Re. airlines: I just switched over to Jet Blue and they're darn good. Newer planes, wider seats, more leg-room. No hot meals, but ample snacks (buy a deli sandwich inside the secure areas if you want something like "dinner") and ample beverages (always drink lots of water on a plane, prevents dehydration headaches). Satellite TV at every seat, with 20 or so channels. The flight crews are very upbeat and apparently most of the employees have bought stock in the company.
Post-911 security has gotten very efficient, so the delays are minimal even though the TSA are very alert and very thorough. Be sure to take off your shoes and belt to put through the X-ray, anything metal on you will make you beep as you go through the metal detector, which makes it take longer. Look at your carrier's website for more info about security and restricted items. Cameras and film can be hand-searched; the new X-ray machines see through everything but don't hurt laptops or digital storage media.
I agree, good rail service would be a great thing. However it is still possible for bad people to do bad things to a rail system, and I won't go into detail about that in a public forum. If we let them scare us into hiding under our desks, they've won. So go ahead and travel if you like, and remember you're safer on a train or a bus or a plane than you are driving to work in the morning.
