You've asked yourself what ever happened to the pillow and headset you once got what you plopped down in your economy class seat abroad the airplane. Come to think of it, didn't the seat used to be bigger too? And those head phones? You can buy them, for $5 bucks. You even have to pay for your peanuts. No meals, even on longer flights. If you can somehow summon your sad lost puppy eyes, the stewardess might have pity and toss you an extra bag of Planters. But, otherwise you'll have to rely on the candy bar that has since melted in your pocket.

Think you're the only one who has experienced the growing discomfort on domestic flights? You might just chalk it up to growing older. "Can't handle those cross country flights like a used to."

That's probably not true. You're feeling of discomfort have been justified by none other than the New York Times. Granted the Times has had its share of problems recently and is by no means a mouthpiece for the common people, but it is the biggest paper in the US. So when a recent article scolded, in no uncertain terms, the airline industry, I took it as a major day for all the plebeian travelers like myself.

Unfortunately, my righteous anger is explained away with simple economics.

The fact is that airlines, flying so close to full capacity today, have realized that they really don't have to cater to economy passengers - most of whom are booking on price alone, and who increasingly have no real airline loyalty - because the cost of doing so would never be worth it in pure bottom-line terms.

Who are the benefactors of this new way of doing business? Those who are willing to pay for amenities: the business class and first class passengers whose in-flight martinis and fully reclining seats bring a bigger price.

Low cost carriers seem to be the wave of the future. The big airlines are struggling to come to grips with this. Will these cuts of services mean there demise? Probably not. But I find myself having a more pleasant flight on carriers like Frontier and AirTran than Northwest or United.