Somehow I feel that changed recently (post-COVID?).

I remember having lots of random conversations with my seatmates on planes, and I’m not the type to talk to strangers myself.

It used to be normal to always ask something along the lines of “where are you headed?” and maybe let that evolve into a chat about shared experiences about cities and places. I still remember some of the fascinating people I met this way and will never see again.

But in the last couple of years all my flights have been purely transactional where not a single casual word is ever exchanged with anyone.