[oldschoolflyer]

Jetliner,
While I agree with many of your points about passengers becoming more defiant and demanding, I think you need to blame the airlines for creating the monster in the first place. It's the airlines that have allowed the level of service in the industry to drop to the current levels.
Where it used to be a privledge to fly on an airline, as you state, it's now just a glorified bus ride. Who's fault is that? It's not the passengers. Airlines have allowed mediocrity to become OK......and they back that up by telling everyone who will listen how low their fares are. As a result many of the employees have taken the attitude of "well of course our service sucks, look at how little you're paying."
Eventually you get what we have in most of the complaints on this website....pax getting frustrated at poor service and employees getting frustrated at passengers having the audacity to complain.

Our expectations of service levels have creeped to all time lows. Until there is a change in this trend airlines and passengers will continue to be at odds with each other. One trying to give as little as possible and the other trying to get as much as possible. Unfortunately a no-win situation.