I question the premise of this loss-of-civility argument in a couple of ways. First, in terms of low cost travel being the cause of a rise of bad behavior, air travel being relatively inexpensive is nothing new. That airline deregulation that the Delta CEO reference in the interview happened during the Carter administration in the late 70’s. So, it’s not that a whole new uncouth class of traveler suddenly showed up in 2019.
But, more fundamentally, I question the premise that bad behavior on airplanes is some new scourge of the last few years. A small subset of flyers getting drunk or angry has always been there. The difference the last few years is that everybody next to them now carries a camera that also functions as a mass media broadcaster with a couple of clicks of a button.