Matador members love travel, and because they’re on the road, in the skies, and on the seas so much, they have a lot to say about how the travel industry could be better.

I asked Matador members to share ideas about how the travel industry could improve in a recent Forum post.

To be honest, I forgot about their answers until today, when I was asked to take my flats off and go barefoot through a security checkpoint at Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport. (Thanks, Richard Reid, for exposing millions of travelers to athlete’s foot; we’re all paying for your failed shoe bomb escapade).

Here’s what we hate about travel… and love to complain about:

*Airport Food: Is it really impossible to have at least one decent option for fresh food?

*Airport Check-In Procedures: Why do kiosks exist if they hardly ever work? Can’t baggage be handled more efficiently?

*Airport Bathrooms: Sure, we passengers should scale back on the amount of stuff we lug around with us. But since some people seem to be incapable of doing so, could you please make a few oversized bathroom stalls– and while you’re at it–install more shelves so we can put our stuff somewhere other than the floor?

*Airport/Airplane Advertisements: We know fuel costs are up… more than 85%, according to Delta’s CEO. But we’ve already paid the equivalent of our first born child for this plane ticket… why do we have to be subjected to shameless advertisements on our tray tables and extra “exciting” announcements about a “low, low fee” credit card? (US Air, I’m talkin’ to you!)

What’s your travel gripe? Sound off in the Comments section!

Photo: veganstraightedge (creative commons)