Wally, hear what you're saying but the so called privileged pax can be just as revolting to deal with. Appalling tantrums about having to put their phone down for a whole eight seconds to go through an X ray (But I'm important! It's an important call! Laws don't apply to me!
), Dodgy proposed carry on items like spear guns excused by "but I'm Business Class"...of course violent people can't possibly afford business class fares
, monster, toddler style tempers because the Qantas Club won't allow twenty inebriated, non-flying friends as 'guests' on one standard Membership card...Pollies who behave like a commercial airline is their own personal RAAF One so they can turn up when they feel like it (departure times and schedules are so plebian, whatddya mean the other 150 pax can't wait for me? I'm Important, they should be grateful to share my air for a couple of hours
)...Massive amounts of undeclared dutiable / quarantine controlled goods because they were 'too busy' to read the declaration properly, particularly the bit that lists the penalties
...
'em all.
Dealing with pax helps you to realise that a small but significant proportion of humans are basically hairless chimpanzees. Other people may like to differ (and I respect that) but I never saw much difference between the swanks and the ferals in this respect.
The difference with the ferals is that a lot of them aren't experienced air travellers and the rules haven't been well defined. If there was a big message that popped up when you book a ticket saying "this is the max sized bag, you need to wear shoes or you don't get on and don't think we're going to serve you a lifetime's supply of piss in an hour forty flight" and it was enforced with a rod of iron, most people would cotton on quickly. The trouble is, there's no consistency, no clear rules and no set standard about how to behave.
You wouldn't get in to a major city hotel restaurant drunk and wearing thongs and boardies, and most people know that. Why is it different for an airline? That's the airlines' fault for not setting a standard and having the balls to enforce it. Same with bags.