But....what I think the original letter was all about = the great wonder of flying that used to go hand in hand with a a generally great experience in an airline (for pax and of course crew/cabin crew) that has somehow been turning into a generally bland and not so nice experience.
Things change, I always wanted to be an airline pilot as a youngster, but it is only now as a mature adult I have finally made it.
The reason I put it off was that in those days I thought you had to have a BBC accent, be an Old Etonian or else have flown Spitfires in the Battle of Britain.
Only in training have I met Lorry Drivers, Mechanics etc who have decided to change to piloting as a career.
In the days of the steam train every little boy aspired to be a train driver, nowadays its more likely to be done by a Polish immigrant or obtained from a postcard from the local job centre. The cudos of the train driver has well and truly gone.
Flying for joe public until recently has been rather exclusive, now with the advent of the loco's flying is for the masses and is just like jumping on a train. There is no posh English accent on the PA and pax are jammed in like sardines with non-existant cabin service and no reclining seats. The cudos of an airline pilot has diminished to that of a train driver for joe public and the voice on the PA has been replaced with a foreign pigeon English one.
On saying that I have read that more and more PAX are prepared to pay extra for premium seats even on charters, so if this becomes the norm and a more luxurious experience adopted onboard the pilot may regain his god-like status.