Quests that REQUIRE Flying

[Darkstride]

Whether you enjoy unlocking flying for the areas or not, flying is pretty much required in the new areas. It may not seem like it at first, but it will become apparent very quickly.
Really you will just have to suck it up and do it. If you want to expedite the process, just look up a guide for all the aether-thingies and it should only take maybe 15 minutes per area not including the ones unlocked by quests.
Flying also makes getting around much faster, so that little bit of time spent unlocking flying is more than recouped many times over just by the time you save getting around.

I started typing a response but this one ^ pretty much covers it.

Unlocking flying really isn't difficult and is well worth the relatively small amount of time spent on acquiring it. Flight is a gameplay element that is intended for players to use, it's not really something you can or should ignore.