Are good airline experiences possible?

Wow, I'm back from my honeymoon. What an amazing trip! I was surprised by a couple of features that American Airlines offered this time, that I hadn't seen before.

They offered to contact me before my flight to let me know the final gate and on-time information. I filled out a form on the website, and sure enough, two hours before the flight I get a voice call letting me know which gate to go to and that the flight was on time. That was pretty handy!

On the way back, the DC 767 had electronic seats. We used some upgrade miles to fly first class, and the seats were incredibly comfortable. You could use one of three presets or individually adjust the seat bottom, the legs, or the seat back. It even had a memory function so you could store a comfy configuration, and then return to it later. The seats were apparently brand new because the flight attendants didn't know how to use them, but there isn't a gadget I can't figure out by pressing random buttons!

So yes, good airline experiences are possible. They either happen before you get to the airport, or you have to pay for them!