AIR RAGE: “Safety violations, nakedness, violence, sexual assault, dead amphibians and general nastiness: Welcome to the 2008 summer travel season. We warned you that flying this summer was going to be hell, but even we weren’t ready for this. . . . Some of this is just plain insanity, but most incidents are being fueled by a combination of factors that have turned air travel from somewhat unpleasant to downright intolerable. Flights are packed. Passengers are paying more for everything and spending ever more time sitting on the runway. Fly on US Airways and you’ll be subjected to a plane that’s plastered with advertising and not-so-good coffee that goes for a buck a cup. ”

One of the reasons that airlines tried hard to make flying pleasant in the early days was the belief that it was necessary to pacify passengers in a stressful environment. Maybe they were right?