I'm one of those that used to enjoy flying. Now I dread it. Perhaps it's inevitable - maybe one can only fly in coach a certain number of hours before the dread comes.
I've lived the last 15 years near NorthWest hubs (Detroit and Minneapolis) so most of my experience is with them, but I assume that all of their pilots now are ex-Navy: every landing it seems like they're trying to trap a wire or something.
Most important thing to me from my end is seeing a smile. I figure it's a rough, boring job, ferrying squalling idiots like me from hub to hub, but hey, we don't want to be there either.
Most important thing to me from "their" end is not being a jerk. I swear I've gotten rock star treatment from gate agents simply because I didn't blame them for a broken plane or bad weather or whatever. I benefitted one time leaving Vegas because the guys in front of me almost lost their minds when they were told the flight was overbooked and some of us might get bumped. Dude, like there's not going to be another plane soon leaving from
Vegas! Come on! I just waited patiently and got bumped myself, to first class.
Etc.
Anyway, I still get a kick out of sitting windowside on the wing and watching the flaps move. Anyone ever read Richard Bach's "Stranger to the Ground"? Great book about being a pilot.
-dale