How flying has changed in 20 years

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. -- Delta Air Lines announced today that all its 330 domestic airplanes will be configured for in-flight Wi-Fi within a year. Delta is the latest U.S airline to go wireless. The change suggests that in the very near future, Wi-Fi will be as common on airplanes as bland in-flight magazines.

Looking at a range of trends, it's amazing to see how much business travel has changed since 1990, when I first traveled on business.

Back then, using a laptop in-flight was such a rare novelty that it involved fending off questions and comments from flight attendants and passengers. There were no automated check-in kiosks, or even electronic tickets. Every passenger got a complimentary meal.

Just 20 years later, by 2010, the whole experience of business travel will be very different. Many major airports will use full-body scanning, which sees right though your clothes. Biometric passenger ID will be commonplace. I won't be the only person on board with a computer. In fact, pretty much everyone will has a laptop, subnotebook, iPhone or some other Wi-Fi capable device (although most won't pay the airline to use their network).

By 2010, if current trends continue, you'll be nickle-and-dimed for everything -- not just food and alcohol. You'll have to pay for peanuts, snacks, soft drinks, and even water. You'll pay extra for bags checked, and even for a pillow and blanket.

Flying will be far more annoying and expensive than it was back in 1990. In fact, of all the myriad changes to the business travel experience, Wi-Fi is the only improvement. Still, being able to read your favorite Computerworld blog while aloft goes a long way to make up for all the other changes.