in the number of travelers taking to the roads and skies for the holiday. Americans continue to find ways to economize their budgets."

Surely the comparatively stable price of fuel for automobiles, airliners and cruise ships has helped get travel going again. But changes in the way transportation companies interact with their customers these days has had a positive impact too. Still, there is work to be done, more changes to be made and not all our wishes have been granted yet.

This infographic from Friendly Planet Travel illustrates some of the most obvious changes about air travel, then and now.


[Image Credit- Dave Blazek]

Filed under: North America, United States, Airlines, Airports