Lifelong New Yorker Bob Meltzer spent 52 years in the toy industry and all of them on airplanes, hopping around the U.S. and flying overseas. Starting on the DC-3 he always flew first class and has fond memories of the lush life on airlines that are mostly dead and buried today.

American Airlines treated Meltzer like a crown prince for his loyalty more than 40 years ago. "In 1966, in a ceremony at JFK, they presented me with a plaque for my 'contribution to air travel' and I was invited to join the Admiral's Club. It was an honor because you knew the other members were legitimate fliers. Today, anyone can join."

Now a marketing consultant living in Palm Desert, Calif., the congenial Meltzer remembers the good times on American, United, National, Eastern, Piedmont, Alleghany, TWA and Pan Am — from the prop to the jet age.

"In the early days, first class was in the back of the plane on some airlines," he recalls. "Flight attendants were very, very, very attractive and friendly." The baron of beef was sliced by order on the rolling cart and the liquor miniatures were handed out nonstop during flights.

When Pan Am sold its Asia routes to United during the mid-'80s, Meltzer switched to the Chicago-based carrier with which he already had a lifetime "million miler flier card" that never had to be renewed. His Pan Am miles were also switched to United with no hassles.

Today, Meltzer deems airline travel a "disaster. If I fly United, I am still accorded some comforts for my seniority. But if you're stuck on one of the old, surviving airlines, you're one of the herd." In recent years, the former toy industry player has discovered JetBlue, which flies from nearby Ontario, Calif., airport to JFK in New York. "Very, very friendly."

But Meltzer confesses that after 52 years of flying, he hates every minute aloft. "I'm the world's worst white-knuckle flier. My hands literally sweat when we hit turbulence." He won't have to worry about any bumpy JetBlue takeoffs and landings from Ontario International anymore. On Sept. 3, the friendly but money-losing airline shut down all flight operations at the suburban Los Angeles airport.

One seasoned business traveler considers himself a "mellow flyer" who realizes there is little he can do to buck the sad state of stripped-down domestic air travel. John Torrey, vice president and general manager of xpedx Printing Technologies, travels the U.S. weekly and is on the road 70 percent to 80 percent of his time. I caught up with him boarding a Southwest flight from Oakland to Kansas City, Mo.

"I go with convenient flight times — early morning or evening flights — so I can be available and productive during the day," says Torrey. He flies coach everywhere and he's not a mileage junkie.

I'm responsible for people who travel and if they're paying extra money for the miles, that's an issue with me. I have to set the precedent."

Torrey usually books Southwest, but has been recently flying Delta, United and American. Southwest is the best airline to fly if the trip has multiple locations and reservations are made less than 14 days in advance, he contends. "United's service is not that great today — it's disappointing — and their rates are often much higher compared to other carriers."

On a recent flight to Japan, Torrey said he flew Japan Airlines. The fare was 50 percent lower than United and the "service in coach was great."

The xpedx executive has his share of gripes but he keeps his blood pressure in check by not grumbling except on rare occasions. "Most flights are departing late today but I don't think about it if we leave within a half-hour of the scheduled time. On the other hand, he would not consider paying $15 extra for a frontline spot on Southwest's new "Business Select" scheme.

Torrey carries the "smallest Dell laptop" and works on every flight — if the passenger in front of him doesn't recline the seat. "I sent a note to Southwest and United suggesting they eliminate reclining seats and neither one responded," Torrey said. He's also noticing that airline flight cutbacks are slicing into his productivity. Torrey was a Sunday night regular on the San Francisco to Cincinnati red eye but Delta scrapped it and now he spends Monday "taking multiple connections to get there. You're not as fresh and you've lost a day."

Startup companies, hammered by airfare increases, are "rethinking" business trips, reports Alan Bernier, CEO of RoFo Group, Inc., a San Francisco-based commercial real estate search engine that helps small businesses find office space online. "As a bootstrap company that has to go to trade shows, the roughly 30 percent increase in the cost of flying impacts us."

RoFo Group books its own flights using Kayak, the online search engine. It normally flies United but "I don't like the way they're charging today," said Bernier. "We're getting nickel and dimed for everything and its fairly noticeable by the friendliness of their service the flight attendants are working more for less."

Not all fliers are feeling the pain of the upheavals in the airline industry. Talal Shamoon, CEO of Intertrust Technologies Corp., a Sunnyvale, Calif., company that develops intellectual property software, was boarding Singapore Airlines' business class for a flight from San Francisco International to Seoul, South Korea, when I spoke with him.

He's also a United Airlines customer but is no longer 100 percent loyal to the brand. "United has turned itself into two airlines. A domestic airline that's rough but, fortunately, I don't have to take it very often," Shamoon said. "Then there's the international United, which, for the most part, makes the premium traveler's life pretty easy."

Still, Intertrust is a small, 40-person, enterprise and the CEO insists they shop hard for the best airfare values. "We go all over the place — all the websites and the airlines direct, which always seem to have the best rates."

Chris Barnett writes on business travel strategies that save time, money and stress. Reach him at cbarn@aol.com. To find out more about Chris Barnett and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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