The issue with airline travel is that everyone else is making money: airports, airplane manufactures, other parts of the tourist industry (hotels, cars, etc), maybe even the reservation systems. But why not airlines?

At least in the US, a large reason was always labor costs and unions, but I don’t know if that is the case anymore.

the most interesting thing I’ve seen in the past year is that something like 75% of JetBlue employees have never worked for an airline before. It must be a really toxic place to work.

I managed to double-volunteer for overbooked flights on Continental yesterday — I fly them enough I don’t feel bad about pocketing $400 in travel vouchers. But what stuck me again is how much any airline employee just can’t be honest with you. I think that is what drives people up the wall and is part of the complaint process.

But human psychology prevents people from appreciating this. We all know the human mind is a strange thing. For instance, study after study finds that it’s not absolute wealth that makes most people happy, but how much money they have compared to their peers. In other words, everyone could be starving, but if you have an extra slice of bread than your neighbors, you may be happier than if everyone had all the bread you could eat!

It seems obvious that perceptions of airline travel work the same way. Despite the fact that it has gotten much cheaper (and safer), your mind focuses on the little things that have gotten worse. It’s less “exclusive” (everyone now gets to fly). The flight attendants tend to be grizzled veterans instead of friendly young things. There’s less free food. Security lines are longer. Etc.

Not sure what this all means, but there it is!