As my longtime friends know, at one time I traveled extensively to academic conferences all over the world. It's hard for younger scholars to imagine how much fun air travel was before 9/11. While flying in the 1990s wasn't as glamorous as it had been in the 1960s, it was still quite comfy compared to conditions today.
Getting through airports was fairly quick. And you didn't have to pay extra to check luggage, or to get a seat in an exit aisle with additional legroom (though this was never an issue for me). Airline meals were quite substantial, and they were free other than the alcohol (and on international flights, the booze was free).
Airlines back then also had generous frequent-flyer policies, which meant that, as someone who took only two international flights a year, even I could often get upgraded into business class. And it wasn't all that expensive to join a airline's club to use their airport lounges, with comfortable chairs and staff that would page you when your flight was ready to board or would book alternate arrangements if your flight was canceled or delayed.
Those days are long gone, and I'm no longer willing to endure the increasing unpleasantness of air travel. I'd rather drive five hours to a conference than fly one hour (which, of course, isn't one hour when one adds all the time at the airport, let alone getting to and from the airport).
This blog post is really a longwinded way of saying that I'm not going to New Orleans for AIA/SCS next month, and I doubt I'll go to future AIA/SCS meetings that require extensive travel.