Disney has it right. Their property is considered a stage, and their customer's experience is part of the value they deliver. It works.
Flying once was an incredible experience. As a child, you could expect special treatment, a coloring book, a visit to the cabin, and a special smile from the flight attendants. As an adult, you could ask for a pillow or a blanket and get it with a smile - anything to make you comfortable. All the while, you got to experience the magical world of flying above and in the clouds. Pilots would announce sights as you flew by them.
Now, you get treated with suspicion before you arrive. Cameras and security guards abound. Anybody who needs any sort of special treatment - be it a need for a reprinted ticket, a schedule change, or heaven forbid you have more luggage than you expected - is subjected to long lines, additional fees, and interaction with people who are unwilling to offer more assistance than is required to provide you with a 15 second verbal response. You are expected to provide the airline with 1-2 hours of your time ahead of flight so you can get through their lines while smiling and being friendly lest you be cordoned off, frisked, and reviewed for having a dangerous attitude. You are expected to submit to x-ray scans, remove your shoes, unpack your electronics, have the contents of your travel belongings reviewed, and explain anything and everything abnormal.
Why? Because 15 years ago the Vice President did a fantastic job of making every little old lady from clearwater to phoenix afraid that her fellow passengers were carrying bombs in their underwear, and this charade of a security check would stop them.
We went from the friendly skies, to a strained relationship, to fearful flying, to what we have today, which is bat-shit crazy.
What happened to bringing the kids to the airport to watch Daddy's plane take off and land? The kids are a security risk, so they are sectioned off before the security checkpoint where they can buy a $12 coffee for refreshment and that's about it.
How can FedEx tell me where my package is taking it from depot to depot all around the world, but the airline can't? They tag and scan everything, but still manage to completely lose things more regularly than an Alzheimer's patient. If you've been lucky enough to experience it, you know that there's a number for you to call that may or may not be manned during it's limited hours, their is one to two people working it, and they never have any idea about anything. No idea how you submit an insurance claim. No idea where your luggage was last seen. No idea when they will learn anything. No idea who you can call to complain. But if you show up at the terminal, you can meet the guy and look through his office and find your own damn luggage that was less than 10 feet away from him the whole time.
The airlines train their employees to make you compliant with their rules. They need to train their employees to help their customers get from point a to point b as quickly and as comfortably as possible. Help people through the system. Don't make it harder for them.
People today travel in spite of the airlines. It's a necessary part of their vacation experience. They are losing money because of this perception, and so are many other people.