It took me awhile to find something that I was OK with, but my Varilux progressive lenses work well in the airplane. Not cheap, but much better than standard progressives -- way better then simple bifocals.

The point being that there are good lenses out there that do work in our environment. The key is finding a good Optometrist, preferably one who has worked with pilots.

I will also add that I have had surgery in both eyes out of necessity (cataracts). Great results, but I consider myself lucky and would never roll the dice on any type of eye surgery unless there was no alternative. You can lose a medical for outcomes that would be satisfactory in the general population.

Best of luck.