Criticizing the airlines has become the norm these days, and often with good reason (we’re all guilty, aren’t we?). Somewhere in between the military style seating and astronomical fees for just about anything, there are some good things out there.

This article did the investigative work for us, suggesting eight things already in practice or soon to be. There are a few increasing passenger conveniences, in-seat power sockets, easier upgrades, mood lighting on red-eye flights, checking your bags before you are at the airport, and redesigned seats as in Cathay Pacific’s new fleet. Some are simply overdue updates, axing the prehistoric radar systems for GPS and doing away with the paper ticket entirely. All steps in the right direction.

My favorite, probably based on the futuristic quality of it, are the driverless pods being introduced at London’s Heathrow. You hop in, type in your car’s destination, and let the pod zip you there at twenty five miles per hour.