Is there a viable alternative to MTP for wireless file transfer?

Since the latest versions (ICS+?) no longer have mass storage, is there any viable alternative to MTP?

The protocol seems inherently broken and the decision to regress to this format seems like a very 'iphone-esque' move (dumb things down, take away power from the users).

There seem to be numerous problems (eg) with files not showing and it seems to me that transferring a file should be simpler than requiring a system reboot - I am unreasonably demanding that way.

I'm aware of tools like Wi-Fi file transfer but often I find myself in areas without wifi, with just my laptop, phone and a usb cable. The other day, for example, I was one a plane, which is an environment decidedly non-conducive to using a wireless system.