Great post!!
I'm cabin crew and very much miss the days when I could take all the kids on board, families at a time, up stairs to the deck to see the pilots, who were given postcards, signatures or any other souvenir that was available. The looks on their faces when they entered the deck, especially at night when the lights were illuminated still stays with me. And from a cabin crew point of view it maintained that interaction with passengers which is very lacking now. However, all is not lost. Time permitting on the ground and with willing pilots we are more than happy to take the little ones up. It's not the same for us but they still get a buzz.