15 reasons why right now — not the 1950s — is the golden age of travel

Flying ischeap. Like, really cheap. According to the Department of Transportation, airfares are about as low as they've ever been (excluding 2009) when adjusted for inflation. Airlines for America reports the inflation-adjusted fares fell from about $442 in 1979 (after airlines deregulated) to about $275 in 2014 — a nearly 38% drop.

You can shop around. It takes less than a minute and a few mouse clicks to check the costs of dozens of airlines for any given city pair and dates. Sure, you might end up visiting a half dozen flight-booking sites or going deep down the rabbit hole of your vacation fantasies and wasting hours of precious time checking flights to Timbuktu or Greenland, but that's what the internet is for. Imagine trying to book a flight even a couple decades ago when there was no internet — you had to call the airline or physically visit its office. And comparison shopping? It was called a travel agent.

It's fast. In the 1940s, an average intercontinental flight had at least a dozen layovers in airpots that probably resembled today's LaGuardia. Now, you can fly from Dallas all the way to Sydney, Australia without stopping once.

There are so many ways to entertain yourself! Fliers in the 1950s were stuck with almost no way to keep busy besides writing airline-branded postcards to loved ones who probably couldn't afford to fly. And it wasn't long ago when airlines showed onlyone movie (gasp!). Now, if you're flying international, you've probably got dozens to choose from, and airlines are even starting to provide free Netflix streaming and meditation apps to keep fliers happy.

And, yes, there's Wi-Fi. Nearly all airlines now provide some form of in-flight internet, even if it will often cost you about the same as a month's worth of your internet at home. Quite a few airlines even provide fliers with free Wi-Fi. So next time that in-flight internet isn't up to speed, think about the guy writing one of those airline-branded postcards to his wife during his 11th leg of an international flight.

You won't smell like a dive bar when you land. And while you're thinking of our postcard-writing friend, consider that the stench of stale smoke was seeping out of his hair, his pores, and his $4,000 suit (c'mon!), because airplane cabins were as smoky as underground poker rooms until lighting up on planes was finally banned in 1980.

You can travel in comfort. While there was a time you had to fly in formal attire, you can now wear pretty much whatever you want on a plane. Want to wear a suit? Go for it. Want to wear a onesie? Nobody's stopping you (though you might get uncomfortable stares). Want to wear a onesie that looks like a suit? You can do that, too.

You don't even need a bag. You can just wear a jacket that is a bag. Or use an app, like DUFL, that will deliver your pressed clothes to your hotel before you even arrive.

And you probably won't lose your luggage. Thanks to improved technology, the number of mishandled bags fell 61%, from 18.88 bags per thousand passengers in 2007 to 7.3 bags per thousand passengers in 2014, according to IATA. That's less than a 1% chance you'll lose your bag. But if you're paranoid, there are now plenty of gadgets that will help you track your luggage in case the airline does screw up.

Your bag is getting smarter. One of those gadgets helping protect your bag is, well, your bag itself. A new rise in the production of smart luggage means you can get a bag that weighs itself, tracks itself and will even charge your cell phone. Unfortunately, we're not yet at the point where bags will obediently wheel themselves around behind you — but we're not that far either.

Everything else is getting smarter, too. You can no longer sprint your way through the airport 10 minutes before your flight and stroll onto your plane Home Alone 2 style, but things aren't as bad as the years just after 9/11 either. Today's increasingly technology-enhanced airport experiences mean that you can get your boarding pass sent to your phone, print luggage tags at home and bypass the snaking security lines by signing up for memberships with Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.

Airports are becoming more pleasant places to spend layovers. Have to spend more time than you'd like on a layover? Take a yoga class, watch a film, or — if you're the kind of person who likes to shoot sweet, innocent, harmless, leaf-eating, doe-eyed little animals, and you happen to have a few hours in Pittsburgh — kill a deer (seriously).

Planes are becoming more comfortable. Sure, we're well past the glory days of the 1940s, when every single seat on planes fully reclined, or the 1970s when even economy passengers were eating hand-carved roast beef. But we've also crawled our way out of rock bottom. Airlines are starting to offer free snacks again, in-flight meals are improving and a bunch of carriers have created premium economy seating for those willing to spend a few extra bucks.

Business and first class are getting way better, too. If you have a stupid amount of money laying around, first of all, congratulations. Second, you can probably lay down for the duration of your flight and pretend it's the 1940s all over again — but with in-flight movies and all the champagne you can drink. If you've got the cash, you can even get yourself a suite that's bigger (and nicer) than my Brooklyn apartment — complete with pajamas, heated floors and an en-suite shower.

You can hack thesystem! Didn't think you could afford that suite, let alone first class? You totally can! Just look to Sam Huang for inspiration. This particularly wily traveler recently booked a round-the-world ticket in Emirates suite class, which would normally cost about $60K, using nothing but frequent-fliers and $300 in cash. And regardless of whether you want to invest the amount of time and effort Huang did, you can hack your way to free flights virtually anywhere by signing up for a couple credit cards and doing a little research. Just make sure you're responsible and don't mess up your credit.

So next time you fly, listen to Louis and show some appreciation that you're miraculously sitting in a chair in the sky, even if that chair seems to shrink every year.

Brad Cohen is the managing editor of Road Warrior Voices. You can follow him on twitter or find more of his work here